Overview
Timeline
1 month (UX research to concept design)
Collaborations
Academic project, solo
Background
International students move across continents to pursue their dreams in graduate school, leaving everything familiar behind. This comes with emotional and logistical challenges, including finding furniture for their temporary stay.
Challenge: Culturally, emotionally disconnected diaspora
While second-hand furniture is economical, it lacks the emotional connection that helps create a sense of belonging in a new place.
Goal: Furniture as a story - connecting past and present students
This project explores how shared furniture can help foster a sense of belonging, turning impersonal rooms into their homes.
Problem
Students don’t just need furniture—they need objects that carry meaning and help them feel at home
Short Duration of Stay
Most graduate programs last 1.5–2 years, making it impractical to invest in expensive furniture.
Reliance on Fast Furniture
Cheap, mass-produced furniture is unsustainable, breaks easily, and feels impersonal.
Feeling Disconnected
These items provide no emotional value, adding to the feeling of isolation in a foreign environment.
User scenario
Aditi thrives in academic environments but struggles to balance her rigorous workload, cultural adjustment, and emotional well-being
Aditi Sharma
Master’s in Data Science,
Carnegie Mellon University
Relies on savings, family support, and part-time campus job
Off-campus studio apartment in Pittsburgh, PA
Social and Personal Motivations
Build a professional network to secure an industry job after graduation.
Make her living space feel like a home despite being temporary.
Maintain connections with family and friends back home while creating new friendships.
Pain Points
Feels isolated from her cultural roots and struggles to create a sense of belonging in a foreign environment.
Balancing coursework, job hunting, and personal life leaves little time to explore the city or socialize.
Opportunity
How might we turn furniture from a disposable necessity into a shared experience that connects students across time and cultures?
Collective Things reimagines furniture as a living storybook. Through a sustainable donation system and a digital storytelling platform, furniture carries the stories of past students to new ones, creating a sense of continuity, connection, and belonging.
Initial Explorations
Memory Tags
Initially, I focused on a marketplace for affordable furniture, with memory tags but it did not allow continued experience.
Memory Tapestry
Next, I experimented with a memory tapestry that would be laminated or printed on furniture but it didn’t allow both past and present student to connect.
Final concept
A furniture as a book - each student adds their chapter
Students donate their furniture at the end of their stay, along with stories tied to the pieces. Incoming students inherit these items, along with the memories, and add their own chapters.
Arriving at the concept
The idea of a live digital diary emerged from user research.
Past students wanted to reflect on their own experiences and stay connected to their alma mater.
At the same time, new students find guidance and stories from past students valuable, and they feel more connected due to shared experiences.
By pairing functionality with evolving narratives, furniture became a medium for shared experiences.
Key Features
View Shared Memories When Buying Furniture
Past students share memories associated with a furniture. While buying the furniture, the new students will be shown the stories behind it and choose furniture that resonates with them emotionally and functionally
Student's Digital Diary Sharing Relevant Experiences
Students view alumni stories and add their own. Students revisit memories tied to their furniture during key moments—exams, holidays, or breaks—prompting them to reflect and add their own.
Alumni's Memory Bank
Students view alumni stories and add their own. Students revisit memories tied to their furniture during key moments—exams, holidays, or breaks—prompting them to reflect and add their own.
Outcomes
Improved User Experience
Reflections and Learnings
Design Beyond Functionality
Furniture can carry emotional and cultural value, creating deeper connections.
Designing for Rich Experiences
Understanding beyond the physical needs and wants, and creating safe spaces. Perceiving furniture as what physical manifestation of experiences.
Leverage Institutional Strengths
By tapping into CMU’s alumni network and sustainability goals, the project achieves both feasibility and meaningful impact.
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