Diana Chalakova
About
For Stillness
This solo project is a pop-up book created to prompt readers to reflect on whether their personal technology use brings them happiness and fulfillment, as well as remind them of a time when our interactions with technology were slower and analog while still being entertaining. Choosing analog mechanics over a digital solution was a deliberate statement on what digital interaction design has replaced, guiding readers to reflect on intentional interaction rather than reject technology altogether. I conducted the research, scientific synthesis, iterative visual layout and paper engineering, and hand-bound the book, overseen by Dr. Harpreet Sareen and Andrew Zornaza at the Parsons School of Design.
Role
Product + Interaction Design, Visual Design, Research
Timeline
Jan – May 2025 (4 months)
Tools
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Midjourney AI (for illustrations in the book)
Problem
How might we encourage people to experience intentional interaction, not just be told to seek it?
There is much discourse on how modern technology exploits attention fragmentation, but rarely are there experiences that let you tangibly feel the alternative. While conversations around screen time and social media's psychological tactics are growing, there is far less dialogue around what we have actually lost, like the texture of slower, more intentional interaction that existed before digital design optimized everything for speed and retention.
The inherent nature of technology is not the problem, as it can connect us with people we love and enrich our lives. But the way we interact with it has quietly shifted and most of us haven't stopped long enough to notice what that shift has cost us.
Solution
A pop-up book as a deliberate and analog call-back to slower and more reflective interaction with increased comprehension of experience.
Through entry points spanning scientific concepts about dopamine processing, attention fragmentation, and stories, it is evident that the goal isn't to reject technology altogether, but rather to remind readers what deep engagement feels like without constant artificial stimuli.
By creating a modern educational tool through the oldest form of user experience, it offers stillness, focus, and intentional interaction as the antithesis of our fast-paced digital world.
Iterations and User Testing
Trying to evoke an emotional response through written language and interactions with paper.
Prototype 1: My first prototype was in the form of a small booklet in which I drew and wrote in by hand. It featured very direct questions to the reader and references to popular social medial culture. During testing, users responded very positively to the book, citing that the data visualization specifically evoked strong emotions of shock in them and that they felt it elicited an important conversation. They liked that it was a hand-held book rather than something digital.
Prototype 2: I hand-bound a physical book from scratch and glued into it prints of InDesign pages. The text was initially all Lorem Ipsum, but users were told what the book’s content would be to create a deeper discussion on dopamine and the manipulation of technology. My main goal with this prototype was to get a sense of the bigger picture as to what resonates the best with the user in terms of flow, pop-up engagement, and whether it still evokes an emotional yet reflective response. Users felt engaged by the pop-ups, but that the organization of the content and its scope needed further ideation. The images generated by Midjourney AI were guided by drawings made by users during testing sessions on questions about their media usage.
Prototype 3: The third prototype had no testing, but was rather centered around trying to figure out where the pop-ups should go and both how the text should be moved around in order to accommodate them and what pop-ups could best compliment the page’s content and intent. To make a pop-up on a specific page, you have to leave the next two pages blank to be glued together to accommodate for its mechanisms to function, so it was important to be meticulous about that division.
Crafting
Stepping out of my comfort zone.
The book was perfect-bound by hand. Its construction entailed the following materials: book cloth, cardboard, cardstock paper (both colored and white), neutral pH adhesive glue, binding ribbon, awl, brush, bone folder, wax thread, curved needles, Exacto knife, rotary cutter, light gel filter sheets, book binding tape, Lineco archival document repair tape, Scotch tape, and a book press.
Final Product
A purposeful act of reflection despite the commodification of attention.
The book is divided into four chapters of different topics: “The Rewiring of Our Brains” on dopamine, “The Universal Experience” as a short fictional story based on the user interviews, “The Architecture of Distraction” on attention and the algorithm, and “Intentional Interaction” as a brief history of interaction with a call to action to make active choices.
Reflection
Exploring analog space and design as a digital designer.
The user testing with the final product is overwhelmingly positive. The phrases “woah” and “I love this” were said a lot, with lots of smiles at the pop-ups. More long-term testing is needed with users that have the time to read it in full to predict the project’s full success and impact, but as of now based on testing in combination with conversations had with users on the topic afterward, it is very promising.
This project was an absolute labor of love and I am so proud of the outcome. Going into it, my goal was to expand on my visual design skills through designing book page layouts — I achieved that and so much more. As a digital designer, this was a huge jump outside of my comfort zone; the physical toll of craft aside, this may have been the most difficult project I’ve worked on due to the journey into the analog and unknown.
In the end though, not only did I get to explore a new medium, but alongside that came exploring a new way of thinking about design and user experience which I believe will strengthen any and all projects I have the honor of working on in the future.
I cannot thank the Parsons School of Design faculty that oversaw this project enough — this project would not be possible without the support, guidance, and discussions with Dr. Harpreet Sareen and Andrew Zornaza had with me. I am honored to be your student!
