XIAO Li

Feeling the Shift investigates how embodied and multisensory interaction design can transform the way museum visitors understand cultural transformation — not by reading about it, but by physically experiencing it.

Taking the shift from handcrafted to industrially produced porcelain as its case study, the project proposes a museum installation in which visitors shape a standardised silicone vessel with their hands. The material yields, records their touch, then slowly returns to its original form. No instructions. No choice. The cultural shift is felt, not read.

Grounded in Polanyi's theory of tacit knowledge, the project addresses a precise research gap: existing digital craft systems document how things were made, but none confront the transformation between ways of making.

This research explores how small museums can improve visitor experiences without expensive technology or spatial renovations. Through visitor studies, model development, and in-situ evaluation, the project demonstrates how narrative structures and strategically placed interaction points can reshape visitor journeys, increase engagement, and improve knowledge acquisition.