Timeline
2 semesters (2026)
My Role
Sole Product Designer
Skills
Research, Prototyping, User Testing, UX/UI Design, Branding
Overview
This is my interaction design capstone project at PolyU Design: an individual project completed over 2 semesters, from research and ideation to testing and 3 demo sessions. It is currently displayed at the PolyU Design Show 2026.
Couch Talk is a plug-in for existing messaging apps that supports conflict resolution for long-distance romantic and family relationships. Using agents and visual indicators, it creates a safe space that prioritises clearer communication during conflicts.
Situation
Long-distance relationships rely heavily on digital communication, but texting removes non-verbal cues like tone, facial expression, and body language.
This makes emotions and undertones harder to read, and misunderstandings more likely. In conflict situations, conversations can feel distant and impersonal.
For LDRs, texting is not just for daily chat — it is also where difficult conversations happen. That made the quality of text-based communication especially important. The problem was not only how to express emotion, but how to support clearer, safer communication when conflict emerges.
Task
Initial direction
My initial goal was to reduce misunderstandings in digital communication, especially texting, by introducing more non-verbal cues. I wanted to make conversations feel more emotionally expressive and easier to interpret.
Pivot
As the project developed, the question became more specific: how might texting support conflict resolution instead of making it worse?
The constraint was clear: the solution had to fit into the natural flow of existing messaging behaviour, without forcing users to switch between apps mid-conversation.
Action
Research
I started with desktop research on face-to-face and digital communication, then conducted 2 rounds of interviews with people in romantic, family, and friendship LDRs.
Insight
LDRs switch to texting specifically for conflicts and difficult conversations, because it creates emotional distance and gives them time to think.
This insight reframed my design concept: Instead of adding more emotional cues, I embraced texting's absence of non-verbal cues and explored how a text-dominated space could support clearer, safer conversations.
User testing and design decisions
I first designed the concept as a separate app with communication-style analysis, topic-based chatrooms, POV input, and an adjustable emotion filter. But user feedback showed that the flow was too heavy, too fragmented, and too detached from real messaging behaviour. I then simplified the experience, removed unnecessary features, and repositioned it as a plug-in for existing messaging apps.
I reduced decision fatigue by grouping actions based on user intent. I moved setup to the initial installation phase, used keyboard inactivity to trigger activation, softened the CTA language, and hid triggering or low-value features behind optional pages. The goal was to make the interaction feel less like a system intervention and more like a supported conversation.
Result
Solution
The final outcome was a plug-in concept that transforms an existing messaging app into a dedicated conflict space when needed. Users can stay in the same app, resolve conflict with an adjustable emotion filter, and receive AI suggestions without exposing the full conversation to the other person.
Core experience
Booth
I set up a mini booth at the PolyU Design Show 2026 with a lamp and couch installation, creating a physical space that reflected the emotional tone of conflict and the comfort of the concept. This was my first large-scale individual project in two years, and I am proud of how it grew from scattered ideas to a concept I could stand behind and present.
What I learned
A strong design is not always about adding more features. The final concept became stronger when I stopped trying to fix the "issues" of texting, and instead leverage them to create new opportunities.