Mindfulness
CHALLENGE
Today's always-on always-connected world means stressors are omnipresent. Can technology be used to mediate tech-related stress? This was a semester-long design project for my Interaction Design class.
CONCEPT
KOYA is a solution for mindfulness-based stress reduction. The wearable monitors and mediates stress responses through programmable meditation or breathing sessions, while the app provides a broader range of relaxation sessions, analyzes progress, and controls interruptions. KOYA is supportive and non-intrusive: the device's haptic signals ebb and flow so as to not startle, and the app's language is encouraging and positively framed. The samples below show the design concept through medium fidelity physical prototype. While this was a group effort, I had primary responsibility for the 3D wearable and protocast.

protocast (05:09)
This short video shows the device and app in context. I wrote the script, created the sets, and bribed my husband - a fantastic DP - to film it in two hours. I then edited this using FinalCut Pro, which was a good transition for me from Adobe Premiere. Kris did the graphics, bless her heart, and Olga helped edit the script and provided great feedback on the edits.
After interviewing several people, we developed this primary persona. It looks as awesome as it does thanks to our team graphic designer, Kris. In addition to conducting some of the interviews, I wrote the primary quote, contributed to the rest of the text, and sourced most of the photos.
I'm not an artist, but sometimes rough sketches help me think. As meetings are the bane of almost everyone's existence, the question I was exploring was how socially and physically awkward would it be to use KOYA during a meeting?
At the beginning, we toyed with creating an immersive environment. Based on interviews, this was less of a priority, (thankfully as it is likely not technically feasible yet!), so we left this feature for a 'future iteration.'
I created this early story of our persona's journey in storyboard form (using a demo of StoryboardThat). Clearly we were still in the magical thinking phase, here.
This sketch came about after researching viable accupressure and pulse points. What would the user need to do to detect and mediate her/his biofeedback? Where could KOYA be positioned and what does that implicate for the form factor?
As our interviewees noted driving was a stressor, we brainstormed a 'keychain' as a possible form factor. I wasn't able to imagine any safe way this could be used....
Once we determined the wrist was a viable option, we needed to determine a size and shape range. That way, we would know roughly how much room we had for controls.
Once we had a rough size in mind, I switched to PowerPoint to mock up some sketches and ideas for conversation. We tried using Trello at this point, but the virtual bulletin board was a little rough going when trying to point out specifics. These gave us a better starting point.
My main contribution to the app was to think about how our screens might be connected and flow from one to the other.
Is it really feasible to use as many 'buttons' as we're thinking? Is there enough space to differentiate?
I used Fimo clay and jewelry fixings to mock up a physical prototype. The raised buttons and lights do not work, but were useful for initial user testing and to begin to explore the following questions: Are the shapes and sizes of the buttons feasible? Are they understandable by touch only?
This is the same shape as the wrist version, but switched to a chain. After watching our actress during the protocast filming, I became less convinced that this could actually capture decent breathing and/or heart rates. With normal human movement (walking, sitting, standing, leaning) the device certainly disengages from the target area. There are some devices on the market that claim to do this, though.... interesting....