THE PROJECT
This project was done for the course "Exploring Interactions". The goal of this course was to dive into a certain context and develop a product that betters a certain interaction that happens within this context. By making small prototypes and doing design interventions, a product is developed.
THE PRODUCT
The final product I designed for this project is the Cushy. The Cushy is a neck pillow with a lot of small heating elements in it. The elements heat up alternately, creating a circular movement of heat around the users back and neck, simulating a hot stone massage. The circular movement and the heat relax the muscles in the back and neck, which in turn helps relax the mind.
Click here for an explanatory movie.
THE PROCESS
Since the assignment for this project was very broad, the starting topic was also very broad. At first I started observing the coffee drinking habbits of people. The focus was put on morning coffee, and the target group that was chosen was people arriving at their office jobs. The topic of drinking coffee was let go, because altough it is an interesting direction to design for, it did not totally fit the expectations of this course. I zoomed out to giving people that arrive at work a moment for themselves to transition from feeling stressed and rushed to being ready for work. The interaction vision for this project was "like being underwater scubadiving".
To find out what helps people transition from feeling stressed, many small design interventions were done. People were given small assignments to help them relax, or to feel like they were in a metaphorical bubble, where they were able to do whatever helps them to relax, without being bothered by their surroundings. The same participants engaged in multiple different design interventions, so results could be compared better. However, what worked for one person, dod not work at all for another person. Literally being blocked from visual and/or audio can make some people feel even more stressed. For other people no changes in stress level was noticed after beign blocked from stimuli. A new implus was needed to be able to design a product that will work for a large amount of people.
User testing
The idea of using warmth to help people relax was inspired by a visit at a spa. More testing was done to find out how heat can best be used to achieve the design goal. First, the location was determined. This test was done by providing heat to the arms, legs, back, stomach and hands of the participants. The neck and back were the best areas to provide heat to to help people relax. Next, tests were done to see how the heat needs to be provided. Moving the heat around in a circular motion worked best to relax the muscles. The principle of moving heat is also used in hot stone massages. During the last tests, it was also measured how long people need to the warmth to relax. In only two minutes all of the participants felt more relaxed in their bodies and in their minds. From these insights the Cushy was born.
