Works
DataMill
About
DATAMILL
Win-Win Environmentalism
A tactile data ecosystem that turns invisible household energy use into a shared, sustainable habit.
ROLE
Thesis Project: Design Lead — end-to-end concept, research through prototype.
SCOPE
A data physicalization ecosystem for residential energy tracking, centered on Blob — a palm-sized tactile companion — plus a connected Mobile and TV experience
DELIVERABLE
Research → Data physicalization concept → Blob hardware design → Cross-platform UI (Mobile/TV) → Physical prototype
OUTCOME
An interaction model that turns invisible consumption into a tangible, shared family journey toward sustainability.
THE CONTEXT
IoT keeps generating data, but the real question stays open — how do we turn that information into something families actually feel and act on, before the bill arrives?
RESIDENTIAL ENERGY
IOT DATA
BEHAVIOR CHANGE
THE RESEARCH
Why household energy is where it hurts
Residential Footprint
27–31%
Of global greenhouse gas emissions come from residential areas.
Urbanization
70% by 2050
Share of the world living in cities, up from 55% today — where most of this footprint sits.
Cost Anxiety
80% feel powerless
Families say their energy use stays invisible until the bill arrives.
INSIGHTS & ACTIONS
What the research is telling us
Lack of Understanding
Insight: Consumption stays invisible until the bill arrives.
Action: Shift from reactive billing to real-time awareness.
Emotional Friction
Insight: Cold graphs and abstract metrics cause data fatigue, not motivation.
Action: Make the data intuitive and low-stress.
The Invisible Value
Insight: Distant environmental goals don't move people day to day.
Action: Use short-term, playful nudges instead.
HMW
How might we touch the invisible and give data a heartbeat?
THE IDEA
With “give data a heartbeat” as the compass, the answer wasn’t a single app — it was a system: one dataset, felt through three different moments — alone, on the move, and together as a family.
STRATEGY
Three pillars, not another app
Responding to the research called for a system-level strategy — not a standalone screen.
3 PILLARS
1 SYSTEM
Data Processing
Tracks and intelligently processes IoT data before it ever reaches a screen.
Communicating
Cuts emotional friction with relatable, ambient, tangible feedback instead of cold graphs.
Transforming
Replaces distant sustainability goals with short-term, motivating, rewarding nudges.
SCOPE = COMMUNICATION, NOT CONTROL
Another automation hub stayed off the table — what this system needed to do was communicate: turn invisible numbers into something a family could feel and talk about.
THE PRODUCT — MEET DATAMILL
Communication, not control, became a system — three touchpoints that take turns instead of competing for attention. Here's what actually got built, and how each piece pays off a promise made in the strategy.
DataMill. The framework became a real system.
BLOB - ONE OBJECT, THREE JOBS
It listens, it lights up, it hands off — all from one palm-sized companion.
SHAPE & LIGHT
Displays three data points and notifies through shape and light — the bottom light shows the reward you've earned.
REMOTE CONTROLLER
Raise Blob, launch the TV app, rotate to navigate, press to select — the bridge that turns data into a family ritual.
CUSTOMIZABLE
Each of Blob's three display areas is fully customizable, so the data that surfaces is the data that matters to you.
MOBILE — ONE APP, UNCUT FEEDBACK
Quick to check, easy to compare, made to learn from together.
QUICK OVERVIEW
One glance at launch shows this month’s usage against the household average — no digging required.
DETAILED INFO
Users connect to all the information they need and they can customize their experience.
LEAST / MOST USAGE
Users can see the smallest and biggest consumption of the month so they relate better in order to learn from it.
COMPARE
Users can compare two days for example the least and the most so they can see what matters in order to reduce their consumption.
UNDER THE HOOD
Who this had to work for, how one dial does three jobs, and what the object looked like before it looked like anything.
WHO THIS IS FOR, AND WHEN IT MATTERS
The Furbie Family: consumption they can't see, goals that feel too far off
A middle-class household trying to do right by their budget and the planet, but flying blind day to day — their energy use is invisible, and long-term sustainability goals feel too distant to act on. They want their kid involved in both efforts, and a rewarding, playful solution would motivate the family more than another dashboard.
AWARENESS
ANXIETY LEVEL
CURIOSITY
USER JOURNEY
DATA PROCESSING
Configuring, Connecting & Pairing
Pairs Blob with the home's smart meters and devices, then with a smart assistant.
