Xinyue:
Delight in the Everyday
Designing Products to be Emotional Intervention Tools
Xinyue WuTo those who more joy in
who are seeking in their lives
Contents
Introduction
Research
Design principles
Projects
Industrial design
Instrument Comb
Poisonous Mushroom
Screen design
Pawws
Experience design
Sensory Scavenger Hunt
Looking forward
About the author
Appendix
"The most successful designs are those that evoke an emotional response from the people who use them."
- Don Norman
"The greatest designs are the ones that actually affect people, as well as emotional changes."
- Philippe Starck
As someone who has experienced firsthand the monotony of daily routines, I set out to find a solution to this problem. Through a year of experience, study and design, I have developed a deeper understanding of this topic. The result is my book and a series of products, services and experiences that aim to help readers transform their ordinary experiences into extraordinary ones.
My approach focuses on using everyday products as emotional intervention tools, to bring joy into people's lives in a more accessible and sustainable way. By targeting different scenarios such as home, work, and the outdoors, my products gradually open users' hearts and bring good surprises and joy to seemingly mundane daily routines.
My target audience is 24-35 year-old workers who are looking for a refreshing break from their repetitive daily routines. My solution is not just another product, but a way to reinvigorate the daily necessities of life and infuse them with new-found vitality. I believe that joy is the ultimate goal in life, and yet it can feel elusive and difficult to grasp. Through the pages of my book, I offer a fresh perspective on how to find joy in even the most mundane moments of life.
So, join me on this journey towards a more fulfilling and joyful life. Let's explore together how we can transform the ordinary into something truly extraordinary, and infuse our daily lives with new-found vitality and happiness.
Introduction
About “Xinyue”
My name is Xinyue, and you might be wondering why I chose to use my name as the title of my thesis project. In Chinese, Xinyue means joy. My parents picked this name for me with the hope that I would live a happy life. Joy, to me, is not just a simple feeling of pleasure, but rather a state of genuine happiness that comes from within. It is a feeling that we all strive for, a state of being that represents true fulfillment and contentment.
I believe that joy is a fundamental part of human existence, and it is something that we all have the right to experience. In my thesis project, I aim to bring joy into people's lives in a more accessible and sustainable way, by transforming ordinary experiences into delightful ones using everyday products as emotional intervention tools. By targeting different scenarios, such as home, work, and the outdoors, I hope to help individuals infuse their daily lives with new-found vitality and happiness.
By using my name as the title of my thesis project, I want to emphasize the importance of joy in our lives and the power that it can have in shaping our experiences. I believe that joy is a universal language that transcends culture and language, and I hope that my project can help spread this message to people all around the world.
“We want our child to be happy every day”
Research Unfulfilled Mundane High pressure
In our fast-paced world, happiness has become a rare commodity that many workers cannot afford. The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the already existing pressures on urban workers, causing a surge in negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Furthermore, the emergence of web3 and artificial intelligence has heightened the fear of job displacement, adding to the emotional distress experienced by many workers.
Young adults aged 24-35 face additional challenges during this critical stage of their personal and professional development. We must navigate the transition from education to the workforce, build our identity, and establish relationships while facing economic instability, limited job prospects, and social pressures . These factors can contribute to emotional stress and mental health problems, underscoring the importance of prioritizing our emotional well-being.
Negative emotions can take a toll on our physical and mental health. According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. In addition, research has shown that stress and anxiety can weaken the immune system, making individuals more susceptible ible to illnesses. As the saying goes, "Happiness is not a luxury; it is a necessity for good health and well-being."
How to make joy more accessible in daily life? Rather than something that we can't be met. I started my journey to find happiness.
How to make our daily life happier, I have tried many different methods. Reading a lot are my first choices. I am so excited to gain a lot of theoretical knowledge from them.
of books and watching videos
Embracing Positive Clarity: A Journey of Lasting Transformation
Through the profound insights gained from influential works such as "The Power of Now," "The Road to Happiness," "The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World," and "The Art of Noticing," as well as the enlightening positive psychology course at Harvard University, I have discovered the transformative power of focusing on positive clarity. This approach, when compared to solely studying how to alleviate negative emotions, holds the potential to create a lasting positive impact on individuals. Just as setting goals directs our attention towards overcoming negativity, directing our focus towards improving positive emotions can lead to increased positivity in our lives.
While it is important to address negative emotions, I have realized that emotional recovery is an ongoing process rather than a onetime achievement. After experiencing a period of rejuvenation, it is not uncommon for anxiety to resurface, and the knowledge we once absorbed may fade away. This understanding has emphasized the need for constant stimulation and effort to maintain a positive state. I have come to recognize that this approach requires continuous dedication rather than a quick fix.
