The work captures brain activity from people as they watch video content and translates it into real-time visuals. It was created to reveal how viewers respond emotionally to storytelling, turning brain signals into colour and movement on screen. Different emotional states are mapped visually, allowing the audience to see how feelings like engagement, calm or tension evolve over time. In this case, the system was used to visualise reactions to a series of adverts leading up to the launch of the Paris 2024 Paralympics campaign, making emotional responses visible as they happen in a clear and accessible way.
Developed for the Feeling First event by A&E DDB in collaboration with Kinda Studios, exhibited at the V&A Museum in London, featuring the Paralympics campaign launch.
HARDWARE & SOFTWARE
TouchDesigner, Emotiv EEG Headset.
This project explores how emotional responses to storytelling can be translated into real-time visual experiences.
Developed for A&E DDB and presented at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the work captured brain activity from participants as they watched a curated sequence of creative advertisements. Using EMOTIV EEG headsets, neural signals were recorded live, revealing how the brain reacts to narrative, rhythm, and imagery.
These signals were continuously translated into a visual language. Each emotional state was mapped to color and movement: yellow for joy, green for contentment, red for anger. As emotions shifted, the visuals evolved, forming a dynamic reflection of the audience’s internal experience.
The system culminated in the presentation of the Paris 2024 Paralympics launch campaign, where the intensity of emotional engagement became visually evident in real time. The screen functioned as a mirror of collective perception, making internal responses visible and shared.
Technically, EEG data was streamed via OSC into TouchDesigner, where custom mappings transformed neurological input into generative visuals. The result is an interface where feeling becomes form, a translation of invisible processes into tangible experience.
Created in collaboration with Kinda Studios, this work offers a glimpse into the intersection of neuroscience, art, and storytelling, suggesting new ways of understanding how we feel, and how those feelings can be seen.
