ENHALOE
Enhancing daily routines and emotional quality of college students and young adults by projecting colored lights and images through bedroom windows.
enhaloe Concept
enhaloe is a smart window that projects different colored lights and patterns through bedroom windows to better enable the owner to complete their daily tasks. To help the user most productively complete their tasks, such as homework or relaxation, the patterns and colors used for different activities are rooted in studies of color theory and psychological principles. enhaloe is controlled by a phone application, which lets the user input the various activities that they plan to do throughout their day, and then select what they would like their window to show during those times. enhaloe is then programmed to follow the user’s calendar, automatically changing settings and projections at different times of the day to help the user know when it is time to move to their next task, and to help them transition into the proper emotional state to complete those tasks effectively.
Overview
Course: Design Processes
Focus: Research; Ideation; Prototyping; Storytelling
Timeline: August 2019-December 2019
Why are People Unsatisfied With Their Bedrooms?
College students and young professionals struggle to optimize their bedroom space to perform many activities throughout their day. From studying, to working out, to relaxing, different tasks require different environments and equipment, and it is challenging to create different environments without sacrificing personalized objects or creating clutter.
How might I help young adults to complete their daily routines, while maintaining a high level of emotional quality throughout their day?
Research and Insights
To learn about the common ways in which people use their bedroom, I conducted contextual interviews with a team of 5. We conducted 7 interviews; our interviewees spanned a wide age range – everyone from a college freshman living in a dorm room, to an elderly man living in a nursing home. I learned that young adults often need to use their bedroom for many different things. However, it is hard for them to create a space that they can use for different activities, such as working and relaxing. Additionally, it is challenging for them to know when to switch between tasks and stay on track throughout their day. Thus, I identified space in the market for a product that helps young adults complete many activities throughout their day, while enhancing their emotional quality, and taking up no additional space.
Ideation and Concept Development
I ideated around using light to create non-existent boundaries and change the atmosphere of the bedroom. I sketched a wide variety of ideas, from movable light sources, to virtual reality headsets, to smart windows. I choose to continue to develop a smart shutter idea, and created sketch models to examine the overall shape and form of the product. I created a set of ideal product attributes – relaxing, colorful, customizable, module, and unobtrusive – and decided to pivot my design to be a smart window.
Prototyping and User Research
I prototyped projecting light through different colored mediums. I created many sketch models, using wet-treated paper with different opacities and different colored mediums such as alcohol ink dyes, watercolors, and spray paint. To initially test my concept, I held the different screens over my phone flashlight and projected them onto my friend’s bedroom walls and ceilings.
For my next iteration of testing, I created a 2-part rig, consisting of a scaled window prototype with different screens inside, and a projecting light stand. To improve upon my screens, I conducted research into color and image theory, and prototyped new projection art purposefully rooted in psychology and human scientific preferences. Using my rig, I projected new designs (sunrise, under water, forest, and the cosmos) onto my friends’ bedroom walls, and gauged their potential usage of the product.
The feedback that I received was overwhelmingly positive. The young adults that I spoke with could see potential in the product to help them stay on track with their daily tasks, and change the atmosphere of their bedrooms to help them stay productive with whatever they are doing.
Enhaloe
Presenting enhaloe, a product to help enhance the daily routines and emotional quality of young adults by projecting colored lights and images through bedroom windows. The final frame was constructed from poplar wood, which was cut, formed, bolted and glued, sanded, and painted matte gray. The final screen insert was created by dropping alcohol ink dyes onto wet-treated Dura-Lar paper. The insert is housed between two pieces of window-pane.
Future Improvements
For my next iteration, I would like to explore the user interaction with enhaloe. Additionally, I would like to prototype and test the phone application used to control enhaloe.