Blowfish Band: A Wearable Inflatable Fidget for Self-Stimulatory (Stim) Behaviors

This pictorial presents an autobiographical design study of the Blowfish Band, a spiky, inflatable sensory wearable I created and wore as an autistic designer-researcher. Through photography and reflection, I explore how manual inflation and tactile interaction supported unmasking, emotional regulation, and reduced harmful stimming behaviors such as skin-picking. Worn across a range of real-world settings, the band offered a way to reclaim agency over sensory needs, often suppressed to conform to social norms. By documenting changes to my skin and reflecting on the ethical tensions of designing for behavior change, I examine how interaction for self-use can center personal autonomy. This work contributes a first-person perspective on neurodivergent stim experiences with interactive products and proposes that designing for one’s own sensory needs can reveal new possibilities for ethical behavior change in HCI. The pictorial also offers design considerations for wearability, multi-sensory interaction, and manual control to support self-directed, sensory-focused engagement.