SneezeLove: Embodying Cultural Superstitions in Connected Devices

Devices for remote communication and sending digital gestures have been widely explored in the field of ubiquitous computing. With the lack of social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic and renewed interest in these devices in mind, we suggest the affordances of a culturally-informed design approach. We present SneezeLove, a device that uses sneezes to communicate that someone is missing you. Users tickle the device’s nose to send an electromechanical ‘sneeze’ to another device. The concept plays on a superstition in Chinese culture that attributes an additional layer of meaning to sneezes, and we found similar beliefs in other cultures that signify that someone out there is thinking of you: hiccups in India, “burning” ears in Ireland. The device, and its design approach, suggests how low-resolution messages can be enlivened and made more personally meaningful by tapping into expressive and specific cultural superstitions.