Whisper Sanctuary
Sohee Kim
What happens to the people who care quietly? Whisper Sanctuary explores the unspoken emotional labor of friends, siblings, and bystanders of intimate partner violence, those who listen, worry, and stay close. Through soft interaction and ambient storytelling, the project asks: Can design hold feelings that are hard to name, but deeply felt? How might we honor invisible care that quietly shapes others’ lives?
Whisper Sanctuary is an interactive emotional landscape for quiet caretakers of intimate partner violence survivors, those who notice, worry, and remain involved, often in silence. While traditional support systems center on survivors, this experience turns to the bystanders whose invisible labor carries profound emotional weight.
Users begin with a reflective prompt, an intimate thought, a quiet quote, or a question that helps them gently locate themselves within the emotional landscape. As they explore a branching, dreamlike interface, their emotions, choices, and reflections bloom into a personalized abstract flower.
A gentle prompt invites a moment of quiet reflection.
Whisper Sanctuary (Digital): A surreal emotional sanctuary where quiet reflections branch into visual forms of care.
Along the way, they discover poetic traces and feelings left behind by others: fragments of guilt, hope, confusion, and love. These micro-interactions form a collective digital garden, a visual sanctuary shaped by anonymous care.
Rather than offering solutions, the experience simply holds space for emotional truth. At the end, users receive a generative emotional map and a list of gentle resources aligned with their journey.
Whisper Sanctuary honors care that doesn’t seek attention. It offers a space where empathy doesn’t shout, but softly grows.
Sohee Kim
Sohee Kim is an interaction designer exploring emotional design, inclusive technology, and digital community spaces.