Despite these realizations, my commitment to prioritizing positive emotions remains unwavering. I understand that the path to emotional well-being demands active engagement and an open mindset. Consequently, I have embarked on a personal journey of actively experiencing and exploring various techniques to enhance positive emotions.
I also explored other different ways to help increase positive emotions
Psychological counseling is a professional service that helps individuals address psychological issues, enhance mental well-being, and improve their quality of life through active listening and support. Limitations of psychological counseling include high costs and potential feelings of shame or embarrassment experienced by the clients.
Art therapy is a therapeutic approach in the field of mental health that uses art creation and expression to help individuals explore emotions, reduce stress, enhance selfawareness, and promote overall well-being. However, it has limitations. Art therapy requires some art skills or experience, which may make individuals without an art background or familiarity with art media feel uncomfortable.
Meditation is a practice that involves focusing one's attention and achieving a calm and relaxed state of mind. It promotes mindfulness, stress reduction, and overall well-being. However, it also has limitations. For instance, studies suggest that around 43% of people practicing meditation may experience drowsiness and fall asleep during the process.
Natural therapy is a comprehensive healing approach that utilizes natural elements such as herbal medicine, massage, acupuncture, and yoga. It emphasizes the balance of body, mind, and spirit and harnesses the healing power of nature. However, it requires ongoing commitment and investment of both time and money. Regular sessions or treatments may be necessary for desired results, and some natural therapies can be costly.
Is there a more and sustainable increase
more
accessible sustainable way to our joy?
Before joining SVA, I had the opportunity to watch Ingrid's inspiring TED talk on Joy. It left a lasting impression on me. As I interviewed her and delved deeper into the concept, the power of design to bring happiness became increasingly clear. The idea that design has the ability to positively impact people's lives and evoke joy resonated deeply with me. It was a turning point where I realized the transformative potential of design and the importance of creating meaningful experiences that bring happiness to others.
“
Design has the power to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, to create moments of joy in our everyday lives.
In addition, I came across another research paper titled "Faces of Product Pleasure: 25 Positive Emotions in Human-Product Interactions" by Pieter
M.
A. Desmet from Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft, The Netherlands. This paper delves into the potential and effectiveness of using products for emotional intervention. The research findings highlight how specific design elements and functionalities can influence people's emotional states through sensory stimuli such as touch, vision, and sound. The study emphasizes that this form of emotional intervention design plays a crucial role in emotional regulation, stress relief, and enhancing overall well-being. These insights serve as valuable guidance for designers and researchers in developing more effective products for emotional intervention. By leveraging the power of design, we can create products that not only fulfill functional needs but also evoke positive emotions, ultimately contributing to a greater sense of happiness and well-being in people's lives.
A more accessible and sustainable way
Relying solely on theoretical knowledge has its limitations, as it tends to fade from memory over time. Additionally, other healing modalities often demand continuous engagement, significant mental and financial resources, and lack universal applicability. So, how can we effortlessly and frequently infuse more positive emotions into our daily lives? One solution lies in designing products as emotional intervention tools that subtly uplift our joy throughout our daily experiences. Rather than waiting until we experience genuine pain, these everyday products serve as a suitable long-term "remedy." By incorporating intuitive design, we have the opportunity to continuously enhance our positive emotions in a seamless and natural way. For instance, adopting the Pomodoro technique can be made more convenient and simple with a real intervention tool like a dedicated Pomodoro timer. Let's actively cultivate positivity and joy without excessive effort or conscious intervention.
Design Products as Emotional Intervention Tools
Design principles
About Products About Habits
About Products, a product is replicable, commercial, can be massproduced, and can be used by more people. Using products as emotional interventions can make them more accessible, allowing more people to obtain sustainable ways to increase their joy at an affordable price. Furthermore, the product will be intuitive, subtly enhancing positive emotions with each use.
When it comes to design should leverage habits instead burdensome new further burdens capitalizing on established products seamlessly people's lives without significant behavioral ensuring a user-friendly positive user experience. centered approach the importance of individual's needs, behaviors to create meaningful solutions.
Habits
to habits, effective leverage existing of creating a new routine, adding burdens to users. By established habits, seamlessly integrate into without requiring behavioral changes, user-friendly experience. experience. This userapproach recognizes of considering the needs, preferences, and create sustainable and solutions.