Diana Chalakova
About
For Stillness
This solo project is a pop-up book created to prompt readers to reflect on whether their personal technology use brings them happiness and fulfillment, as well as remind them of a time when our interactions with technology were slower and analog while still being entertaining. Choosing analog mechanics over a digital solution was a deliberate statement on what digital interaction design has replaced, guiding readers to reflect on intentional interaction rather than reject technology altogether. I conducted the research, scientific synthesis, iterative visual layout and paper engineering, and hand-bound the book, overseen by Dr. Harpreet Sareen and Andrew Zornaza at the Parsons School of Design.
Role
Product + Interaction Design, Visual Design, Research
Timeline
Jan – May 2025
(4 months)
Tools
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Midjourney AI (for illustrations in the book)
Problem
How might we encourage people to experience intentional interaction, not just be told to seek it?
There is much discourse on how modern technology exploits attention fragmentation, but rarely are there experiences that let you tangibly feel the alternative. While conversations around screen time and social media's psychological tactics are growing, there is far less dialogue around what we have actually lost, like the texture of slower, more intentional interaction that existed before digital design optimized everything for speed and retention.
The inherent nature of technology is not the problem, as it can connect us with people we love and enrich our lives. But the way we interact with it has quietly shifted and most of us haven't stopped long enough to notice what that shift has cost us.
Solution
A pop-up book as a deliberate and analog call-back to slower and more reflective interaction with increased comprehension of experience.
Through entry points spanning scientific concepts about dopamine processing, attention fragmentation, and stories, it is evident that the goal isn't to reject technology altogether, but rather to remind readers what deep engagement feels like without constant artificial stimuli.
By creating a modern educational tool through the oldest form of user experience, it offers stillness, focus, and intentional interaction as the antithesis of our fast-paced digital world.
Iterations and User Testing
Trying to evoke an emotional response through written language and interactions with paper.
Prototype 1: My first prototype was in the form of a small booklet in which I drew and wrote in by hand. It featured very direct questions to the reader and references to popular social medial culture. During testing, users responded very positively to the book, citing that the data visualization specifically evoked strong emotions of shock in them and that they felt it elicited an important conversation. They liked that it was a hand-held book rather than something digital.
Prototype 2: I hand-bound a physical book from scratch and glued into it prints of InDesign pages. The text was initially all Lorem Ipsum, but users were told what the book’s content would be to create a deeper discussion on dopamine and the manipulation of technology. My main goal with this prototype was to get a sense of the bigger picture as to what resonates the best with the user in terms of flow, pop-up engagement, and whether it still evokes an emotional yet reflective response. Users felt engaged by the pop-ups, but that the organization of the content and its scope needed further ideation. The images generated by Midjourney AI were guided by drawings made by users during testing sessions on questions about their media usage.
Prototype 3: The third prototype had no testing, but was rather centered around trying to figure out where the pop-ups should go and both how the text should be moved around in order to accommodate them and what pop-ups could best compliment the page’s content and intent. To make a pop-up on a specific page, you have to leave the next two pages blank to be glued together to accommodate for its mechanisms to function, so it was important to be meticulous about that division.
Crafting
Stepping out of my comfort zone.
The book was perfect-bound by hand. Its construction entailed the following materials: book cloth, cardboard, cardstock paper (both colored and white), neutral pH adhesive glue, binding ribbon, awl, brush, bone folder, wax thread, curved needles, Exacto knife, rotary cutter, light gel filter sheets, book binding tape, Lineco archival document repair tape, Scotch tape, and a book press.
Final Product
A purposeful act of reflection despite the commodification of attention.
The book is divided into four chapters of different topics: “The Rewiring of Our Brains” on dopamine, “The Universal Experience” as a short fictional story based on the user interviews, “The Architecture of Distraction” on attention and the algorithm, and “Intentional Interaction” as a brief history of interaction with a call to action to make active choices.
Reflection
Exploring analog space and design as a digital designer.
The user testing with the final product is overwhelmingly positive. The phrases “woah” and “I love this” were said a lot, with lots of smiles at the pop-ups. More long-term testing is needed with users that have the time to read it in full to predict the project’s full success and impact, but as of now based on testing in combination with conversations had with users on the topic afterward, it is very promising.
This project was an absolute labor of love and I am so proud of the outcome. Going into it, my goal was to expand on my visual design skills through designing book page layouts — I achieved that and so much more. As a digital designer, this was a huge jump outside of my comfort zone; the physical toll of craft aside, this may have been the most difficult project I’ve worked on due to the journey into the analog and unknown.
In the end though, not only did I get to explore a new medium, but alongside that came exploring a new way of thinking about design and user experience which I believe will strengthen any and all projects I have the honor of working on in the future.
I cannot thank the Parsons School of Design faculty that oversaw this project enough — this project would not be possible without the support, guidance, and discussions with Dr. Harpreet Sareen and Andrew Zornaza had with me. I am honored to be your student!
