Living Fire Fresco reimagines the emotional and spiritual essence of fire through the lens of design thinking. The project began with empathy—understanding how people connect to warmth, light, and energy as universal symbols of comfort, renewal, and vitality. In today’s urban environment, natural fire is absent, yet its emotional power remains essential. The goal was to recreate that connection in a sustainable, modern form.
Through defining this challenge, I aimed to capture the dynamic beauty of flames without combustion, transforming fire’s destructive force into a meditative and life-affirming experience. During ideation, I explored materials and textures that could evoke the rhythm and depth of burning light—drawing inspiration from traditional frescoes and contemporary installations.
For the physical construction, I chose Tiger Grain Wood and Black Walnut as the primary materials. The vivid, wave-like texture of Tiger Grain Wood symbolizes the movement and rhythm of fire, reflecting its living, ever-changing nature. In contrast, Black Walnut provides visual grounding—a dark, warm tone that conveys both stability and depth, echoing the quiet strength of burnt embers. Together, these materials embody the duality of fire: its vitality and its calm, its energy and its introspection. Their organic patterns allowed me to merge natural craftsmanship with conceptual storytelling, giving the work both tactile richness and symbolic meaning.
In the prototyping phase, I combined these woods with translucent films, reflective surfaces, and layered color gradients to simulate the flickering qualities of flame, using both digital and physical models to refine composition and light diffusion. When presented, viewers described the work as “alive” and “soothing,” validating its emotional impact.
This process taught me how design thinking can translate intangible emotions into tangible forms—turning fire into a symbol of resilience, warmth, and spiritual connection. Ultimately, Living Fire Fresco stands as a reflection of how thoughtful design can bridge nature, material, technology, and human feeling in one immersive visual experience.
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I am eager to take on new projects, exploring creativity and innovation at the intersection of design, business, and culture.
