Project Outcome
Research & Process
Project Information
Lumen is a speculative interaction system that explores how personal digital works can be preserved, activated, and redistributed within urban public space. Through NFC-triggered physical nodes and a supporting digital platform, the project transforms private digital assets into shared cultural resources—designed to be accessed, interpreted, and reactivated both during life and beyond.
Tool Used
Arduino · PN532 (NFC) · LED Matrix · Figma
Category
Service Design / System Design / UIUX / Coding
Degital Legacy
Between death and memory exists a digital layer that continues to live beyond the body. Images, texts, creative works, and encrypted assets remain stored across online platforms and cloud systems.
These materials form Digital Legacy, raising practical and ethical questions about ownership, preservation, and the right to be remembered in the digital age.
Why It Matters Today
The market for digital-legacy-related services is expanding rapidly in the global market, driven by the increasing digitalization of personal and professional lives.
Despite this rapid growth, most digital legacies remain private, fragmented, and easily lost.
Current Methods of Managing Digital Legacy
Although digital-legacy products have become relatively mature in terms of security and encryption, they still tend to treat “data” as assets to be stored, inherited, or frozen, rather than as social resources that can be reused or re-created.
Questionaire
The questionnaire suggests that most people have never thought about how to handle their digital assets.
Many creators also expressed that they would prefer their work to be publicly accessible for educational purposes after they pass away, even if it means giving up potential commercial benefits.
This highlights the need for a platform that can not only manage digital legacy but also distribute and amplify its cultural value.
Interviews & User Profile
I interviewed content creators from multiple backgrounds to address their needs. I gathered their answers on: thoughts on current managing methods, vision of redistributing Works, and Expectation for the platform, and created two user profiles.
Digital Legacy Redistribution
Living in New York—a cultural melting pot—I’ve observed a wide spectrum of memorial practices. Cemeteries are part of the everyday landscape; death is not avoided, and commemorative messages are integrated into daily life, often becoming inspiring, educational, and culturally significant.
This made me question:
Why can’t digital legacies be physically distributed as well?
Design Goal
System Map