Diana Chalakova
About
For Stillness
This solo project is a pop-up book created to prompt readers to reflect on whether their personal technology use brings them happiness and fulfillment, as well as remind them of a time when our interactions with technology were slower and analog while still being entertaining. Choosing analog mechanics over a digital solution was a deliberate statement on what digital interaction design has replaced, guiding readers to reflect on intentional interaction rather than reject technology altogether. I conducted the research, scientific synthesis, iterative visual layout and paper engineering, and hand-bound the book, overseen by Dr. Harpreet Sareen and Andrew Zornaza at the Parsons School of Design.
Role
Product + Interaction Design, Visual Design, Research
Timeline
Jan – May 2025
(4 months)
Tools
Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Midjourney AI (for illustrations in the book)
Problem
How might we encourage people to experience intentional interaction, not just be told to seek it?
There is much discourse on how modern technology exploits attention fragmentation, but rarely are there experiences that let you tangibly feel the alternative. While conversations around screen time and social media's psychological tactics are growing, there is far less dialogue around what we have actually lost, like the texture of slower, more intentional interaction that existed before digital design optimized everything for speed and retention.
The inherent nature of technology is not the problem, as it can connect us with people we love and enrich our lives. But the way we interact with it has quietly shifted and most of us haven't stopped long enough to notice what that shift has cost us.
Solution
A pop-up book as a deliberate and analog call-back to slower and more reflective interaction with increased comprehension of experience.
Through entry points spanning scientific concepts about dopamine processing, attention fragmentation, and stories, it is evident that the goal isn't to reject technology altogether, but rather to remind readers what deep engagement feels like without constant artificial stimuli.
By creating a modern educational tool through the oldest form of user experience, it offers stillness, focus, and intentional interaction as the antithesis of our fast-paced digital world.
Iterations and User Testing
Trying to evoke an emotional response through written language and interactions with paper.
Prototype 1: My first prototype was in the form of a small booklet in which I drew and wrote in by hand. It featured very direct questions to the reader and references to popular social medial culture. During testing, users responded very positively to the book, citing that the data visualization specifically evoked strong emotions of shock in them and that they felt it elicited an important conversation. They liked that it was a hand-held book rather than something digital.
Prototype 2: I hand-bound a physical book from scratch and glued into it prints of InDesign pages. The text was initially all Lorem Ipsum, but users were told what the book’s content would be to create a deeper discussion on dopamine and the manipulation of technology. My main goal with this prototype was to get a sense of the bigger picture as to what resonates the best with the user in terms of flow, pop-up engagement, and whether it still evokes an emotional yet reflective response. Users felt engaged by the pop-ups, but that the organization of the content and its scope needed further ideation. The images generated by Midjourney AI were guided by drawings made by users during testing sessions on questions about their media usage.
Prototype 3: The third prototype had no testing, but was rather centered around trying to figure out where the pop-ups should go and both how the text should be moved around in order to accommodate them and what pop-ups could best compliment the page’s content and intent. To make a pop-up on a specific page, you have to leave the next two pages blank to be glued together to accommodate for its mechanisms to function, so it was important to be meticulous about that division.
Crafting
Stepping out of my comfort zone.
The book was perfect-bound by hand. Its construction entailed the following materials: book cloth, cardboard, cardstock paper (both colored and white), neutral pH adhesive glue, binding ribbon, awl, brush, bone folder, wax thread, curved needles, Exacto knife, rotary cutter, light gel filter sheets, book binding tape, Lineco archival document repair tape, Scotch tape, and a book press.
Final Product
A purposeful act of reflection despite the commodification of attention.
The book is divided into four chapters of different topics: “The Rewiring of Our Brains” on dopamine, “The Universal Experience” as a short fictional story based on the user interviews, “The Architecture of Distraction” on attention and the algorithm, and “Intentional Interaction” as a brief history of interaction with a call to action to make active choices.
Reflection
Exploring analog space and design as a digital designer.
The user testing with the final product is overwhelmingly positive. The phrases “woah” and “I love this” were said a lot, with lots of smiles at the pop-ups. More long-term testing is needed with users that have the time to read it in full to predict the project’s full success and impact, but as of now based on testing in combination with conversations had with users on the topic afterward, it is very promising.
This project was an absolute labor of love and I am so proud of the outcome. Going into it, my goal was to expand on my visual design skills through designing book page layouts — I achieved that and so much more. As a digital designer, this was a huge jump outside of my comfort zone; the physical toll of craft aside, this may have been the most difficult project I’ve worked on due to the journey into the analog and unknown.
In the end though, not only did I get to explore a new medium, but alongside that came exploring a new way of thinking about design and user experience which I believe will strengthen any and all projects I have the honor of working on in the future.
I cannot thank the Parsons School of Design faculty that oversaw this project enough — this project would not be possible without the support, guidance, and discussions with Dr. Harpreet Sareen and Andrew Zornaza had with me. I am honored to be your student!