About New Experience
A product that consistently offers new experiences keeps users engaged and fosters stronger loyalty, rather than them seeking novelty elsewhere when they become bored. This approach promotes sustainability by reducing the need for constant product replacement and minimizing environmental impact.
Projects
Projects
Industrial design
Hairtoons is a revolutionary line of combs that subverts your expectations, creating a new and practical multi-sensory morning ritual. As you style your hair, they produce unique sounds that inject new excitement and vitality into your routine. With its lightweight design and no need for charging, Hairtoons effortlessly reinvigorates the mundane act of combing hair.
“Combing hair is like a therapy. It can relax you and reduce stress.”
- Li Ka-shing
“Music is a kind of aural medicine that can relieve all our worries, and make us feel unparalleled joy and happiness.”
-Duke Ellington
+ =
"By combining music and touch, we can create a deeply engaging and satisfying experience that can have a positive impact on our wellbeing."
- Dr. Klemens Gutmann
Rain Curle
Rain Curle, is inspired by the rain stick. The spiral structure inside, struck by metal beads, creates a spa-like experience for your hair, leaving you feeling refreshed.
Accordicomb
Accordicomb: Inspired by the accordion and flute, its structure allows air to flow into the handle as you press it against your head, and you can control the tone with your fingertips. Relax and train your brain at the same time.
Cymbcush
Inspired by cymbals, Cymbcush is a comb that creates a percussive sound as you press its teeth against your head. The internal spring compresses, causing a ball to strike against a copper plate and producing a rhythmic sound.
To design them, I explored almost every instrument on the market to understand the principles of sound generation.
Drawn many sketches to find the possibility of combining combs with musical instruments.
Rapidly prototyped and tested promising directions in the sketch, while eliminating those that are not performing well.
When the head is pressed, it can make a crisp collision sound
When the metal ball is poured into the structure, there will be a wonderful sound of raindrops
By squeezing the air of the air pump, the flute can make a sound.
When the teeth of a comb collide with the internal structure, the resulting sound is not sufficiently clear.
There is not enough air in the air pump to make the whole harmonica sound at the same time
Next, the remaining three solutions were refined. There were a lot of failures in the process, but I also gained a lot, such as the fact that the flute and comb need to be one piece, separating them will affect the sounding performance.
The fact that color differences in the same material will also cause changes in sound quality. In the end, I developed three musical combs.
Poisonous Mushroom
Introducing "Poisonous Mushroom," a speculative project that delves into a dystopian world where instant access to any desired character experience becomes a reality. Inspired by the growing trend of using psychedelics for mental health management, this project takes a critical look at the consequences of immediate gratification.
In this world, individuals can experience a staggering array of different characters within seconds. From embodying Michael Jackson to becoming the female president, or even transforming into fantastical creatures like Pikachu, the possibilities are limitless. However, there's a dark side to this seemingly blissful existence. In a society where instant gratification reigns supreme, meaningful relationships become impossible, and temporary happiness and satisfaction quickly spiral into a terrifying abyss.
Drawing inspiration from the thought-provoking film "Everything Everywhere All at Once," this short video challenges viewers to question the true cost of instant gratification. It raises the question: If AI generation technology becomes powerful enough to create artificial memories, would you be willing to take a pill to experience the life of a multi-millionaire or wield supreme power?
"Poisonous Mushroom" highlights the potential dangers lurking beneath the surface of a world where all forms of pleasure are easily attainable. It serves as a cautionary tale, reminding us to reflect on the long-term consequences of pursuing immediate gratification and the importance of genuine connections and fulfillment.
I used Ai technology to generate 105 different characters of myself, what is the final result? Please go to my personal website or follow my instragram: xinyue_haichao to watch specific videos.
Screen design
Co-creation
Firstly, I organized a cocreation activity for young urban workers to create their own weekday journey maps, capturing their day-long experiences.
After organizing the data, I found out something really interesting: people generally experience lower mood levels on their weekday afternoons.
The main reasons for this are the following three points.
“Feel reluctant, I don't have a sense of accomplishment.
We want a sense of accomplishment.
“I often feel like I have no common topics with my colleagues.
We want a sense of belonging.
“I hate endless meetings…
We want a sense of control.
Pawws
Pawws is an innovative desktop software that addresses the common workplace challenges of low mood levels and a desire for a greater sense of accomplishment, control, and belonging. By linking human workplace behavior with animal behavior, Pawws offers virtual pet companionship that brings joy and enhances employee productivity and job satisfaction.
Break time
Human Work Meeting
"Fetch" "Bark" "Play"
Animal
"Fetch":
After using AI technology to create a unique virtual pet image, you can plan your daily tasks, and your pet will go explore on its own.
