This pictorial introduces the design process of TESSI, an interactive material experience artefact. TESSI is a shape-shifting origami fabric that embodies a ‘breaking and unbreaking’ transformation through a pleaded tessellation pattern. The transformation has been chosen by the designers as a concept to give temporal form to during initial stages of the project. TESSI’s materiality and behaviour came about through a highly intuitive material orientated process with a special focus on designing for expressive interaction.