Ulim

Mood Shaping Speaker

2025

Tools

Adobe Creative Suite, Rhino 3D, Keyshot, 3D Printing, Lathe, Milling Machine, Handcrafting

Project Overview

Ulim is a speaker that shapes the atmosphere of your space. It responds to the music you play, filling the room with a mood that fits the moment. Sound and light blend seamlessly to create a calm environment—whether you want to focus or unwind. Beyond just music, Ulim creates the kind of air that gently wraps around your emotions.

Concept

About Ulim

Many people want to change the atmosphere of their space—when they need to focus, relax, or unwind after a long day. Ulim was created for those moments. It uses sound to help people intuitively shift the mood of their space, offering a more immersive and emotionally attuned experience.

final design

Ulim—Beyond sound, a ritual objet

The floating tweeter unit and the uniquely shaped sound distributor resembling a UFO enhance Ulim's design, making it more than just a speaker but a ritual device.

Spatial sound

Ulim delivers a rich and immersive sound by separating the frequencies across three dedicated drivers. Two woofers handle the low and mid-range tones from top and bottom, while a tweeter in the center disperses high frequencies.

Structural design for spatial sound

I attempted to create a 360-degree spatial sound by placing the tweeter between the woofers. To prevent sound diffraction caused by the tweeter's central positioning, I redesigned the tweeter housing and sound distributor. This design effectively disperses sound in all directions while maintaining its quality.

Dual light sources for a perfect ambiance

The two embedded LED units serve distinct purposes. The upper light shines through a transparent top, illuminating the ceiling and controlling the overall lighting. The lower light enhances the unit, creating ambiance. Ulim blends both sources to help users achieve their ideal atmosphere.

Seamless lighting transitions

Lighting transitions smoothly and gradually depending on the situation. This soft transition helps users feel less alienated in the space.

AI-powered light design

Ulim uses AI to analyze the emotional tone of the music being played. It goes beyond simple genre classification, interpreting the mood behind the sound, and visualizing it through a color palette that shapes the atmosphere of the space.

research

Mood-driven listening: A growing cultural shift

Gen Z is redefining how sound is used—not for its quality, but for its ability to influence mood and emotional state. From lo-fi playlists to immersive ambient mixes, sound has become a personal tool for focus, relaxation, and emotional regulation in everyday life.

Target users

Based on interviews and early research, Gen Z was identified as the primary user group. This generation is highly attuned to emotional and sensory shifts in their environment, and actively looks for ways to shape mood and atmosphere in everyday life. These behavioral patterns informed the focus of the design exploration.

Identifying potential user needs

Based on user research, personas like Amiee and Ryan represent Gen Z individuals who actively shape their environment to match their mood or activity. These insights guided the design of intuitive and emotionally responsive experiences.

define

Design opopportunity

I explored user needs, brand values, and product direction to identify a meaningful design opportunity. Through this process, I found that the intersection of these three elements reveals where the true opportunity lies.

Framing the hypothesis

I aimed to reimagine the speaker not just as an audio device, but as an emotional tool that supports daily rituals and mood shifts. This device uses music and light to help users easily evoke emotional changes and create the right atmosphere for any situation.

Ideation

Mood & Atmosphere exploration

In this moodboard, I focused on the emotional and spatial qualities that help shape a mood. Things like soft lighting, immersive sound, and the calmness of a café—these elements point toward a space that feels more responsive, more personal.

Concept sketch

I saw Ulim not just as a speaker, but as an object that shapes the atmosphere through sound and light.Its form was designed to blend into the space, rather than stand out as a device. Based on this direction, I explored 360° sound,light-integrated structures, and forms that could be seen as furniture-like objects.

exhibition model

Unit testing & tuning

To create the right mood, I experimented with different speaker units and sound directions,carefully tuning the balance between resonance, softness, and spatial feel.Rather than aiming for a clearer or louder sound,the process was about exploring how sound forms and spreads within a space.

Machining

To exhibit this work, I needed a fully functional model. To achieve this, I used various machines such as a milling machine, lathe, and band saw. In particular, the part of Ulim's main body that supports a significant load was made of metal, ensuring it is sturdier and achieving a level of finish similar to that of mass production.

Finishing

The exterior parts, including 3D printed components, achieved a high level of quality similar to mass-produced products through precise surface treatment, polishing, and detailing.

Final assembly

Through meticulous design with production in mind, all components came together seamlessly to form a working prototype.

Operation test

Ulim was not only perfectly assembled through meticulous design, but also tested to ensure its units and lighting functioned properly

image

contact

sseo@risd.edu