Our Story
We bring a decade of experience at the intersection of clinical research, digital storytelling and interaction design. That includes peer-reviewed publications, a PhD in serious games for anxiety and a background spanning Wellcome Trust, Arts Council England, Creative England, the BBC, English National Ballet, Somerset House and MoMA.
Dr Cristobal Catalan
Founder · CREATIVE DIRECTOR
I came to mental health through film. Fifteen years of documentary and creative direction in major organisations such as BBC and English National Ballet taught me how a story earns someone's attention. A PhD at the University of York taught me what happens when you point that craft at anxiety, and how to test whether it works rather than assume it does.
The founderCristobal Catalan
Founder · DIRECTOR of Digital Health Technologies ConsultingI came to mental health through film. Fifteen years of documentary and creative direction — the BBC, English National Ballet, the London 2012 Olympics — taught me how a story earns someone's attention. A PhD at the University of York taught me what happens when you point that craft at anxiety, and how to test whether it works rather than assume it does.
Liminal Senses is where those two trainings meet: arts-institution craft, academic rigour, and consumer products that have actually shipped. Very few people work at that intersection. It is the whole reason the studio exists.
DoctorateHealth sciences and Interactive Technologies, University of York — Developing a design framework for open-world, story-led games for anxiety
AlsoMA with Distinction: Anthropology and Global Media (SOAS)
PublishedProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · The Lancet Psychiatry (2019, 2021)
ShippedCount Sheep ASMR Relax · BoxHead — iOS and Android
Available forConsulting · Research collaboration · Speaking · Studio partnerships