The lamp offers a cool color temperature work light, encouraging concentration, but gradually transitions to a warm light when it’s time for a break.
The lamp has four interactive parts. Two of those are fluid dials to adjust work time and break length. The dials have a small submersion which the users can place their finger in and adjust the settings with a satisfying amount of resistance. The center circle of the lamp base is what the users touch when they go for a break and come back. Finally, an on/off button is located on the top of the lamp.
The Process
This was a group project conducted with four other students.
The project started with a number of interviews with people who each had a different experience with working from home. A survey was also conducted to complement the interviews.
From this, the UX goal became to facilitate work-life balance and make the experience of working from home more pleasurable. Two problem areas were identified in the user studies; practising healthy work habits by taking regular breaks and secondly, demarcation between work and leisure became the main focus.
After idea generation and concept creation using different techniques three concepts arose.
Concept 1: The Cube
The Cube is a small object that fits in the hand and appeals to the user through visual, auditory, and haptic stimulants. The goal of the cube is to combine a stress relief object with a way to manifest the current mental goal in the physical world.
Concept 2: The Lamp
Concept 2 is at its core a work lamp for working at home. Additionally, the lamp is designed to assist users by reminding them to take breaks and to get back to work. This is mainly done subtly through a slow and gradual transition from work lighting (daylight color temperature) to break lighting (warmer color temperature).
Concept 3: The Box
The Box is a way of storing work-related supplies in a visually appealing and hassle-free way. The idea is to separate work time and free time by putting away and storing the work-related material out of sight. The aim of the product is to put a distinctive end to the stress of the workday and make it easier to relax,
These three concepts were then evaluated against each other to see how well they fulfilled our initial goals and their potential to create a meaningful user experience. The choice was then made to continue developing the Lamp concept.
Designing the Look
In the next phase three different lamp designs were proposed after continued idea generation. These three designs had mainly the same functionality but differed somewhat in how the user interacted with the lamp.
After evaluating the appearance with a survey and testing the interactive elements (the lamp bases) through physical models the second appearance was chosen.
Refining the Concept
After choosing the second appearance, this concept was further refined. This process included refining both the appearance and the interactive elements of the lamp. The final result is shown at the top of the page.