Interactive vibe engineering system
A balanced, neutral vibe with moderate energy and pace. Adjust the sliders to see how different parameters affect the visualization.
Visual representation of the current vibe parameters across different visualization methods.
Translate vibes between different sensory domains while preserving their essential qualities.
Select a source to see its description
Select source and target domains, then click "Translate Vibe" to see the result.
Explore curated examples across different domains to understand how vibes translate between them.
Warm, intimate jazz in a small venue with acoustic instruments and improvisational elements.
Refined, structured, and dynamic classical performance with rich instrumentation and formal composition.
High-energy, dense electronic music with repetitive patterns, synthetic sounds, and intense rhythmic elements.
Spacious, atmospheric electronic soundscapes with minimal rhythmic structure and a focus on texture and timbre.
Cool, serene woodland with filtered light, organic textures, and a sense of peaceful isolation.
Warm, energetic space with multiple conversations, movement, the scent of coffee, and background music.
Quiet, structured environment with high ceilings, organized knowledge, diffused lighting, and muted sounds.
Bright, open setting with rhythmic waves, warm temperatures, organic textures, and a sense of freedom.
Soft, textured brushwork with vibrant colors capturing momentary impressions of light and movement.
Clean, geometric, and functional with primary colors, balanced composition, and minimal ornamentation.
High contrast, neon-lit urban imagery with technological elements, grit, and futuristic elements in decay.
Flat, stylized compositions with clear outlines, block colors, and a balance of detail and simplicity.
An exploration of systematizing aesthetic experiences while respecting their ineffable qualities.
The Vibe Engine is a framework for analyzing, deconstructing, and translating aesthetic experiences—or "vibes"—across different domains. It provides a structured vocabulary and mathematical model for what is often considered difficult to articulate.
Rather than claiming to fully capture the ineffable quality of vibes, the engine acknowledges the tension between systematization and the resistance of vibes to categorization. It offers a tool for exploring this boundary—a map that is useful while recognizing it is not the territory.
Our approach uses seven core dimensions, each with multiple attributes:
One of the core capabilities is translating vibes between different domains while preserving their essential qualities. This allows, for example, finding the spatial environment that best matches the vibe of a musical piece.
This demonstration showcases the March 2025 implementation, featuring:
A compelling critique suggests that "vibes must be structured relationally rather than hierarchically" and that "vibes are the stuff leftover after you nailed everything into its specific part of your ontology."
We acknowledge this tension. The Vibe Engine explores the boundary between what can be systematized and what resists categorization. Like Kuhnian anomalies, vibes may indeed be most valuable precisely when they don't fit our taxonomies—pointing to gaps in our understanding.
Rather than claiming to fully capture vibes, this system offers a tool for engaging with them more consciously, while respecting their fundamentally relational and often ineffable nature.