Alexithymia, a condition marked by deficits in emotional recognition and expression, affects over 50% of individuals with mental health disorders. Traditional interventions relying on verbal articulation often fail due to heightened cognitive demands and psychological resistance. Addressing this gap, we present Coloring the Emoji, a gamified coloring intervention designed to enhance emotional clarity through non-verbal, low-cognitive-load interactions. The game employs a three-stage progressive framework: (1) Emotion-Color Mapping via a dual-dimensional “pleasant-unpleasant” and “calm-excited” color gear, translating abstract emotions into intuitive visual symbols; (2) Contextualized Emotion Attribution using 53 high-frequency, sentiment-polarized emojis to link emotions with real-life scenarios; and (3) Free Coloring Expression with adaptive tools, enabling non-verbal emotional externalization through dynamic feedback and personalized pixel art creation.

Designer: Liu Shuzhan

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