Migrant Emotions

Interactive Artifacts to Express Migrants' Emotional Needs

This experimental project, developed by design students at Tecnológico de Monterrey, explores the power of design beyond its traditional role as a problem-solving tool. Through this initiative, the students aim to understand and give voice to the emotional needs of migrants living in a state of perpetual transit in Tijuana.

Guided by professors José de la O, Pier Peruccio, and Oscar Mendoza, the students employed critical design methodologies and physical computing to create interactive artifacts that convey the complex emotional experiences of migrants from diverse groups, including trans individuals, members of the LGBT community, those integrated into Mexican society, foreigners in Mexico, and those fleeing domestic violence.

We deeply appreciate the support of Centro32 for facilitating contact with migrants and for their essential collaboration in conducting interviews with a sensitive and respectful approach.

Ermitte

Alejandra Arano, Daniela Spíndola, Daniela Rodríguez, Samantha Alejandre

Ermitte is a Haitian migrant woman in Tijuana, Mexico. She faces a significant challenge due to the language barrier. Her native language is Creole, which makes communication and understanding difficult in an environment where Spanish and English predominate. This situation profoundly affects her ability to integrate and access opportunities in her new community.

The need to communicate materializes by inviting users to decipher a hidden poem, facing barriers similar to those experienced by migrants. The attempt to understand the machine reflects the connection between language, identity, and the daily struggles of those trying to be understood in a new environment.

martha

Daniella del Valle, Aline Cabrera, and Illiana Cruz

Marta, 62, migrated from Honduras to Mexico for safety reasons. With a humanitarian visa, she is now settling in Tijuana. Xanti, inspired by the iris flower, aims to symbolize how community lightens the loneliness that people face daily.

It is represented by an interactive artifact that symbolizes how community helps people to bloom in their solitude. Inspired by the iris flower, it reflects the hope that the environment can bring. Marta in Mexico is compared to a closed flower that blooms when interacting with her loved ones, alleviating her loneliness.

angie

Sebastián Arroyo, Ana Karen Hernández, Brenda Lee, and Paola Zárate

This project is based on Angie, a Colombian migrant in Mexico. Her biggest challenge has been adapting to a daily routine. Her migration process taught her that daily life cannot be controlled; no matter how hard you try, change is inevitable.

It is represented through a machine that generates patterns based on human interaction, representing the chaos in a migrant's life. It consists of three stages: a constant pattern (order), human interaction (trigger), and the result of that interaction (chaos and loss of daily routine).

The goal is to generate empathy towards migrants who have lost their daily routine, inviting reflection on the importance of this in our lives.

School: Monterrey Institute of Technology, Campus Ciudad de México

Professors: José de la O, Pier Paolo Peruccio, Óscar Mendoza

Students: Alejandra Arano, Daniela Spíndola, Daniela Rodríguez, Samantha Alejandre, Daniella del Valle, Aline Cabrera, Illiana Cruz, Sebastián Arroyo, Ana Karen Hernández, Brenda Lee, and Paola Zárate