Your Inner Critic
An interactive photo booth designed for reflection on societal beauty standards
I designed an interactive experience that addresses a societal issue I care deeply about: women's health and wellness. Leveraging insights from primary research, I created an interactive photo booth that encourages women to reflect on their inner critic and challenge absurd beauty standards.
Dates
May and June 2025
Qualitative Research, Ideation, Prototyping, Product Design, Figma, Miro, Processing, Java (coding), AI, Github, Eleven Labs, Davinci Resolve
Skills & Tools
Deliverables
Insights, lo-fi prototype, high-fi prototype, Demo video
Role & Team
Sole Interaction Designer and Researcher
An Interactive Photo Booth
This interactive photo booth challenges societal beauty pressures. It’s designed for two women who know each other: one observes, while the other is critiqued by AI based on their features, exposing contradictory and unrealistic beauty standards across decades. The observer then shares a compliment that goes beyond external appearance. The experience highlights inner criticism and encourages self-kindness. A final photo, with the observer's note, is taken and uploaded to a website for the women to view. This experience sparks important conversations about body diversity and inclusion. It reminds us that real beauty lies beyond trends, empowering women to challenge harmful norms and uplift one another.
How it works
I designed this entire experience using code and AI. With the help of a Programming 101 course and Claude, I was able to generate the code I needed.
I used processing.org (Java) and relied on several APIs to complete the experience.
An Eleven Labs API generated the AI voice.
A Gemini API analyzed the faces initially and during the decade critiques.
An Assembly AI API transformed audio into a transcription for the photo on the website.
An IMGBB API stored photos in the Cloud.
The photo and transcription were then sent to Github where they were uploaded to the Github site automatically.
During the experience, the Gemini API analyzes faces live and generates critiques for the person sitting on the left based on their features and the beauty standards of that era. It also always comments on age and weight.
Right after the experience, both women see their photo and transcription displayed on a large screen next to the photo booth.
Process
Qualitative Research- I interviewed 24 women with different backgrounds.
Synthesis and Analysis- I used Miroboard for participant clustering and insights.
Ideating- I created “How might we’s” and began brainstorming solutions.
Prototyping & Testing- I created low-fi prototypes and tested on users.
Iterating- I iterated based on feedback.
Testing- I tested my solution again on people from the city.
Final Iterations
To symbolize the image we have of women in society, I chose a photo booth as my form factor. It was also a great place for reflection and allowed women to walk away with a photo/memory to continue the conversation.
Testing Outcome
Our school hosted an exhibition day where people from the town were able to come and experience our designs. Though I designed this experience for women, many people were keen on trying it out. Below you can see the different pairs who experienced the photo booth. The person on the left was getting critiqued and the person on the right was the observer (person who left the message).
Learnings and Next Steps
This project feels like a beginning, not an end. I successfully raised awareness and sparked conversations about an important issue. While not perfect, I'm eager to explore more specific critiques and even a version for men. I also had some surprising learnings along the way.
People really enjoyed getting critiqued: I was not expecting people to laugh as much as they did, but they found the experience enjoyable. There was something about going in with a close friend or even gathering the courage to get critiqued for an important cause that brought them joy.
The experience sparked meaningful conversations: The experience successfully prompted deep reflection, both immediately and days later. Conversations ranged from generational and cultural differences in beauty standards to topics like cosmetic procedures (e.g., Botox).
AI can help with impactful design: There’s much debate about the use of AI, but as someone who didn’t previously code, I felt accomplished in knowing that I could create an entire experience with the help of AI. I felt empowered in knowing what I can build and the impact it could have.