A wordless interaction experience between Deaf and hearing participants
Silent Coffee is a design workshop where hearing individuals are invited to share coffee and complete small social tasks—without using any
spoken language.
By relying on gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact, participants experience the emotional and cognitive shift that comes with silence—building empathy for how Deaf people navigate daily conversation.
Pair-based coffee table session
No speaking, no writing—only visual cues and gesture
Designed to simulate real Deaf communication constraints
Silent Coffee isn’t about testing silence—it’s about feeling it.
By removing sound, the experience heightens attention, emotional awareness, and the creativity of nonverbal expression.
“Communicating without spoken language is difficult. But somehow, I can better remember the vivid, lively person sitting across from me.”
“Deaf Gain,” a term from the book Deaf Gain (author). It shows how losing one sense can strengthen others, and how sign language holds deep cultural value. This idea inspired our fourth project—designing for better understanding between Deaf and hearing people.
Create a 1v1 interactive environment between two individuals, assigning each person a different interactive task to complete. Conclude with a discussion about the strategies they used to accomplish the tasks together.
Material:
I created a brochure with a hint card on the back, showing basic sign language gestures to help participants better understand Deaf culture during the coffee chat.
After the Silent Coffee experience ended, I asked participants how they felt. Many described the challenge of communicating without words—but one reflection stayed with me:
“Communicating without spoken language is difficult. But somehow, I can better remember the vivid, lively person sitting across from me.”