Collecting & Analyzing Data
Any paired smart meter or device becomes a data source from the moment it connects.
INTERACTING
Physical & Digital Notification
A red bump on Blob is enough to send Andrea straight to the app for details.
Collaborative Learning & Exploration
The family gathers around the TV to explore their consumption together.
NUDGING
Checking Offers
Marko wants a new gamepad — the offer feed surfaces a community partner giving one away for hitting a usage target.
Collaborative Action & Rewarding Results
The family sets that gamepad as a shared goal and works together to earn it.
EXPLORATION
Before the dial: paper, arrows, and an argument about buttons
Every interaction started as a page of rough sketches — the dial's shape, where a press versus a rotate made sense, and how three unrelated jobs could share one object without feeling like three remotes taped together.
DATAMILL APP — USER FLOWS
Setup
Interaction
Nudging
MODELING & PROTOTYPING
Before the render: foam, tape, and a 3D print
Every polished shot elsewhere on this page came from a rougher place — CAD surfacing passes and a working low-fi model, not a staged photo.
WHERE IT LANDED
Top of its thesis cohort, never built.
DataMill was my graduation thesis project, conceptual from the start. COVID hit right as it would have moved toward building and testing, so it never got past the concept stage — but it scored highest among that year's thesis projects. Given more time, I'd have pushed it into a working model and tested it with real households.
Let’s connect
Works
DataMill
About
DATAMILL
Win-Win Environmentalism
A tactile data ecosystem that turns invisible household energy use into a shared, sustainable habit.
ROLE
Thesis Project: Design Lead — end-to-end concept, research through prototype.
SCOPE
A data physicalization ecosystem for residential energy tracking, centered on Blob — a palm-sized tactile companion — plus a connected Mobile and TV experience
DELIVERABLE
Research → Data physicalization concept → Blob hardware design → Cross-platform UI (Mobile/TV) → Physical prototype
OUTCOME
An interaction model that turns invisible consumption into a tangible, shared family journey toward sustainability.
THE CONTEXT
IoT keeps generating data, but the real question stays open — how do we turn that information into something families actually feel and act on, before the bill arrives?
RESIDENTIAL ENERGY
IOT DATA
BEHAVIOR CHANGE
THE RESEARCH
Why household energy is where it hurts
Residential Footprint
27–31%
Of global greenhouse gas emissions come from residential areas.
Urbanization
70% by 2050
Share of the world living in cities, up from 55% today — where most of this footprint sits.
Cost Anxiety
80% feel powerless
Families say their energy use stays invisible until the bill arrives.
INSIGHTS & ACTIONS
What the research is telling us
Lack of Understanding
Insight: Consumption stays invisible until the bill arrives.
Action: Shift from reactive billing to real-time awareness.
Emotional Friction
Insight: Cold graphs and abstract metrics cause data fatigue, not motivation.
Action: Make the data intuitive and low-stress.
The Invisible Value
Insight: Distant environmental goals don't move people day to day.
Action: Use short-term, playful nudges instead.
HMW
How might we touch the invisible and give data a heartbeat?
THE IDEA
With “give data a heartbeat” as the compass, the answer wasn’t a single app — it was a system: one dataset, felt through three different moments — alone, on the move, and together as a family.
STRATEGY
Three pillars, not another app
Responding to the research called for a system-level strategy — not a standalone screen.
3 PILLARS
1 SYSTEM
Data Processing
Tracks and intelligently processes IoT data before it ever reaches a screen.
Communicating
Cuts emotional friction with relatable, ambient, tangible feedback instead of cold graphs.
Transforming
Replaces distant sustainability goals with short-term, motivating, rewarding nudges.
SCOPE = COMMUNICATION, NOT CONTROL
Another automation hub stayed off the table — what this system needed to do was communicate: turn invisible numbers into something a family could feel and talk about.
THE PRODUCT — MEET DATAMILL
Communication, not control, became a system — three touchpoints that take turns instead of competing for attention. Here's what actually got built, and how each piece pays off a promise made in the strategy.
DataMill. The framework became a real system.
BLOB - ONE OBJECT, THREE JOBS
It listens, it lights up, it hands off — all from one palm-sized companion.
