Soul Support: Designing Hopeful Wearables for Children's Emotional Wellness

Soul Support is a wearable emotional support system designed with and for children during two intergenerational co-design focused on addressing the 2025 IDC) Research and Design Challenge. The intergenerational design team, Kidsteam at Boise - comprising children ages 6-11 and adults - generated and selected features through sketching, group voting, and hands-on prototyping activities. The final concept includes two physical devices: a wristband with sensors (Soul Band) and a necklace with a neural interface (Soul Necklace). When activated, these devices actuate a digital assistant that responds through speech, holograms, or other interactive outputs. The assistant can share affirmations, calming videos, music, advice, or jokes depending on the user's emotional state. The low-tech prototyping sessions focused on providing support in ways that felt helpful but not intrusive, prioritizing empathy, choice, and personalization. This paper describes the co-design process and outcomes, and how the final concept addresses emotional needs while aligning with the challenge theme of hope.