BE OPEN BLOG

Anxiety is one of the most pervasive challenges of modern life—quietly dictating how we sleep, socialize, travel, and work. But what if the key to coping isn’t just therapy or medication, but design? Across the globe, a new generation of creators is rethinking everyday objects and garments as tools for emotional well-being.

At the 2024 RIMOWA Design Prize, the spotlight turned not to a suitcase, but to a vest. More specifically, a soft, nylon vest fitted with inflatable robotic pods, designed to calm its wearer during moments of anxiety. This futuristic yet therapeutic garment, titled RO, is the brainchild of Janne Kreimer, a student of Integrated Design at Anhalt University. More than just a fashion statement, RO is a wearable intervention, engineered to bring anxiety relief through tactile pressure and personalized body mapping.

Kreimer’s vest uses a network of air-filled “soft robots” that inflate in real-time when anxiety peaks, targeting specific acupressure points around the torso. These points are linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, the branch responsible for slowing the heart rate and calming the body. The effect is akin to Deep Pressure Stimulation, a sensory therapy often used for individuals with autism or PTSD. Wrapped in RO, the user experiences a high-tech hug tailored to soothe nerves.

The customization doesn’t stop there. Kreimer incorporates 3D body scanning technology to identify each wearer’s unique acupressure map, accounting for variations in shape, size, and age. Algorithms then adjust the pod positions, ensuring optimal therapeutic placement. The vest is constructed from TPU-coated nylon for comfort and durability, while the inflation system responds to input either manually or automatically, depending on the user’s needs. While the project is still in its prototype phase, it gestures toward a future where garments don’t just express identity, but actively support mental health.

While RO uses technology to apply therapeutic pressure, Schwa, a project by University of Illinois Chicago student Minoo Marasi, focuses on the quiet power of breath. This soft, subtle wearable isn’t flashy or invasive. Instead, it quietly exists alongside the wearer – resting against the chest like a second heartbeat, offering rhythmic, physical guidance through the chaos of anxiety.

When not in use, Schwa is simply part of the body – soft, unobtrusive, and seamlessly integrated into daily life. But as the wearer begins to slip into shallow or erratic breathing, often one of the first somatic signs of rising anxiety, Schwa activates. Through gentle inflation and deflation across the chest, it replicates the cadence of calm, intentional breath. There are no commands, no screens, no buzzes – just a quiet presence, inviting the body to fall back into rhythm.Inspired by the co-regulating effect of a hug, Schwa mirrors the comfort of placing your head against someone’s chest and syncing with their breath.

That intimate, wordless reassurance – the kind that bypasses logic and goes straight to the nervous system – is recreated through this poetic device. As the body instinctively begins to match Schwa’s rhythm, it returns to a state of regulation and ease.Where many anxiety tools demand active participation – mindfulness apps, breathing exercises, or wearable alerts – Schwa asks nothing of the user except presence. It recognizes that in moments of dysregulation, cognition is often the first to go offline. Schwa is more than a wearable, but a somatic experience, a quiet reminder that the body still knows how to return home, even when the mind forgets.

Not all anxiety relief comes in the form of wearables. Tanuvi Hegde, a New York-based furniture designer and architect, is reimagining the very objects we live with – starting with a chair. Her project, Reflect, is part of the collection Exhibit (A): Furniture for the Anxious Being, and it redefines what furniture can do. This is not a passive seat, it’s a therapeutic companion, crafted with care and intention to promote mindfulness through interaction.

Made from warm cherry wood with a hand-stitched leather sling seat, Reflect is inviting in form, but its standout feature is a small steel ball bearing embedded into the armrest. This humble detail allows the sitter to roll the ball back and forth, creating a quiet, tactile vibration and subtle sound. The act becomes meditative like a tactile mantra offering a moment of grounding without requiring full attention. It’s furniture designed to co-regulate, not just accommodate.

Hegde’s work challenges the notion that chairs are simply for sitting. Instead, she sees them as spaces of presence places that support emotional well-being through sensory engagement. The materials are not incidental: the cherry wood offers visual and tactile warmth, the leather sling embraces the sitter, and the steel ball provides a focused point of interaction. It’s a carefully orchestrated balance of form and feeling. In a world that rarely slows down, Reflect invites us to stop, sit, and reconnect with our senses.