SHAPE & LIGHT
Displays three data points and notifies through shape and light — the bottom light shows the reward you've earned.
REMOTE CONTROLLER
Raise Blob, launch the TV app, rotate to navigate, press to select — the bridge that turns data into a family ritual.
CUSTOMIZABLE
Each of Blob's three display areas is fully customizable, so the data that surfaces is the data that matters to you.
MOBILE — ONE APP, UNCUT FEEDBACK
Quick to check, easy to compare, made to learn from together.
QUICK OVERVIEW
One glance at launch shows this month’s usage against the household average — no digging required.
DETAILED INFO
Users connect to all the information they need and they can customize their experience.
LEAST / MOST USAGE
Users can see the smallest and biggest consumption of the month so they relate better in order to learn from it.
COMPARE
Users can compare two days for example the least and the most so they can see what matters in order to reduce their consumption.
UNDER THE HOOD
Who this had to work for, how one dial does three jobs, and what the object looked like before it looked like anything.
WHO THIS IS FOR, AND WHEN IT MATTERS
The Furbie Family: consumption they can't see, goals that feel too far off
A middle-class household trying to do right by their budget and the planet, but flying blind day to day — their energy use is invisible, and long-term sustainability goals feel too distant to act on. They want their kid involved in both efforts, and a rewarding, playful solution would motivate the family more than another dashboard.
AWARENESS
ANXIETY LEVEL
CURIOSITY
USER JOURNEY
DATA PROCESSING
Configuring, Connecting & Pairing
Pairs Blob with the home's smart meters and devices, then with a smart assistant.
Collecting & Analyzing Data
Any paired smart meter or device becomes a data source from the moment it connects.
INTERACTING
Physical & Digital Notification
A red bump on Blob is enough to send Andrea straight to the app for details.
Collaborative Learning & Exploration
The family gathers around the TV to explore their consumption together.
NUDGING
Checking Offers
Marko wants a new gamepad — the offer feed surfaces a community partner giving one away for hitting a usage target.
Collaborative Action & Rewarding Results
The family sets that gamepad as a shared goal and works together to earn it.
EXPLORATION
Before the dial: paper, arrows, and an argument about buttons
Every interaction started as a page of rough sketches — the dial's shape, where a press versus a rotate made sense, and how three unrelated jobs could share one object without feeling like three remotes taped together.
DATAMILL APP — USER FLOWS
Setup
Interaction
Nudging
MODELING & PROTOTYPING
Before the render: foam, tape, and a 3D print
Every polished shot elsewhere on this page came from a rougher place — CAD surfacing passes and a working low-fi model, not a staged photo.
WHERE IT LANDED
Top of its thesis cohort, never built.
DataMill was my graduation thesis project, conceptual from the start. COVID hit right as it would have moved toward building and testing, so it never got past the concept stage — but it scored highest among that year's thesis projects. Given more time, I'd have pushed it into a working model and tested it with real households.
Let’s connect
Works
DataMill
About
DATAMILL
Win-Win Environmentalism
A tactile data ecosystem that turns invisible household energy use into a shared, sustainable habit.
ROLE
Thesis Project: Design Lead — end-to-end concept, research through prototype.
SCOPE
A data physicalization ecosystem for residential energy tracking, centered on Blob — a palm-sized tactile companion — plus a connected Mobile and TV experience
DELIVERABLE
Research → Data physicalization concept → Blob hardware design → Cross-platform UI (Mobile/TV) → Physical prototype
OUTCOME
An interaction model that turns invisible consumption into a tangible, shared family journey toward sustainability.
THE CONTEXT
IoT keeps generating data, but the real question stays open — how do we turn that information into something families actually feel and act on, before the bill arrives?
RESIDENTIAL ENERGY
IOT DATA
BEHAVIOR CHANGE
THE RESEARCH
Why household energy is where it hurts
Residential Footprint
27–31%
Of global greenhouse gas emissions come from residential areas.
Urbanization
70% by 2050
Share of the world living in cities, up from 55% today — where most of this footprint sits.
Cost Anxiety
80% feel powerless
Families say their energy use stays invisible until the bill arrives.
INSIGHTS & ACTIONS
What the research is telling us
Lack of Understanding
Insight: Consumption stays invisible until the bill arrives.
Action: Shift from reactive billing to real-time awareness.
Emotional Friction
Insight: Cold graphs and abstract metrics cause data fatigue, not motivation.
