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2026 Galleries // 2026 Spark: Spring Student // HUSH

HUSH

Winner - Gold

Competition: Spark: Spring Student
Designer: Sangeun Park
Design Type:
Company / Organization / School: Hongik University
Team Members: Sangeun Park

HUSH is a quiet, proactive home AI designed for true rest. The project began with a simple question: How can AI speak first without becoming another source of noise?

Today, AI is evolving beyond responding to user requests. It increasingly predicts needs, offers recommendations, and proactively delivers information. While this creates convenience, it also introduces a new challenge. Most AI systems communicate through screens, push notifications, and voice prompts that compete for attention. Health and wellness notifications, despite being designed to improve people’s lives, often contribute to stress, fatigue, and digital overload.

At the same time, many people are experiencing growing digital fatigue. The Glimmer Generation, in particular, values digital detox, emotional stability, and intentional rest. They seek the benefits of AI but do not want to be constantly interrupted by it.

HUSH emerges from this contradiction. It explores how AI can proactively support people without disrupting their everyday lives. Instead of designing another device that demands attention, HUSH transforms the home itself into an interface. AI no longer exists only within a screen; it becomes embedded within the surrounding environment and communicates through space.

The HUSH ecosystem consists of three interconnected products: Window, Pot, and Light.

HUSH Window is inspired by the way sunlight enters a room through a window. Embedded projectors and sensors allow information to be softly projected into the space whenever AI has something meaningful to communicate. Rather than forcing users to check a screen, information naturally appears within their field of view, becoming part of the atmosphere of the home.

HUSH Pot introduces mist as a new communication medium. Hidden mist modules and projectors create a soft display surface where simple icons and messages can appear. When AI wants to communicate, Pot gently releases mist as if breathing. The mist acts as a subtle presence beyond the user’s field of view, quietly attracting attention without demanding it. Notifications become ambient experiences rather than interruptions.

HUSH Light serves as both the sensory organ and emotional interface of the system. It gathers environmental information and responds to the user’s breathing rhythm through a behavior called Digital Breathing. Soft bands of light expand and contract in synchronization with the user’s breath, creating a feeling of connection and trust. This interaction helps users perceive the AI as context-aware, attentive, and emotionally considerate.

Together, the three products create different levels of proactive communication. Window introduces information within the user’s field of view. Pot creates awareness through subtle presence beyond sight. Light establishes trust through continuous ambient interaction. Each product is designed to communicate without overwhelming attention, allowing AI to remain helpful while preserving moments of rest.

Rather than making technology more visible, HUSH intentionally reduces its presence. AI fades into the background and becomes part of the living environment. Users are able to focus on rest, well-being, and everyday life instead of managing constant digital interactions.

HUSH reimagines the home as a living interface. Space is no longer a passive backdrop but an active ecosystem that senses, understands, and gently responds to its occupants. By combining spatial interaction, ambient communication, and emotional intelligence, HUSH proposes a new model of proactive AI—one that is quiet, caring, and deeply integrated into everyday life.