Process:

1. I really focused on choosing the correct sensor in the first place. One iteration utilized a Flex-Bend sensor, but it didn't seem to capture the intuitiveness of a squeeze. At the very end, I chose to work with a Force Sensitive Resistor.

2. I started out with a basic circuit that had a single LED light up when pressure was applied to the Flex-Bend Sensor. I then added a IFTTT email trigger (SupBae), as the off-on state of that LED to indicate intention wasn't enough communication to capture the right person's attention. Only someone sitting close (maybe not the person it was intended for!) would notice without the emails.

3. After building the initial circuit with the flex-bend sensor, Professor Daragh helped sort out why my IFTTT applets continued to short-out and why I was getting different nonsensical readings for the flex-bend sensor. A bit of rewiring into the right pins sorted that out quickly. I needed an if-statement to establish the parameters of how much bend would trigger the email.

4. At this point. I switched to the Force Sensitive Resistor and the squeeze/pinch mechanism, added a Neopixel, and included a second email trigger. A certain amount of pressure would activate "SupBae" and an increase would activate "LetsGo'. I wanted a bit more character around the NeoPixel (e.g. color) to indicate the emotional tone of the interaction from the initiator's side. I was constrained to colors that were distinct from one another under the ping pong ball (balloon) - namely bright blue and bright magenta.