Action: Make the data intuitive and low-stress.
The Invisible Value
Insight: Distant environmental goals don't move people day to day.
Action: Use short-term, playful nudges instead.
HMW
How might we touch the invisible and give data a heartbeat?
THE IDEA
With “give data a heartbeat” as the compass, the answer wasn’t a single app — it was a system: one dataset, felt through three different moments — alone, on the move, and together as a family.
STRATEGY
Three pillars, not another app
Responding to the research called for a system-level strategy — not a standalone screen.
3 PILLARS
1 SYSTEM
Data Processing
Tracks and intelligently processes IoT data before it ever reaches a screen.
Communicating
Cuts emotional friction with relatable, ambient, tangible feedback instead of cold graphs.
Transforming
Replaces distant sustainability goals with short-term, motivating, rewarding nudges.
SCOPE = COMMUNICATION, NOT CONTROL
Another automation hub stayed off the table — what this system needed to do was communicate: turn invisible numbers into something a family could feel and talk about.
THE PRODUCT — MEET DATAMILL
Communication, not control, became a system — three touchpoints that take turns instead of competing for attention. Here's what actually got built, and how each piece pays off a promise made in the strategy.
DataMill. The framework became a real system.
BLOB - ONE OBJECT, THREE JOBS
It listens, it lights up, it hands off — all from one palm-sized companion.
SHAPE & LIGHT
Displays three data points and notifies through shape and light — the bottom light shows the reward you've earned.
REMOTE CONTROLLER
Raise Blob, launch the TV app, rotate to navigate, press to select — the bridge that turns data into a family ritual.
CUSTOMIZABLE
Each of Blob's three display areas is fully customizable, so the data that surfaces is the data that matters to you.
MOBILE — ONE APP, UNCUT FEEDBACK
Quick to check, easy to compare, made to learn from together.
QUICK OVERVIEW
One glance at launch shows this month’s usage against the household average — no digging required.
DETAILED INFO
Users connect to all the information they need and they can customize their experience.
LEAST / MOST USAGE
Users can see the smallest and biggest consumption of the month so they relate better in order to learn from it.
COMPARE
Users can compare two days for example the least and the most so they can see what matters in order to reduce their consumption.
UNDER THE HOOD
Who this had to work for, how one dial does three jobs, and what the object looked like before it looked like anything.
WHO THIS IS FOR, AND WHEN IT MATTERS
The Furbie Family: consumption they can't see, goals that feel too far off
A middle-class household trying to do right by their budget and the planet, but flying blind day to day — their energy use is invisible, and long-term sustainability goals feel too distant to act on. They want their kid involved in both efforts, and a rewarding, playful solution would motivate the family more than another dashboard.
AWARENESS
ANXIETY LEVEL
CURIOSITY
USER JOURNEY
DATA PROCESSING
Configuring, Connecting & Pairing
Pairs Blob with the home's smart meters and devices, then with a smart assistant.
Collecting & Analyzing Data
Any paired smart meter or device becomes a data source from the moment it connects.
INTERACTING
Physical & Digital Notification
A red bump on Blob is enough to send Andrea straight to the app for details.
Collaborative Learning & Exploration
The family gathers around the TV to explore their consumption together.
NUDGING
Checking Offers
Marko wants a new gamepad — the offer feed surfaces a community partner giving one away for hitting a usage target.
Collaborative Action & Rewarding Results
The family sets that gamepad as a shared goal and works together to earn it.
EXPLORATION
Before the dial: paper, arrows, and an argument about buttons
Every interaction started as a page of rough sketches — the dial's shape, where a press versus a rotate made sense, and how three unrelated jobs could share one object without feeling like three remotes taped together.
DATAMILL APP — USER FLOWS
Setup
Interaction
Nudging
MODELING & PROTOTYPING
Before the render: foam, tape, and a 3D print
Every polished shot elsewhere on this page came from a rougher place — CAD surfacing passes and a working low-fi model, not a staged photo.
WHERE IT LANDED
Top of its thesis cohort, never built.
DataMill was my graduation thesis project, conceptual from the start. COVID hit right as it would have moved toward building and testing, so it never got past the concept stage — but it scored highest among that year's thesis projects. Given more time, I'd have pushed it into a working model and tested it with real households.
Let’s connect