Object 1: Dawn
An alarm clock for a 'good morning'
Designing a delightful waking up experience with the phone as the guiding premise
A speculative enquiry into developing & nurturing a more healthy relationship with our mobile phones
An alarm clock for a 'good morning'
How we start our day in the morning has the potential to impact the rest of the day. This project explores the idea of creating delight as we wake up to a new day.
Many people of my generation wake up to the visual sight of their phone screens, having put a waking alarm (if at all) on their phones itself. This sight, at times, leads them to the notifications on their phones (channeled by the internet). What if the internet assists a different experience on the mobile phones we sleep with at night?
Dawn is a multimodal device that helps you wake up in the morning with delight.
Step 1
Set the wake up time.
Step 2
Select the mode you want to wake up to. (the mode is an addition to the alarm slound)
Step 3
Save the settings and set the phone on ‘dnd’ mode.
Step 1
Insert the phone in the box.
The base of the box serves as a charging dock.
Step 2
Go to sleep.
In the illustrated example,
‘surprise me’ was chosen as the morning call.
The sound of the alarm rings along the accompanying selected mode of waking up.
The bluetooth of the phone communicates with the bluetooth module attached to the arduino. This in turn trigger the arduino to perform an action.
In the mode illustrated before (magic of light), the arduino triggers the activation of a neopixel at the designated time.
A digital diary for the connected times!
“Time Magazine reports that 37% people check their devices every 30 minutes or less. Another study estimates that we spend an average of 2 hours and 57 minutes on our mobile devices each day.”
Addiction to notifications on the smartphone is a real problem and a cause of anxiety. Immersed in the connected reality of our present, there are moments we wish for silence of the beeps.
How might we leverage the artefacts of our lived past that have served us well, that have associated meanings through centuries of our evolution, at this juncture when the seepage of technological benefits are bordering on possible harm?
Writing is one of activities that helps focus the multitude of thoughts in our mind. Our tiny devices are equipped to help us write, they are also overtly connected and continue the rhythm of beeps when we decide to pause with our written thoughts.
When the digital interfaces for rationalising our thoughts falter due to the very nature of the connected devices they inhabit, can mediated conventional means emerge to speculate a more sustainable future? Writing a journal is a personal act of reflection and momentary solitude. When we write in the confines of a private journal, we aim to create a semblance of clarity amidst the surrounding chaos.
A journal for the ‘connected times’ with an added possibility of putting the phone ‘off the grid’ while writing.
1. Insert the phone in the pocket at the back.
2. Close the pocket.
3. Write/ Think/ Dream
The larger issue of the distractions associated as a consequence of addiction to the phone is too wide to address; the intent here is to speculate a gentle nudge towards the benefits of disconnecting from the ‘hyper-connected world’ on a day-to-day basis for a short time.
Speculative Futures
This enquiry helped hone my thinking skills and the ability to generate concepts in the speculative realm. Throughout the process there were lot of ambiguities and I learnt to deal with them through a structured process. I wrote a lot during the entire process and maintained a blog to document my thinking and understanding as I dived deeper into the world of speculating possible futures and interactions with technology.
Understanding Technology
With very nascent understanding of technology, I was initially very nervous and used to shoot down many ideas due to my technological limitations. Over the course of the process, I got more comfortable and gained confidence in low fidelity prototyping. I would like to give a special thanks to ze internet, for being so awesome!
Rapid Prototyping
Throughout the project, ideas were prototyped quickly with various mediums, from paper, to wood, to glass to plastic. The quick manifestation of the prototypes in hand helped in validating concepts and get feedback from people
As a part of academic enquiry in New Media Design at National Institute of Design, India in 2017. Under the guidance of Jignesh Khakhar, Suvani Suri, Hemraj Bhai and Michael Longford. Special thanks to my batchmates for helping me in the technical aspects of prototyping.
