IF I DIDN’T KNOW YOU BY YOUR FACE
User experience designHuman and computer interactionInstallation

Starting from face blindness— a neurological condition that is widely recognized yet often poorly understood—this research is centered on a core question: If I couldn’t recognize you by your face, what would it be? Sound? Smell? Gesture? By challenging the dominance of facial perception, this work seeks to amplify non-visual cues as meaningful ways of recognition, reframing human connection beyond the traditional reliance on sight.

This machine examine how identity can be reconstructed through multi-sensory experiences. It creates speculative spaces where presence is felt through voice and movement rather than facial features, inviting audiences to reconsider how we recognize, remember, and relate to one another.

At stake is the deeply ingrained cultural and technological emphasis on faces as the primary markers of identity—an assumption embedded in everything from social interaction to biometric surveillance. By shifting focus to alternative recognition methods, this work asks: What does it mean to know someone when the “window” to their identity—the face—is no longer the reference point?



















2024 Yunqichen