balineum
Reimagining the future of showering
2. semester joint speculative design semester project
Overview
BALINEUM explores how physical interaction could reshape the experience of shared bathrooms.
The project began with a simple observation: shower systems are highly personal, yet rarely designed for multiple users. Temperature, water pressure and routines differ from person to person, but most interfaces still rely on repetitive manual adjustment and visually overloaded controls.
The project investigated how a single physical interface could simplify these interactions while remaining reliable in humid environments where touchscreens often fail.
Context
The bathroom remains one of the least considered environments in contemporary interface design. While many domestic products have shifted towards connected systems and adaptive experiences, shower interaction is still largely mechanical, fragmented or visually dependent.
BALINEUM was developed as a connected shower control system focused on tactile interaction, adaptive profiles and environmental feedback. Rather than adding more interface layers, the project explored how interaction could be reduced to a smaller set of intentional physical gestures.
ResearchEarly research in shared apartments and family households revealed recurring behavioural patterns. Users repeatedly adjusted temperature and water pressure to match personal preferences, music control remained inaccessible during showers and relaxing routines often distorted the perception of time.
Initial technical experiments also showed that capacitive touch interaction became unreliable under direct water exposure. This shifted the project away from screen-heavy interaction towards tactile control mechanisms inspired by physical thermostats and analogue feedback systems.
Interaction System
The final interaction model combines rotational input with directional tilt gestures inside a single circular control element.
Rotation was used for continuous adjustments such as temperature, water flow and volume, while tilting enabled navigation and confirmation actions.
The goal was not to maximise functionality, but to reduce interaction complexity inside an environment where visibility, moisture and physical movement constantly affect usability.
Several interaction concepts were explored during development, including magnetic repositioning systems and inductive charging approaches. Over time, the project moved towards a more restrained and physically grounded interaction language.
Adaptive Profiles
BALINEUM also explored how connected systems could respond more naturally to individual routines.
Wearable-linked profiles allowed users to store preferred combinations of water settings, shower modes and audio behaviour. Alongside functional presets, the project introduced atmospheric scenes such as Arctic Ice, Bali Heat and Skye Fog to explore how environmental conditions and sound could shape emotional perception inside everyday routines.
The intention was less about automation and more about creating continuity between personal habits, physical environments and interaction systems.
ProcessThe project was developed through iterative prototyping across both physical and digital mediums.
Early ideation relied on rapid sketching and interaction mapping before moving into hardware exploration, interface prototyping and usability testing. Blender, Figma and 3D-printing workflows were used throughout the process to evaluate ergonomics, gesture discoverability and physical feedback.
Usability tests with participants outside the interaction design field helped identify how intuitive the interaction model felt without prior explanation. Later iterations introduced four-directional tilt interaction and refined the physical detailing of the control surface.
Usability tests with participants outside the interaction design field helped identify how intuitive the interaction model felt without prior explanation. Later iterations introduced four-directional tilt interaction and refined the physical detailing of the control surface.
Outcome
BALINEUM became an exploration of how future domestic systems might rely less on screens and more on embodied interaction.
The project does not position technology as the centre of the experience.
Instead, it examines how connected products can quietly adapt to routines, shared environments and individual behaviours through more tactile and spatial forms of interaction.
Watch the video for a complete explanation of how the product works and to learn about some of its main features.