Projects
MyPace: Sensory‑Interactive (Non‑Toxic) Seating design
MyPace: Sensory‑Interactive (Non‑Toxic) Seating design
MyPace investigates how immersive light, sound and natural materials can create a sensory‑responsive seating environment that supports emotional regulation and cognitive ease. I want to explore, and potentially prototype, how gentle, non‑toxic sensory design can offer grounding and wellbeing support.
MyPace is an exploratory project investigating how immersive light, sound and natural materials can be integrated into sculptural seating to support emotional regulation, imaginative engagement and cognitive ease. The work grows from my interest in how design can offer comfort, grounding and a calmer mental state, particularly for people who experience sensory overwhelm or need gentler environments.
Explore
£5,000
Aims of the project
During this phase, I’m experimenting with non‑toxic, sustainable materials, tactile forms and subtle sensory cues to understand how they interact with the body and nervous system. This includes exploring low‑frequency sound to see how gentle vibration and sound might contribute to feelings of ease and grounding. I’m also drawing on therapeutic design principles, sensory psychology, emotional architecture and sensory matrices to explore how tailored immersive environments might support a wider sense of wellbeing.
I’m aiming to develop an early prototype to test these ideas, focusing on form, materials and sensory interaction rather than a fully integrated technical build. This stage is about research, experimentation and discovery, creating a foundation for future development while staying open to what the materials, technologies and sensory experiments reveal.
Domnall Starkie
Lead artist
he/him
Domnall is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in Derry, Northern Ireland, with a background in art, design and material experimentation. Understanding how toxic materials and negative stimuli affect us has guided him towards more supportive, wellbeing‑focused design. He’s particularly interested in how visual and sensory experiences shape our emotional state, and how design can support comfort, grounding and emotional wellbeing. He works mainly with natural materials and tactile forms, and Domnall has recently been exploring how immersive, sensory‑led design might help create environments that support cognitive ease, sensory regulation and a calmer mental state.
