Alright, let me walk you through this little project I did, this ‘wheel of fortune as feelings’ thing.
It started pretty simply. I was just thinking about how sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what you’re feeling, you know? Like, you know you’re feeling something, but the word just isn’t there. I thought, wouldn’t it be neat to have some kind of tool, like those game show wheels, but for emotions?
Getting the Idea Down
So, first thing, I grabbed my notebook. Always start with paper, I find. I sketched out a basic circle, divided it up like a pizza. I wasn’t sure how many slices yet. I started brainstorming feelings. Not just the big ones like ‘happy’ or ‘sad’, but more nuanced stuff too. Things like ‘content’, ‘anxious’, ‘restless’, ‘grateful’, ‘frustrated’.
Listing them out was actually kinda revealing. You realize how many little shades of feeling there are. I tried to group similar ones, or maybe put contrasting ones opposite each other. That didn’t quite work, felt too structured. Decided to just get a good list down first.
Making the Actual Wheel
I decided to make a digital version. Seemed easier to spin, you know? I fired up some simple design software I use sometimes – nothing fancy. Created a clean circle. Then came the dividing part. Getting the segments equal took a bit of fiddling. I decided on, let’s see, I think it was 12 sections initially. Seemed like a manageable number.
Then, I started plugging in the feelings from my list. I picked the ones that resonated most, or the ones I thought covered a good range. Typed one into each segment. I played around with fonts and colors, trying to make it visually appealing but not too distracting. Wanted it to feel kinda calm, actually.
- I made a simple pointer, just an arrow shape.
- Figured out how to make the wheel ‘spin’ when clicked. Took some trial and error, lots of testing to get the speed and the stopping point feeling random enough.
- Added a button to trigger the spin.
Tweaks and Finish
After the first version, I looked at it. It felt… okay. But maybe a bit basic. I went back and added some subtle background texture. Changed a couple of the feelings words to ones that felt a bit more precise after using it a few times. Maybe ‘confused’ became ‘uncertain’, things like that. I also adjusted the colors slightly to make them a bit softer.
The key was making it feel random, like a real spin. I didn’t want it weighted or predictable. The whole point was to land on something and then reflect: “Huh, ‘hopeful’. Do I feel hopeful right now? Maybe a little?”
How It Turned Out
So now I have this simple digital wheel. When I’m feeling a bit ‘meh’ or can’t quite name my mood, I give it a click. It spins, lands on a feeling. It’s not a diagnosis or anything, obviously. It’s more like a prompt. A starting point for checking in with myself. Sometimes it’s spot on, sometimes it’s way off, but even when it’s off, it makes me think about why it’s off and what I am actually feeling.
It was a fun little exercise, turning a random thought into a simple, usable thing. Just a personal tool, really, but the process of making it was as interesting as using it.
