Over recent years, mindfulness has become a sort of an industry. This capitalization on something so individual has left a strong negative tinge in the minds of many- particularly Generation Z, the generation that grew up with this development. LIGHTSYNTH intends to be a different approach to mindfulness- one that intends not to have the same negative tinge as current mindfulness "tools". It gives you an outlet for creativity without fear of needing to improve, or of failure.

Project Statement

Client Profile

• Experiences anxiety/nervousness

• Aforementioned anxiety may be able to be mitigated with mindfulness

• Mindfulness Issues

Mindfulness is a technique utilized in many workspaces- but it cannot "cure" major depression or anxiety, only mitigate the effects. Mindfulness is absolutely oversold as a technique in workspaces, and said workspaces often do not provide the things workers truly want- better wages, better working conditions, better benefits, opting for mindfulness as a solution to try and make workers happier. For many Gen Z folk, this association between mindfulness and dismissal creates an innate negative reaction to the most prominent mindfulness techniques.

Research

Summary

Precedents

Name of Precedent/Author: Habit

I took elements from the experimentation and design of Habit.

Name of Precedent/Author: Pocket Op

The Pocket Operator has a level of playful experimentation that I wish to capture.

Sketch Exploration

Prototype 1

My initial prototype was physical only- a basic exploration of the form factor of my final product. I decided on a "light ring" sort of idea. The design of this ring was slightly altered, but the main difference from the final product was the inclusion of the entire stand.

Prototype 2

This prototype is the "guts" of my final one, minus a handful of essential features (like feedback). This prototype was primarily to demonstrate all of the final features, essentially just a tech demo of what the final might be.

Prototype 3

This is the housed, finalized product. I added a speaker for feedback (playing a different note for each setting selected), and created a casing for the actual.... thing. There are three differently-sized holes for each input on the device.

Use Diagram

Technical Diagram

Wiring Diagram

Final Photos