Cove: A Conversational Ocean Agent For Swimmers
Cove is a conversational agent of the Aquatic Cove Beach in San Francisco, designed like a digital twin. It speaks as the ocean, knows the conditions, and helps you plan a swim with the people you love. Built end-to-end: AI agent architecture, fluid dynamics simulation, voice interaction, and real-time conditions data.
People behind
Eylul (Designer+Dev)
TJ McLeish (Instructor)
Angelina Xu (Ceramics help)
Timeline
4 months
Toolbox
Figma
Claude Code
Vercel
Guiding Principles
I started by researching online and observing people at the beach, arriving at three principles that guided every design decision.
Conversational Design
I ran a bodystorming session with a friend who is a musical theatre artist, having her embody the ocean. The transcript became the foundation for Cove's character and voice.
Exploratory Sketches
Six frames trace the full journey: a person caught up in city life far from the ocean, discovering Cove, touching the water to reveal its temperature through color, receiving an invitation to visit, and planning a swim in a single screen with conditions, time, and friends.
System Diagram
Four agents work together: the Orchestrator speaks to the user as the ocean. The Weather Feeler pulls live conditions from NOAA, Open-Meteo, and SF Water Quality. The Safety Advisor assesses conditions against authored thresholds. The Scheduler creates a Google Calendar event and sends Gmail invites when a swim is confirmed.
Backstage
Photos from the cove — me and friends swimming:)
Reflections
Building Cove taught me that the most interesting design decisions weren't about the interface. They were about character. Once the ocean had a voice, everything else followed. The most useful research wasn't online. It was sitting with a friend and asking her to be water. What she said is still in the system prompt today.
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