PROCESS

“The physical, economic and social environments in which modern humans sit or move within the contexts of their daily lives have been changing rapidly. Reductions in the environmental demands for being physically active are associated with another class of health-related behaviors.”

- Too Much Sitting: The Population-Health Science of Sedentary Behavior

RESEARCH

To begin understanding the problem I was working with, I conducted two in person and one over the phone interviews with individuals that had work of sedentary nature and a professional in the field. I also ran five intercept interviews with a group of college aged Illustration and Graphic Design students. Questions included those regarding work habits, break frequency/methods, and pain or discomfort felt from extended periods of sitting.

“It’s cumulative. I got into a habit of bad posture, and that led to my back blowing out. I took my overall health for granted.”

“You can get a lot done in 15 minutes. Just standing and stretching every 30 minutes is so much healthier.”

“At my work, there’s no room for yourself. it’s unusual to stretch.”

Synthesis

After the interviews, I compiled the findings I got from each person into groups based off of reoccurring themes. All the interviewees mentioned that they knew taking breaks were healthy and necessary, but only one felt that they took enough of them. The biggest roadblocks cited were forgetting, getting caught up in work, and not thinking of it as a priority.
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I found that the key to encouraging this behavior was twofold: individuals had to be reminded to stretch, but more importantly, motivated to in the moment. Through this exercise, I extracted the following insights and potential opportunities they brought:

IDEATION

How to remind and motivate people at the same time?

CONCEPTS

While ideating, I targeted the concepts towards students and young adults, as many work habits get developed during that age range. Moreover, young individuals have more resilient bodies, and may not notice the effects of their poor sedentary practices until they are irreversible later in life. Many can benefit from instilling these healthy habits at a young age.
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After reviewing the ideas with my peers, I decided to combined two of my concepts together. By having a sprite that represents the user's physical body, individuals have a real time indicator of what the impacts their breaks (or lack thereof) are. I wanted to strengthen the results beyond just the digital realm, so I added the tangible long term goal of actually acquiring a physical plant.
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Having small desk or apartment plants are also increasingly common among young adults, further incentivizing the reward system.

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SYSTEMS

With my concept taking shape, I now had to figure out how to convey the experience. I investigated the mechanics and backend of my concept through system diagrams and a business model.

STORYTELLING

Before shooting the video, I sketched out storyboards showing how Buddies would be discovered, used, and facilitate behavior change.

DESIGN

Bringing the Buddies to life!

STYLE + CHARACTER DESIGN

I wanted Buddie's visual identity to be endearing and the interface to be clean and easy to use, with the focus being interacting with the sprite through motion rather than through the screen.

I asked an Illustration friend to help with initial character design, and created a moodboard with the personality I strove for.

I asked an Illustration friend to help with the initial character design, and created a moodboard with the personality I strove for.

PACKAGING

Designs for the box the plant arrives in along with the care instructions and process booklet.

FINAL PROTOTYPE

REFLECTIONS

What I learned from this project.

This four week project allowed me to design and present a service holistically, discovering how to nudge people into changing their behaviors. It was challenging but rewarding for me to dig into certain routines and find how to leverage the internal and external factors that drove people to continue their habits.

In terms of project development, it was fascinating to dip my hands into a variety of different areas, learning how to effectively balance them to create the best final product. By focusing on the whole “out of box experience,” I was compelled to design beyond the user’s journey within the product, zooming out and including actors and factors that influence the entire experience. I also got to explore filming, a powerful method of storytelling that I hadn’t had much practice in before.

If I had more time, I would build out the other features such as the networking and social aspect, and expand on the purchasing space that monetizes the app. I would also look into the allowing the user to customize their Buddies, to make the experience more personal and compelling.