Timly

In this individual extracurricular project I did a design sprint, to learn new skills like soft body modelling and app design in XD, as well as creating a useful product within a market gap I found for people with trouble focusing.

People with ADHD often face problems ordering their time, as well as doing what they are supposed to do. They often require eustress, a bit of stress to stimulate the mind, to start working. How can we stimulate people to get into this state, while also not letting them get lost in the state and thus focusing on just one project/deadline?

The market

Firstly, market research was done to see what is already on the market for planning and organising time. Timers in various forms exist, like the time timer, specifically marketed to people with ADHD. These lack further customization than just setting the time however, not being able to schedule with them. Paper schedules also exist, being able to schedule your time throughout the day. However, if you lose track of the time or something takes longer, your planning will fall apart. Lastly there are a lot of digital planners, which remind you of which task you are doing and how much time you have left for them, while also being able to timeblock your entire day. The biggest downside of these is however that they are digital, and thus you need to be on a physical device. Thus a need for a combined device was found, a physical device which has an adjustable schedule.

User research

A persona was created to empathise with the basic user, after literature research on ADHD, as well as conducting an interview with a person with ADHD. From this, a set of product requirements was set up.

Ideation

With these requirements in mind, sketches for both a physical, as well as a digital product were made.

A rounded shape was chosen to be both comfortable in the hand and easy to carry around, as well as looking approachable. A moving slider was chosen to show approximately how much time is left, while also being allowed to be moved to create extra time or move on to the next task. LEDS were used to create urgency, moving from green to yellow and red very fast, to create the idea there is not a lot of time left.

Prototyping

I made an app mockup in Adobe XD, to show how you are able to set a routine, as well as change it around. In the app, a bottom bar navigation bar was used to easily switch between the 3 most important functions: Changing and looking at the status of the physical device, looking at the planned schedule and changing the planned schedule.

It was divided to create subdividing blocks, giving the ability to use bigger time blocks to set up the day, while within those blocks smaller adjustments can be made. Blocks were distinguished with their colour, while also being shown which specific tasks were in the blocks.

The first prototype was produced with 3D printing, while I tried to make the electronics as compact as they could be, by nesting a slider in an arduino. The arduino was coded to slowly turn leds off as time progressed, as well as change their colour.

Testing

The system was user tested after the first prototypes were made. Since the prototypes were functional on an aesthetic level, but not yet connected to each other, a wizard of Oz method was utilised. Some issues were found: Firstly, the slider gave too much freedom to the user, causing the user to sometimes disregard the schedule. Secondly, the user sometimes lost track of the task at hand.

In the second iteration there thus needs to be some sort of way to show which task the user is supposed to do, as well as giving the user less freedom over the device.

Blocc

With our world becoming more digital, there are a lot more electronics at play. Thus children should be taught about them, preferably as young as possible. Existing kits are either too barebones, like an arduino and wires, or just include electronics, while today, code and electronics are almost always intertwined.

Thus a new concept was created. We ideated as a group and came up with several sketches. One idea was selected based on its approachability and simplicity.

This idea was modelled and 3D printed, with the mockup being tested with some participants, as well as an experienced teacher.

From this we found out not utilising wires abstracted the electronics too much. Furthermore, a need was found for a more gender neutral colour scheme.

The interview with the teacher also taught us a lot on how to actually educate with the product, providing different teaching methods which were later used in the teaching module.

From this we found out not utilising wires abstracted the electronics too much. Furthermore, a need was found for a more gender neutral colour scheme.

The interview with the teacher also taught us a lot on how to actually educate with the product, providing different teaching methods which were later used in the teaching module.

A new prototype was sketched, with different components connected with wires and a hub to connect all the signals to. At the same time, work on the teaching module started, providing different challenges at different levels of understanding. There was also a game produced and a mockup for a Scratch like coding experience, but more tailored towards working with real electronics.

The electronics were designed and tested by me, with protections in place, so children would not be able to break the prototype.

These were then tested with users at demo day, as well as with another teacher to validate our design. They were received positively.

Plant(t)s

I really like houseplants. The way they grow slowly when you nourish them, how they ask for your attention in a subtle manner, how they express how they feel by completely changing their appearance, and how they remind me of us and our ecosystem in general.

How can we use these pre-existing characteristics to make a product in symbioses with the plant itself?

I explored this concept by firstly doing some paper research on how people are motivated by devices. Motivation tended to be the strongest when emotion by the device was shown.

This sent me on a path to making a plant pot with emotions. Sketches of both the UI and product were made, the best of which were rendered and prototyped. The final prototype was chosen due to it looking approachable, as well as fitting within most households.

After testing the first prototype, some changes were made. A sensor was added, making the UI only turn on when close to the plant pot, since it turned out a less intrusive device worked better at motivating. Furthermore, the emotional aspect was made bigger, to put all of the users' attention on it.

My favourite part then started. I made the final CAD model, as well as drew up a circuit for the electronics. The electronics were soldered and coded by me, to change emotion based on the energy usage in an excel sheet. Thin wall thickness was utilised to make the leds shine through the front, and thus made a large visible display unnecessary. A smaller pot sat in the larger one to make it watertight. Lastly, a wooden top was manufactured to give it a more natural look.

BEEP bot

I designed, made and programmed a moving alarm clock. This was done by firstly making a schematic of all the electronics. This utilised a variety of components: FETs, Op Amps, microcontrollers, a display, a H-bridge, voltage converters, geared motors and a real-time clock. The components were then soldered on a PCB. A CAD model was made and 3D printed by me. The Arduino was then coded to give the timer functionality and features. Finally, the electronics were installed into the shell to create the final moving, beeping, and blinking prototype.

This project allowed me to push my skill in electronics and prototyping forward in complexity while also doing it in a rather short timeframe of a week.

This website was coded by me, utilising standard HTML and CSS, with a sprinkle of JavaScript. I wanted my portfolio to feel like it was completely mine, and learning these skills gave me total creative freedom. In the future I want to learn more about JavaScript, while also moving on to commonly used libraries like react and JQuery.

Check out my codepen here for the source code and some other small bits and bops: