Aurora Iṣẹ́ Àkọ́kọ́: Ohun-èlò Fóònù Alágbèéká by Ping Chen

Aurora Iṣẹ́ Àkọ́kọ́: Ohun-èlò Fóònù Alágbèéká by Ping Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award in Àpẹẹrẹ Ìmọ̀-ẹ̀rọ Alágbèéká, Ohun-èlò Fóònù àti Sọ́fítíwéà Competition Category.

IrinAlágbèéká· 2026

Aurora Iṣẹ́ Àkọ́kọ́: Ohun-èlò Fóònù Alágbèéká

by Ping Chen

Client: Aurora

Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award Winner in Alágbèéká Category

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The Design

About Aurora Iṣẹ́ Àkọ́kọ́: Ohun-èlò Fóònù Alágbèéká

Àkọsílẹ̀ Ìwé: Aurora jẹ́ ohun-èlò fóònù alágbèéká tí ó ń ṣe àtìlẹyìn fún ìṣàkóso ìmọ̀lára fún àwọn ènìyàn tí ó ní Adhd nípasẹ̀ ìbáṣepọ̀ tí ó dá lórí orin. Ojú-ìbáṣepọ̀ náà dá àjọpọ̀ ìpilẹ̀ àkójọ orin tí ó bá ipò mu, ìwé ìrántí oríṣiríṣi ìmọ̀lára, àti àkótán ìlànà ojoojúmọ́. Gbogbo àkọsílẹ̀ inú ìwé ìrántí ń so orin tí ó ń lọ lọ́wọ́lọ́wọ́ pọ̀ mọ́ àwọn olùyíká ìwọ̀n ìmọ̀lára àti àkọsílẹ̀ kúkurú kan. Ìwòye àṣà-tó-ń-yí ń tẹnumọ́ àwọn àkókò pàtàkì nígbà tí orin mú àfọ́jú-sí-ohun dára sí i tàbí tí ó dín ìdààmú kù. Ọ̀nà àwòràn tí ó bá ìlù mu ń pèsè àwọn àmì ìmúlọ́ pẹ̀lẹ́pẹ̀lẹ́ nígbà tí a bá ń tẹ́tí sí orin láti ṣe àtìlẹyìn fún ìfìdíkalẹ̀.

The Recognition

About the Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award

Aurora Iṣẹ́ Àkọ́kọ́: Ohun-èlò Fóònù Alágbèéká jẹ́ olùborí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award, ìdánimọ̀ olókìkí tí a fún àwọn àwòṣe tó dára tí wọ́n pàdé àwọn ohun tí iṣẹ́ àti ilé-iṣẹ́ nílò tí a retí láti ọ̀dọ̀ àwọn ẹ̀dá tí a ṣàwòṣe dáradára. Àwọn olùborí Irin ń fi ìjáfáfá ńlá, ìmọ̀ pàtó gíga, òye ògbóǹtarìgì àti agbára ìṣẹ̀dá àwọn olùṣẹ̀dá wọn hàn. A retí pé Aurora Iṣẹ́ Àkọ́kọ́: Ohun-èlò Fóònù Alágbèéká yóò jẹ́ ẹ̀dá tí a kà sí gidigidi, tí a gbóríyìn fún tí a sì nífẹ̀ẹ́, tó wúlò tó sì ní ìmúṣẹ̀dá tuntun. Àwòṣe tó borí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award yìí ń kó àwọn ọ̀nà tó dára jùlọ ilé-iṣẹ́ jọ, ó sì ní àwọn ànímọ́ ìmọ̀-ẹ̀rọ tó péye tí a so mọ́ ìmọ̀ ṣíṣe àti ẹ̀bùn. A bọ̀wọ̀ fún Aurora Iṣẹ́ Àkọ́kọ́: Ohun-èlò Fóònù Alágbèéká nítorí ìfọ̀kànbalẹ̀ rẹ̀, a sì ṣàwòṣe rẹ̀ láti pèsè ìmúdára ìgbésí ayé tó ń ran ayé lọ́wọ́ láti di ibi tó dára jù.

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