Emotional Landscapes | Exploration

"Design is emotional, but math describes it."

Systematic simulations of emotions

Emotional Landscapes is a personal study in translating internal states into spatial simulations.

I spend a lot of time analyzing my emotions, observing when one becomes dominant, how it transforms into another, and how they coexist. This project emerged from that habit of observation.

When I started learning TouchDesigner, something shifted. The numerical side of me was triggered by how small parameter changes dramatically altered the output. A minor shift in magnitude, speed, or turbulence could completely transform the system’s behavior. I became fascinated by how subtle interventions reshape outcomes.

Emotional Landscapes is not an attempt to define what these emotions “are.”

Each emotion runs on the same underlying particle system. Only the values change.

All four simulations are built using the same particlesGPU-based system in TouchDesigner. The network structure remains consistent; only parameters values and force types shift to alter behavioral outcomes.

Rather than building separate systems for each emotion, I chose to maintain a unified structure. This reinforces the core idea:

The system is constant. Only the forces change.

Tools used: TouchDesigner | Adobe Photoshop | Adobe Premiere Pro

Emotions feel abstract and deeply personal. Yet their behaviors repeat, they accelerate, settle, disperse, or resist.

This project does not aim to define emotion universally but just a reflection of mine.

If viewers begin to reconsider how their own emotions behave, the work has done its job.

Design is emotional, but math describes it.