Case Study: Google explores emotional self-reporting with AQ’s Moodstone

Google prototypes emotional logging device in 2 days with AQ

AQ, a digital product design studio, collaborated with Google's Creative Lab to explore a new way of tracking emotions. The challenge was to move beyond the smartphone and create a discreet, tactile object that could allow users to express their emotional state through touch, creating a valuable dataset for both personal reflection and mental health research.

AQ designed and prototyped a screenless, wooden object called Moodstone that users could swipe their thumb across to log positive or negative emotions based on the direction and intensity of the touch. The solution successfully created an emotional connection with users, who reported immediate reflective benefits. While long-term clinical impact was not measured, AQ's prototype demonstrated high potential for frequent, frictionless emotional self-reporting, generating valuable data for potential future applications in emotional well-being.

Google