Take your time

Abstract

The work of my thesis represents the last phase of the GRIP project, a Governmental/Philips co-founded project which has been running for one year and a half before the beginning of this final stage in February 2013. The project involves several organizations such as TUDelft, TU/Eindhoven, Design Academy, Philips, Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg Eindhoven (GGZE), in collaboration with relaxation experts and addresses the issue of flexibility versus control in the design of product service systems aimed at work related stress. Aim of the project is to build a relaxation space to help employees tackling work related stress using a combination of Nature Inspired Design (NID) and Philips technology within an ambient experience. The way to achieve the result is to design in multiple iterations a full working prototype of the relaxation space within the office environment of Philips Design. An exploration phase was conducted at the beginning of the project to gather information on the topic through interviews with relaxation experts and Philips employees, visit at the GGZE and literature research. Designing the space, NID tools such as Biomimicry’s Life’s Principles were used; suggestions from Biophilic Design have been taken in consideration as well to define which characteristics the relaxation space should have had. Hence the prototype was developed, built and introduced as a new social ritual, proposing the concepts of awareness, prevention and common wellness. The final prototype is a dynamic space, which adapts its dimensions according to users’ needs; it presents a generative soundscape and a loop of coloured pacing light which help occupants to relax focusing on their breathing. The prototype has been evaluated in two phases: the first by twenty-three experts to get feedback on how to improve it before the introduction to the employees; the latter with a group of beta users to evaluate a prolonged use. At the end of the projects, taking into account the feedback gathered and pushing even more the Nature Inspired attitude of the project, two new versions have been designed to suggest fast improvements and an eventual futuristic product for Philips.