Aurora Primary Function: Pulogalamu ya pa Foni by Ping Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award in Mapangidwe a Ukadaulo wa Foni, Mapulogalamu ndi Mapulogalamu a Foni Competition Category.
ChitsuloFoni· 2026
Aurora Primary Function: Pulogalamu ya pa Foni
by Ping Chen
Client: Aurora
Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award Winner in Foni Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #182515The Design
About Aurora Primary Function: Pulogalamu ya pa Foni
Book Text: Aurora ndi pulogalamu ya pa foni yomwe imathandiza kuwongolera maganizo a anthu omwe ali ndi vuto la ADHD kudzera mu kuyanjana kozikidwa pa nyimbo. Pamene anthu agwiritsa ntchito pulogalamuyi, imaphatikiza kupanga mndandanda wa nyimbo wogwirizana ndi mkhalidwe wa munthu, buku la kulemba maganizo osiyanasiyana, ndi mafotokozedwe a tsiku ndi tsiku. Cholembedwa chilichonse mu buku la maganizo chimalumikiza nyimbo yomwe ikuyimbidwa pano ndi zofananiza zomwe zimasonyeza kukula kwa maganizo komanso kalembedwe kachidule. Mawonekedwe a chizolowezi amaonetsa nthawi zofunika pamene nyimbo zinathandiza kuwonjezera kuyang'anitsitsa kapena kuchepetsa nkhawa. Mawonekedwe owonera ogwirizana ndi rhythm amapereka zizindikiro za mayendedwe ofewa pa nthawi yomvera nyimbo kuti athandize kukhazikitsa maganizo.
The Recognition
About the Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award
Aurora Primary Function: Pulogalamu ya pa Foni ndi mmodzi mwa opambana a Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award, kuzindikirika kolemekezeka komwe kumaperekedwa kwa mapangidwe abwino omwe amakwaniritsa zofunika za akatswiri ndi za makampani zomwe zimayembekezeka kuchokera ku zolengedwa zopangidwa bwino. Opambana a Chitsulo amaonetsa luso lalikulu, ukatswiri wapamwamba, kumvetsetsa kwa akatswiri ndi mphamvu yolenga ya opanga awo. Aurora Primary Function: Pulogalamu ya pa Foni akuyembekezeka kukhala cholengedwa choyamikiridwa kwambiri, chosirira ndi chokondedwa chomwe ndi chothandiza ndi chatsopano. Mapangidwe opambana Mphoto ya Chitsulo ya A' Design Award awa amaphatikiza machitidwe abwino kwambiri a makampani ndipo ali ndi makhalidwe a ukadaulo oyenerera olumikizidwa ndi chidziwitso ndi luso. Aurora Primary Function: Pulogalamu ya pa Foni amalemekezedwa chifukwa cha kusamala kwake ndipo anapangidwa kuti apereke kukonza kwa moyo kumene kumathandiza kusandutsa dziko kukhala malo abwino.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Aurora is a music-based emotional support app for people with ADHD. Unlike traditional music platforms that recommend by genre or history, Aurora learns from users' mood journals to generate state-matched playlists, highlight moments when music helped, and reveal daily regulation patterns. Rhythm-synced visuals add gentle grounding during listening. The result is a low-effort tool that turns everyday songs into long-term self-regulation habits for wellbeing support.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Platform: Mobile app (iOS and Android concept). Core inputs: current track metadata, time stamp, multi-mood intensity sliders, and short text notes. Core outputs: state-matched playlists, daily mood pattern summaries, highlighted key moments, and rhythm-synced visual modes. Data model links each journal entry to a song and a time period to support calendar navigation and trend views. Visual modes include multiple selectable patterns designed for low stimulation.
- Tags
- ADHD support, emotional regulation, mood based playlists, music journaling, rhythm synced visuals, neurodiverse wellness, focus support, calm support, behavior design
- Production Technology
- Aurora is designed as a mobile app concept with interactive prototypes. The experience is structured around three modules: playlist generation, mood journaling, and visual listening mode. Mood inputs are captured with multi-dimensional sliders and saved as time-stamped entries linked to the current music track. The app then summarizes entries into daily patterns and generates state-matched playlists based on past mood and listening records. Rhythm-synced visuals are designed to respond to BPM and audio energy.
- Design Challenge
- The main challenge was designing for mixed emotional states without adding cognitive load. Many mood trackers force a single label, while detailed journaling can feel too demanding for ADHD users. This was addressed by using a small set of mood dimensions with quick sliders, blended visual cues to reflect mixed states, and an insight-first trend view that highlights only the most meaningful moments instead of showing every entry.
- Research
- Research Objectives: Understand how people with ADHD use music to manage focus and mood.
Methodology: Semi structured interviews and concept testing. Data Collection and Research Tools Used: Interview notes, affinity mapping, storyboard and UI prototypes.
Participants: 10 adults with ADHD. Results: Music helps regulation but playlists rarely match the moment and helpful tracks are hard to recall.
Insights and Impacts: Led to mood logging, pattern highlights, and state matched playlists. Effect of the Research in Real-Life Phenomena such as Business, Society and Design Itself: Supports neurodiverse wellbeing and reframes music as intentional support. - Inspiration
- After interviewing 10 people with ADHD, I saw a repeated pattern: music helps them focus or calm down, but generic playlists rarely match the moment, and it is hard to remember what worked later. This gap inspired Aurora. I combined mood journaling, pattern insights, and rhythm-synced visuals to turn listening into a repeatable self-regulation tool.
- Project Duration
- Aurora was designed over approximately 8 weeks in the United States (Boston, MA). Work included user interviews, synthesis, concept development, wireframing, and high-fidelity UI prototyping.
- Operation Flow
- Users listen to music, then log a quick moment: what they are listening to, how they feel across a few mood sliders, and a short note. Aurora turns these moments into state matched playlists and a daily trend view that highlights when music helped stabilize focus or calm. A visual mode adds gentle rhythm synced motion during listening to support grounding and reduce overstimulation.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to Ping Chen, 2025.
- Team Members
- Ping Chen
Haowei Zang
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