Heart Bloom is a biofeedback installation that empowers participants to see, hear and feel the rhythm of their heart. During Dutch Design Week 2016, Heart Bloom will serve as a charitable initiative that aims to help children with congenital heart disease (CHD). Did you know that one out of a hundred children are born with heart disease? Researchers and doctors are working hard to learn more about the causes of CHD and develop better ways to prevent it.
You can help these children by participating in this project. Create your personal Heart Bloom card and explore the unique rhythm of your heart. We will collect all the Heart Bloom cards created during Dutch Design Week and create a collective artwork that shows the diversity of the heart and raises awareness about congenital heart disease.
After the exhibition, you will be able to receive your heart bloom card by making a donation to the Hartstichting, the Dutch Heart Foundation. Your donation will go towards the foundation's efforts to improve the chances of children with a heart disease. Let’s make every heartbeat count!

With Heart Bloom we visit a series of charitable public activities organised by the Hartstichting. At these events we bring Heart Bloom to children with a heart disease. The interaction with Heart Bloom empowers them to see, hear and feel the ‘seed’ inside their body blooming into a ‘flower’ with every beat of their heart.
Heart Bloom brings the positive message that everyone is special, and that the hearts of children with CHD might function abnormal but create unique and beautiful flowers. We also believe that these activities tie the relationship of children with their own heart, their family and the friendships among other children with a heart disease.

Only when you experience excitement or fear you actually feel your heart beat fast inside our chest. However, without you being aware of it, the heart is continually changing its frequency. Biofeedback is a technique that measures physiological processes, and rapidly gives back the data to the users, helping them to be aware of their physiological conditions.
Heart Bloom is a participatory live-art installation, which offers the audience a biofeedback experience through mechanical movement, sound, and artistic visualization. Each heartbeat triggers one movement, creating a line or a dot. The variation of the heart rate is demonstrated by the pen’s behavior in real time. The overall heart rate variability is reflected by the visual characteristics of the generated drawing on paper. Let the heart lead the brush!