Achieving a Sense of Calm
Better Sleep through Seamless Technologies
CLIENT
IKEAPROJECT
Master Degree Project + Paper at the Halfway to The Future Conference in Santa Cruz, CA 2024TEAM
Alice Borg Partners: It’s Already Tomorrow, IKEA, KTH, and RISE DATE + DURATION
2023, 5 monthsTOOLS
Soma Design, Research through Design, Workshops, UX, Autobiographical Design, Physical Prototyping, Product Design, Figma 
ABOUT
This project, commissioned by IKEA and conducted in collaboration with It’s Already Tomorrow, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and RISE aimed to contribute to alleviating the widespread problem of sleep deprivation and associated unfavourable habits that impede physical and mental preparedness for falling asleep.
The objective was to design an easily approachable and commercially viable prototype for better sleep, that incorporates both digital and physical components, supporting IKEA customers worldwide to ease the process of winding down before bed.
The gathered insights from the process culminated in the creation of a first version prototype, incorporating elements of sound and light to gently guide the user into a slow breathing rhythm, facilitating the body's preparation for sleep.
PROCESS
Based on the explorative and bodily nature of the project, soma design was the chosen methodology, driven by a Research through Design approach. Utilizing soma design as a methodology enables individuals to establish a deeper connection with their bodies. This connection becomes particularly vital when the objective is to move beyond the creation of yet another self-tracking or sleep quality measuring tool. The design process entailed an onboarding session, workshop, data analysis, material and first-person explorations, physical prototyping, and digital implementation. The diagram above provides an overview of the design process, demonstrating how each step informs the subsequent one.
Onboarding Session
The project started off with a remote onboarding session to lay the groundwork of soma design, fundamentals of sleep, as well as making everyone more at ease with one another before the upcoming workshop.
Workshop
The physical workshop was later held at IKEA’s headquarters in Älmhult with the IKEA team from the Home Smart Department, It’s Already Tomorrow, and researchers from KTH. The aim was to tangibly explore soma design methods, engage in low-fi prototypes in real-life settings, and create a common language for the arising sensations.
Material and First-Person Explorations
Over a period of two weeks, parameters such as functionality, aesthetics, size, sound, pace, and light intensity were investigated through materials and a first-person approach. Mood boards were created to gather inspiration for both functionality and aesthetics. The functionality parameter was analyzed through market research, which investigated already existing products on the market that target sleep and wellbeing. The functionality mood board provided a visual overview and identified key functions that users appreciate. For aesthetics, an exploratory approach was employed, drawing inspiration from soma design, sleep, and wellbeing. Inspiration was also gathered from various sources including online platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, as well as nature, my bedroom, and lived experiences.
Physical Prototype and Digital Implementation
I collaborated with It's Already Tomorrow's designers to create the physical design of the prototype, including the concept and user experience. IKEA's in-house department managed the technical implementation of our ideas, and we later collaborated to optimize the implemented features, ensuring they aligned with the desired experience.
RESULTS
The workshop yielded rich data, including body maps, photos, videos, audio recordings, and experience- and reflection sheets. To analyze this data, a thematic analysis was conducted, following an inductive approach, meaning that the constructed themes are closely linked to the collected data.
Ultimately, the thematic analysis resulted in the construction of five themes that later provided guidelines for narrowing the design space and ensuring that the material exploration yielded a fruitful outcome.
The first theme, Nuances of individual preference, points towards the prevailing subjectiveness and the significance of tailoring the experience to individual preferences. This notion motivates the options for adaptability in the prototype.
The third theme, Subtle guidance of attention, emphasizes the value of gently guiding the body into desirable states to not disrupt the intended experience. The insight confirms that the light intensity, temperature, and sound need to be balanced to avoid attracting any focal attention onto the technology.
The second theme, Harmonizing the rhythm of experience, highlights the essentiality of finding the right rhythm, pace, and intensity to create the optimal experience. Consequently, this indicates that the breathing pattern, followed by light and sound, must be hard-wired to avoid any disruptive delays.
The fourth theme, Continuous and repetitive process, draws attention to the need of creating a routine to prime the body for sleep. This notion motivates the suggested option of making the routine more complex by adding a desired bedtime, allowing the system to gently nudge users into sustainable nighttime routines.
Lastly, the fifth theme, Capability of external influence, underscores the importance of considering the contextual aspects by evaluating the prototype in a natural setting. This led to explorations taking place in an actual bedroom, minimizing external interference.
PRODUCT: PHYSICAL + DIGITAL
The physical design of the prototype was a collaborative effort between myself and the designers at It's Already Tomorrow. The final assembly comprised the SYMFONISK lamp base, a clear light bulb from the TRÅDFRI collection, a sandblasted shade with a gradual fading effect, and a 3D printed lock for the shade to safely be attached onto the lamp base. The technical implementation of the first version, including a light pattern following an HRV breathing rhythm, an accompanying soundtrack that follows the same rhythm, and a physical shortcut button, was developed in-house at IKEA based on our formulated concept. The technical parameters were later refined and fine-tuned in conjunction with the development team at their office in Malmö to ensure that the prototype met our desired specifications.
As part of the project scope, an adapted version of the final prototype was created as the initial step in the process. The adapted version did not include the option for users to personalize their experience based on their preferences. To establish a solid proof-of-concept for the final version, it was decided to conduct a prior week-long evaluation study on the first iteration, where the digital implementation is hard-wired to a 15-minute breathing exercise, accompanied by light and sound. The insights and feedback gathered from the study will later be used to inform the development of the final version, including the desired adaptability. To ensure a smooth development process in the near future, Figma prototypes were created and shared with IKEA's development team, even though app development will take place at a later stage.
The work was also turned into a paper that was published at the Halfway to The Future Conference in Santa Cruz, CA 2024.
