Author: Bonnie Chan

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Group Project Reflection – Bonnie Chan

For our project, the frameworks that we had to focus on were Commercial Agenda, Problem Solving, and Persuasive Design.

 

Problem:

Since we were already given a problem during class when Eric’s interview video was brought up and his problem with meditation arose, we decided to focus our product on resolving that. Eric already learned how to meditate but had trouble getting into the habit of meditating or making it part of his daily routine because of the time constraints that he has. Due to this, we decided to focus on our Persuasive Design in making Eric turn meditating into a habit that comes naturally and is integrated in his daily life.

 

Inspiration and Solution:

 

To solve this problem, we decided to use Figg’s tiny habit behavioral model where we had a trigger, action, and reward; this was a process that we hoped our product would be able to naturally implement. How we decided on our Zen Care toothbrush was based on the idea that brushing his teeth was an action that Eric would have to do at least once during the day. Using that, we found inspiration from products such as Tooth Tunes and decided to recreate the product into a meditation instigator.

 

Product:

 

At first we thought of a product that would play relaxing meditation audio guides and songs while the user brushes their teeth as a way of creating an efficient and helpful product for users such as Eric who might lack the time to do something but still want to fit it into their schedule. We thought of a toothbrush with a curved rubber handle as well as a charging dock that would allow for a personalized timer that users could change based on how long they typically brush their teeth.

Product Iteration:

 

After discussing with other possible users and individuals we all thought that meditating while brushing their teeth may hinder the users ability to properly meditate. Instead, we drifted away from the toothbrush and decided to focus on creating a charging dock that would allow the user to play meditating songs and audio guides once the user sets down their toothbrush as a sign that the user has now finished brushing their teeth. This would allow for more flexibility for our product since the charging dock will then be compatible with many different electrical toothbrushes.

Commercial and Future Implementation:

 

Based on our commercial agenda, we also decided to create possible packaging designs as well as our possible brand slogan and name. We decided on Zen Care because it was a name that gave us the opportunity to possibly expand into other bathroom accessories and utilities such as a razor or hairbrush set and not just a toothbrush charging dock. We decided on the specific packaging design based on the age range of our target audience which was around 20-30 year olds and used that as inspiration to create unconventional shapes for packaging. All in all, our product had the potential to sell and also create a large range and variety of other products as well.
 

Reflection:

 

I think that the judges made a good point that maybe what we were trying to focus on was not meditation but rather mindfulness. Perhaps it would have been more helpful or easier for the user to feel calm and collected when brushing their teeth instead. The product may have instigated an uncomfortable location for the user to meditate or is not the ideal way to go about meditating. However, I do think that our product is one that is capable of using the persuasive design technique in order to create a habit for the user to meditate more. It may not have provided the most ideal setting or set up to achieve the best experience for our user but I do think our product was capable of solving the problem through our design frame works and restrictions successfully. I do think that we focused a lot on the commercialization of our product that we did not stop to consider how this product would play out or sell in the long run.
 

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Final Project and Empathy Workshop – Bonnie Chan

Empathy Workshop:

I thought that this workshop was quite helpful in helping me understand the importance of knowing my target audience and my key users by putting myself in their shoes in order to understand how to explain or maybe even design something that will allow them to easily use or understand the product or message. It was interesting to explore how people thought differently, which one something I really realized when me and my partner were unable to fully communicate which side or orientation we wanted our model and parts to be in. I also thought that it was interesting and fun to think about how other people might see things differently from me and how that can also be implemented and thought about when designing or going through the design process especially during the research stage. 

Final Project Reflection:

I thought that the reflection and peer review of my project intention was really helpful especially when trying to see if my story and message for my product made sense. I think Zeyao helped me a lot with this especially with trying to make sense of what products and competitors are out there and how my story needs to be shaped and explained in a better way where I emphasize on what are the features that sets my design apart from things such as messenger and other social media apps other than the wearable ring design that I have included in the product. I think that Zeyao’s brainstorm of the possible features to also include in my product were also really useful especially the one that includes the function of a video or projection that allows for a more natural conversation between two people.

