Azalea is a smartphone-based design that consist of a bespoke app and a tactile cushion which envelops the phone. A pair of Azaleas can be used to remotely connect two people through an enriched phone call. Azalea differentiates itself from a conventional phone or video call by immersing the user in an environment diminished from distractions, creating space for a co-experience that focuses on tactility and motion.

The inanimate cushion is brought to life by sliding in the phone. Doing so, the user ‘sacrifices’ the phone, which becomes the driver behind the communication. The app automatically activates, initiating the call and enabling the flashlight which projects light through cut-out shapes into the user’s direct environment. Azalea adapts its colour, shining through a pattern, according to the user’s speech, and enables its users to steer a soundscape of natural sounds driven by motion. Our users affirmed that hearing the other person move added a sense of presence to the conversation.