Pop - productivity timer
Awarded for IDHA product design competition in 2019
Conceptualisation
Ideation
3D prototyping
Timeline
2 weeks
Team
Jahnavi Patel, Abhiram Rajilan
About the product
Introducing 'Pop'—submission for the IDHA product design challenge, 'Future By Design’. Pop is a productivity timer which nudges you to pause from your work by making you interact with bubbles, thus sparking joy in a stressful work environment. It is designed following the ‘Pomodoro technique’ which uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length separated by short breaks.
Brief by the organisers
Can you design a product for the physical or mental well-being of people during the COVID lockdown, by way of “design”? The challenge was for all design professionals and students to create “humane” experiences through products of varied nature and scales, which can provide comfort within the confined spaces, and help people adapt to change.
Who is it for?
Remote working employees
Pain points:
Increased Mental Fatigue
Lack of breaks and prolonged screen time causing burnout.
Difficulty disconnecting mentally from work, even during leisure hours.
Physical Health Impact
Sedentary lifestyle due to reduced movement between tasks or during commutes.
Poor ergonomics from makeshift home office setups, leading to back and neck pain.
What makes POP special?
Bubbles are whimsical, effervescent, playful, and nostalgic. Taking a minute out of your busy day to enjoy bubbles can be a much-needed escape from the pressures of adulting. Amidst the pandemic, after spending several weeks in the confines of home, individuals experienced mood fluctuations and a range of emotions, grappling with the challenges of combating cabin fever. Working from home and the associated notion of productivity attached to it significantly impacts people's emotional states. ‘Pop’ brings in a fresh perspective and a bit of fun into this work from home world.
How
Concept sketches:
Proposed Material
The product is envisioned to be crafted from recycled ocean plastic. In the manufacturing process, the plastic undergoes a thorough cleaning, is transformed into flakes, heated to create pellets, and then further processed for production.
Variations of the product may explore diverse surface textures and patterns, that would form points of interest for customisation and aesthetic differentiation.
