JOMO statt FOMO: A relaxation space at the OMR festival

The digital world can be a stressful place– we’re constantly bombarded with content, from silly memes to cooking videos to huge news stories. Many of us spend most of our day fielding countless notifications, juggling calls, texts, and emails. In the midst of all that, it can be almost impossible to disconnect and take a moment for yourself. It’s essential that we make room in our lives to relax and just breathe– so we assisted lead agency Lautstark GmbH in bringing that vision to life for their client Die Techniker. We provided the visual interactions to match Lautstark's original concept, which encourages you to take a moment of your day to slow down, sit back, and embrace the chill vibes.

The relaxation space, which was created as a part of the OMR Festival in Hamburg, capitalises on the theme of 'JOMO statt FOMO'– 'the joy of missing out instead of the fear of missing out.' In today's fast-paced media environment, stepping away from a screen for even a moment can seem terrifying: what if we miss something important? But missing out isn't something to fear– it's a joy. It's about making a choice to prioritise yourself and let go of the constant need to keep scrolling.

This project encourages us to remember that even in the midst of a huge international event like the OMR Festival, we can find spaces to unwind and relax– and that brief pause turns into a beautiful, rejuvenating experience. At such a busy event, it’s especially important to create a little space where people can take a break and then return to the festival refreshed and ready to dive in all over again!

This immersive, interactive installation uses heartbeats and breathing patterns to guide visitors through an audio-visual interaction designed to help you unwind. By emphasising the body's natural rhythms, we created a space that encourages visitors to reconnect with themselves and their physical presence. The audiovisual choreography aims to lower the heart rate through guided breathing by audiovisual impulses. A normal heart beats at between 60 and 100 times per minute– so we kept the ‘pulses’ in our visual interaction design slow to create a tranquil environment.

The installation was built into a large cube (about 30sq m) in the Techniker Krankenkasse booth at the OMR fair, which created a stylized and minimal environment for the visual elements. Upon entering, visitors were invited to play with an interactive installation on the walls, giving participants the opportunity to touch and play with digital bubbles and lines.

During the main sequence, participants were asked to sit, breathe, and embark on a meditative journey, guided by the softly shifting, pulsating circle on the wall. Over the course of the main sequence, the circle changed colour and pace, slowing over time to gradually bring visitors deeper into a calm, relaxed state as dynamic lines shifted around it, echoing the heart at the center of the human circulatory system.

At the end of the experience, visitors are invited to slowly reactivate by playfully experiencing the interactive elements once again, bringing them gently back to the real world and preparing them to reenter the bustling festival– but now re-energised by their soothing break.

The relaxation space received amazing feedback from both visitors and organisers– Thank you so much to Lautstark GmbH for including us in this wonderful project!