Seizure Simulator:
Empathy Promotion
To break down stigmas and promote understanding of epilepsy and seizures, I used visual design tools to recreate various types of seizures I experience. Both first and third person perspectives offer a look at internal and external experiences.
Project Details
Role
Designer & Animator
Timeline
August - December 2025
Responsibilities
Designing, animating, iterating based on critique feedback​
Tools
Figma
After Effects
Premiere Pro
Affinity Pro
Project Overview
Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurologic condition in the U.S., yet it still has stigma attached to the word "epilepsy" or "seizure". I propose that, like with most stigmas, it comes from a lack of understanding about what a seizure is and what different types of seizures can look like and the internal/external symptoms.
I​ aimed to:
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Educate viewers what epilepsy and a seizure are
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Challenge viewers on how their mental model on epilepsy is similar or different to my experience as an epileptic
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Increase understanding and empathy about epilepsy
Problem Statement
Key Challenge
How might I create a visual experience that mimics my various seizures to spread awareness about epilepsy?
Design Process
Research and wireframing
I started by mapping my biggest symptoms (lack of tactile sensation, visual changes, motor jerks, and rarely auditory changes) for each type of seizure and how I might display that visually. I also wanted to start my presentation with some information to show how widespread this condition is and how - whether we know it or not - the stigma around the condition is still prevalent.
split view so viewers could compare the non-seizure experience to the seizure experience in real time.
Same scene so viewers aren't distracted by new or different visual information other than the changes I use to represent seizure symptoms.
Here I start to plan the edits that will represent my seizures symptoms. For my "common" seizures, I experience a lack of tactile sensation. At this point in the process, I was struggling how to show this.
During "larger" seizures, the symptoms were earlier to display visually because they include color change in my vision and blurriness. Though I was now struggling with how to display the motor jerks I experience during these seizures.
I concluded the presentation with a note that this can only represent my experiences, not at all experiences, but information is the best way to stop stigmas.
First Iteration
During this iteration, I realized that some of my most prominent symptoms (lack of tactile sensation and motor jerks) were being lost from using only a first person point of view. By including a first and third person point of view, I could more accurately capture internal and external symptoms. Additionally, because my auditory symptoms are so infrequent and most viewers would be listening on standard laptops so they might not be able to tell which side lost auditory output, I decided to cut that feature. I also added a little information about the seizure (i.e. the medical name, senses effected, whether I needed outside assistance, etc.).
Purple is the color for epilepsy awareness, so I changed my color palette to match.
First Person View - No Seizure
First Person View - "Common" Seizure
As you may notice, there are no changes between these two photos. This is because during this smaller seizures, my only symptom is a lack of tactile sensation. This is why I added a third person perspective - to capture me not reaching to touch.
Third Person View - No Seizure
Third Person View - "Common" Seizure
Here shows my lack of tactile sensation. My father taps me on my affected arm, but in the right side photo (the "seizure" photo), I do not react to him.
First Person View - No Seizure
First Person View - "Larger" Seizure
In this type of seizure, I now experience internal symptoms, which present as visual changes (a golden hue) and blurriness to edges of my vision.
Third Person View - No Seizure
Third Person View - "Larger" Seizure
I concluded again with a note that this represents only my experiences, but I hope it helps spread awareness and understanding. After feedback from peers and my professor, I also added a QR on what to do if you ever see someone having a seizure and needs assistance.
Second Iteration
After feedback from friends and family, I decided to animate my video to provide some lightheartedness to a serious type and make it more viewer-friendly for all ages.
Final Product
A few tweaks like removing the class name.
Lessons Learned
Wins:
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​I am proud to create an educational tool that may help others with similar conditions be better understood
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Learning new design tools is always beneficial
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I believe I achieve my goal of spreading epilepsy awareness
Challenges:
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Learning several new tools (After Effects, Affinity Pro, and Premiere Pro) was hard.
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Pivoting to animation towards the end to provide a mood lightener was a challenge.
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Visually portraying symptoms that are so innate to me was hard to find ways to accurate represent them
Laura Weisz
UX Researcher & Designer passionate about accessible. engaging, user-friendly digital experiences that make a meaningful impact on people's lives.
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2025 Laura Weisz