Crafting Before Computing
Screenfold is a webcam-based interaction prototype that asks users to make a paper fold before entering a digital environment.
ROLE
Concept, interaction design, prototype, testing
TIMELINE
3 Months
(2026)
TEAM
Individual
TOOLS
Next.js, Google Teachable Machine, Claude Code, and Vercel
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
What if digital access began with a physical action?
What if digital access began with a physical action?
Screenfold explores how making by hand can become a meaningful entry point into digital systems. Instead of beginning with another tap, click, or prompt, the user completes a simple paper fold.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
A webcam recognizes the handmade form and unlocks access only after the physical action is complete. The interaction is designed to retrieve tactile engagement, intention, and embodied attention at the moment people usually move straight into the screen.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
Craft before computing
Handmade gate
Camera recognition
Digital access
WHY IT MATTERS
WHY IT MATTERS
Digital access has become frictionless, but also less embodied.
Digital access has become frictionless, but also less embodied.
Most digital experiences begin with a tap, a click, or a prompt. They are efficient, but they often skip the tactile moments that help people slow down, notice their body, and transition with intention.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
Screenfold asks whether digital access can retrieve a small handmade moment before the screen opens. The project uses paper folding not as decoration, but as a physical threshold: a short act of making that the system must recognize before computing begins.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
make
make
capture
capture
recognize
recognize
unlock
unlock
PROBLEM
PROBLEM
Tactile entry points are disappearing
Tactile entry points are disappearing
Access is increasingly instant and screen-first, leaving little room for hand-based attention, pause, or bodily engagement.
Access is increasingly instant and screen-first, leaving little room for hand-based attention, pause, or bodily engagement.
OPPORTUNITY
OPPORTUNITY
Make access feel intentional again
Make access feel intentional again
A small craft action can turn digital entry into a ritual that is physical, visible, and emotionally slower.
A small craft action can turn digital entry into a ritual that is physical, visible, and emotionally slower.
CONCEPT
CONCEPT
A small ritual before the screen opens
A small ritual before the screen opens
In the final concept, the screen begins locked. The user chooses how much attention they want to give, selects a fold, makes it by hand, and holds it up to the webcam.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
The system checks the final folded form, shows recognition confidence, and unlocks the screen after the handmade action is confirmed.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
01
01
Locked screen
02
02
Choose depth
03
03
Choose fold
04
04
Make by hand
05
05
Recognize + unlock
INTERACTION PHILOSOPHY
INTERACTION PHILOSOPHY
Friction becomes meaningful only when it is guided
Friction becomes meaningful only when it is guided
Screenfold sits between obstacle and ritual. If the system simply delays access, it feels punitive. But when the action is structured and legible, the delay can become a moment of intention.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
OBSTACLE
OBSTACLE
Access feels blocked
Access feels blocked
Delays the user
Adds stress
Feels like punishment
Delays the user
Adds stress
Feels like punishment
RITUAL
Access feels intentional
Access feels intentional
Creates a transition
Supports attention
Makes the first action meaningful
Creates a transition
Supports attention
Makes the first action meaningful
ITERATION PROCESS
ITERATION PROCESS
Each prototype tested whether friction could become a more usable ritual.
Each prototype tested whether friction could become a more usable ritual.
Tested the core interaction across three iterations: first proving that a physical action could change entry behavior, then adding guidance, and finally introducing levels of commitment before access.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
PROTOTYPE 01
PROTOTYPE 01
Unguided craft unlock
Unguided craft unlock
Feedback: Users understood the goal, but did not know what to make.
Change: Added structure so the craft action felt less confusing and more intentional.
Feedback: Users understood the goal, but did not know what to make.
Change: Added structure so the craft action felt less confusing and more intentional.
PROTOTYPE 02
PROTOTYPE 02
Guided craft interaction
Guided craft interaction
Feedback: Visual steps lowered uncertainty, but the experience still needed depth and return value.
Change: Added clearer fold options and moved toward a system with different engagement levels.
Feedback: Visual steps lowered uncertainty, but the experience still needed depth and return value.
Change: Added clearer fold options and moved toward a system with different engagement levels.
PROTOTYPE 03 - FINAL PRODUCT
PROTOTYPE 03 - FINAL PRODUCT
Mode-based Screenfold
Mode-based Screenfold
Feedback: The strongest direction was not blocking access, but creating a gentle handmade ritual.
Change: Introduced Light, Focused, and Deep modes to let users choose how much attention to give.
Feedback: The strongest direction was not blocking access, but creating a gentle handmade ritual.
Change: Introduced Light, Focused, and Deep modes to let users choose how much attention to give.
IMPLEMENTATION
IMPLEMENTATION
The prototype tests whether a screen-based system can require a handmade action before access
The prototype tests whether a screen-based system can require a handmade action before access
Built a web prototype with webcam input and a Teachable Machine image model trained on fold-specific classes. The interface shows live recognition confidence and uses a short delay before unlocking to make the transition feel deliberate.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
Goal was not perfect recognition,
To make the physical action testable inside a working digital flow.
This project began from a personal experience of distance after moving from Seoul to New York.
BUILD
BUILD
Webcam recognition flow
Webcam recognition flow
Next.js web prototype
Webcam input
Teachable Machine image model
Vercel deployment
Next.js web prototype
Webcam input
Teachable Machine image model
Vercel deployment
User Test & Feedback
User Test & Feedback
DESIGN PRINCIPLE
DESIGN PRINCIPLE
01
01
Making before access
Making before access
Physical action becomes the entry point.
02
02
Guide, don’t punish
Guide, don’t punish
Structure turns friction into ritual.
03
03
Adjustable depth
Adjustable depth
Different days need different levels of commitment.
04
04
Progress without pressure
Progress without pressure
Return should feel gentle, not like social media.
TAKEAWAYS
TAKEAWAYS
Craft is not only output
Making can be a way of thinking through the body before entering a digital system.
Friction needs care
A delay becomes meaningful only when it is guided, legible, and framed as ritual.
Technology can extend making
The strongest value was not blocking access, but connecting handmade action to digital response.
Concept, interaction design, prototype, testing
ROLE
3 Months (2026)
TIMELINE
Individual
TEAM
TOOLS
Next.js, Google Teachable Machine, Claude Code, and Vercel