A companion capable of having an emotional relationship with its user.
Sitting on the user’s desk, the companion infers the user’s emotional state from their speech and touch, and responds through color and gestures, hidden within which are its own emotions.
The user’s mood, indirectly, influences the companion’s emotional state. This is reflected in how it executes a response to their input. The user, over time, will learn how to interact with the companion - “What input produces what emotional response?”.
All expression of emotions, necessarily, happens through the companion’s form. Since a companion relationship is built on emotions, it is critical, as a medium, that form take a central role in the interaction between the user and the companion.
This form-first framework forces us to think about questions relating to the form and the impact it has on the companion’s ability to express itself effectively to the user.