1 2 3
1 2 3 4 5
"Fetch":
You concentrate on work. When the task is completed, the pet will bring back a random virtual souvenir to celebrate your achievements.
Working Time
"Bark":
Your virtual pet can send meeting reminders before meetings and bark after the expected end time, adding a touch of humor and reducing the stress of long discussions. This boosts meeting efficiency and gives employees a greater sense of self-control.
woof!
60 + 10 mins Woof
"Play":
Your pet initiates prompts that facilitate connection with others, such as suggesting to invite a colleague for a coffee break. With your approval, the pet will knock on the colleague's desktop and invite them.Your pets have the opportunity to play with each other, you and your colleagues can also have time to relax and chat together. These micro-interactions break down barriers between people, enhancing the sense of belonging in the workplace.
Experience design
Sensory Scavenger Hunt
Sensory Scavenger Hunt is a personal experiential project that uses audio prompts and a map to guide participants in focusing on each of the five senses, enabling them to discover connections with the world around them. By embarking on this journey, participants enhance their perceptiveness and curiosity towards their environment, resulting in a significant boost of positive emotions.
Get inspired by The art of noticing by Rob Walker actually we can have the ability to discover Joy in the everyday.
Looking forward
As I reflect upon my journey in exploring the realm of emotional wellbeing and the impact of positive clarity, I realize that I have only taken a small step forward. However, this step has ignited a deep passion within me to continue exploring and pushing the boundaries of design. My aspiration for the future is to develop a series of emotionally-driven products that will resonate with individuals and bring them joy.
With my humble abilities, I aim to influence a broader audience by infusing the power of nature, music, and animals into my designs. Each creation will be an opportunity to craft unique moments and experiences that evoke profound emotions. I envision a world where my designs not only serve a functional purpose but also connect with people on a deeper level, enhancing their well-being and enriching their lives.
As I embark on this journey, I am inspired by the conversations we have had, the wisdom gleaned from influential works, and the transformative positive psychology course at Harvard University. Armed with these insights, I am confident in my ability to create impactful designs that foster joy and positivity.
The path ahead may be filled with challenges, but I am committed to honing my skills, expanding my knowledge, and refining my artistic vision. I will relentlessly pursue the art of creating emotionally-charged designs that captivate hearts and minds.
In conclusion, my vision for the future is to make a difference through my design endeavors. I aspire to leave a lasting impact by infusing my creations with the power of emotions and offering unique experiences to individuals. With determination and a deep understanding of the profound impact of positive clarity, I look forward to transforming my passion into tangible creations that spread joy and touch the lives of many.
About the author
Xinyue was born and raised in Zhejiang, China, and attended Hainan University, where she studied marketing. After graduating, she gained experience as a product designer at a pet company. So far, she has 26 national patents, with designs including tableware, storage racks, and adjustable cat bowls. Some of the patented products that Xinyue has designed are currently available on the market. At MFA Products of Design, she is committed to emotional design, using products as emotional intervention tools to bring joy and surprise to more people's daily lives.
Ins: xinyue_haichao
Acknowledgements
My Pod Family 2023
Allan Chochinov
Sam Potts
Jessica Fu
Sinclair Smith
Ingrid Fetell Lee
Rob Walker
Julia Knoll
Marko Manriquez
Kyle Fakhoury
Alex de Looz
Emilie Baltz
Kristine Mudd
Kriss Xenakis
Becky Stern
Xuran Kong
Rui Yang
Sama Srinivas
Danica Dou
Wren Wang
Patrick Baca-Chandler
Berk ilhan
Susan Zhang
Qiting Fang
Yizhu Pan
Alexia Cohen
Nigel David Keen
Jintong Yang
Xumeng Mou
John Boran
Chia-Ling Kao(Jamie)
Junjun Chen
Rui Xian
My family
Bibliography
1. Tolle, E. (1999). The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. New World Library.
2. Jahanpour, N. (2021). The Road to Happiness: Simple Techniques to Live a Happy and Fulfilled Life. Independently published.
3. Lama, D., & Abrams, D. (2016). The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World. Avery.
4. Rob Walker. (2019). The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday. Vintage.
5. Positive Psychology Course at Harvard University. (Provider and year unknown).
6. World Health Organization. (n.d.). Depression. Retrieved from https:// www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression
7. Desmet, P. M. A. (2012). Faces of Product Pleasure: 25 Positive Emotions in Human-Product Interactions. International Journal of Design, 6(2), 1-29.
