Detailed Talks | through the lens of Autism

About the Designer

What does it really feel like to be you? It is a big question, and one that standard language often struggles to answer.

As an autistic designer with a background in both technology (TU Delft) and art (Royal Academy of Art, The Hague), Amber van Gastel bridges the gap between research and human emotion. Over the past year, she has brought her work into healthcare institutions, schools, and cultural spaces. By combining deep interviews, literature, and visual design, she turns complex emotional experiences into accessible tools that help people feel seen, heard, and genuinely understood.

About The Project

Detailed Talks is an interactive exhibit designed to help us communicate when plain words fall short. Rooted in autistic ways of communicating, the project centers around a handmade wooden Conversation Cabinet filled with tactile objects, poems, and an associative card game.

Traditional conversations can leave people misunderstanding and feeling misunderstood by the other. By replacing direct, literal questions with imagery, touch, and metaphors, Detailed Talks creates a calm, slowing down space, where space is created for new way of learning about the other.

During the exhibition, Amber invites you to sit down, interact with the cabinet, and play the card game together. Through this shared experience, you will explore new ways of communicating and learn about each other's unique ways of being.