Here is a picture of the brainstorming list that Zeyao helped me with:

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Make Tools Workshop and Six Hats – Bonnie Chan

Make Tools Workshop: 

I thought it was really interesting the way the workshop was formatted, I was caught by surprise when we were required to switch tables after each step in the design process. I think that by doing this it really made me dig deep into my mind for creative ideas that will be able to adhere to the mix of different ideas set out by all the different groups in the class. I also think that the rapid prototyping or rapid thinking process that we did in class was a great way to inspire me and push my boundaries. In regards to the idea of Enchanted Objects, although I knew that smart objects within homes were already becoming quite common I couldn’t help but feel as though it was part of a futuristic reality that we haven’t quite reached yet. Many of us still regard objects and technology that are so involved or interactive with our lives as a bad thing (kind of tying this to the Futuristic Design class that we had from last week), but I feel like David Rose and enchanted products helped me and many other realize that these digital products may not necessarily be a bad thing. That it could be something that will be beneficial for us rather than something that seems to affect us negatively especially with the stereotype or image of digital objects as something that is taking us away from experiencing physical reality. However, I feel like enchanted objects seem to enhance our physical experience instead which is something that allows us to see that digital products are important and impactful to us as a society. 

Six Hats Workshop:

For this workshop, since it was directly related to the type of design that my group is working on, it was important for me to take notes and observe what each group/hat came up with. I think that through the six hats process was a really good way for me to easily see each step in the design process as well as the most simplest way for me to understand the persuasive design process that we needed to focus on. Through the presentation of each hat/group, I finally understood the steps that we needed to go through in order to form a tiny habit. In regards to the Tiny Habit design ideas, I thought that the idea was interesting as well as made me focus on the things that we do unconsciously. It made me consider the behaviors and thoughts that we have that we take for granted and then using those behaviors and actions and manipulating through design and products in order to create a desired effects. I definitely do see the psychological perspective of this that I do not often consider when designing and in that sense thought that learning this type of design and its process was very interesting.

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Final Project Proposal – Bonnie Chan

Problem/Thoughts:  As a study abroad student that has been away from home for a full year I find myself struggling to keep in touch with my friends and family. I realized that I wanted to focus on creating a product that will allow us to increase our ability or remind us to stay in touch or remember to make human contact since technology surrounds us and puts us in this narrow tunnel so often. I even thought about how a lot of us are unwilling to make phone calls because of how deep we are in this technological hole where text messaging, snapchatting, and instagram has become the core of our communication ways. 

Inspiration: I think for my inspiration, I was thinking about a design that was a hybrid between Enchanted Objects and Persuasive Design. I want to create a product that is enchanted in the sense that it will be able to cross mix the role of technology with human/physical interaction in an interesting way. Enchanted objects (digital/technology) that will actually increase our physical interactions with the world rather than deter us. I will be looking at a lot of the products created by David Rose for inspiration as well as the techniques and process of persuasive design through BJ Fogg in order to ensure that human interaction becomes a constant in our lives again. 

Solution: I’ve been thinking about a variety of ideas such as an enchanted alarm clock that would automatically unlock your phone to check your messages or display your notifications in front of you as a way to have the user always check their messages when they wake up. Another thought was to have a watch that lights up or alerts the user when their friends or who they want to contact is at a suitable time zone to chat. These are some rough ideas that I have as I begin to plan out the details of the ideas. 

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Future Product (Nura Headphones) – Bonnie Chan

Trend: Nura Headphones and Collection of sound profile data

Research: 

Nura headphones are bluetooth headphones connected to the Nura mobile app on mobile phones for users to collect and monitor their data. These headphones are capable of sensing the sensitivity of user’s ears and their hearing levels in order to create a visual profile of their hearing that also uses different shapes and colors that are unique to each user. These headphones collect sound data through detecting the sound from the user’s ears during play back in order to learn about the user’s individual traits. Most importantly, the Nura mobile app allows for users to shared and use other individual’s sound profile settings. 

Possible Scenarios:

-Users may begin to activity and easily share music amongst one another

– There is no privacy between users and they find themselves expose to everyone’s profiles

-Users will only be capable of listening to music through his/hers unique sound profile 

-Possibility of your hearing sensitivity changing and adapting to another person’s hearing profile.

Solutions:

A possible solution for the problem of sound collection data privacy is the thought of creating a lock on the mobile app or the headphones. By allowing the user to put a lock on your own sound profile or limiting your own ability to access other individual’s sound profile will allow for users to solve the problem of privacy. I think the only problem I have with this design is that it is possible for the company to still share a user’s information without consent. However, also, users are required to intentionally or actively lock and unlock the information with these two product designs and that may be hard for the user to control or actively do.