EDP 2021 [W1nk] Team NamiNamiKami
A new work-life balance at home, by the window.
Japanese ver. here
Contents
- Product
- Design Process
- Message and Reflection from NamiNamiKami members
- Slides
- Poster
- Product Movie Full ver.
Hello! We are Team NamiNamiKami!
Our EDP project was done in collaboration with YKK AP, and our theme was “Design a window experience that enables a healthy work and life at home”
A new work-life balance at home, by the window.
(drum roll!) We present to you W1nk!
For starters, please take a look at our fabulous promotional video right below.
You can watch the FULL version here.
PRODUCT PITCH
W1nk is a “second work space” for people who work from home and cannot concentrate on their work in the same room all day. By using this product, they can continue to work all day even from home, and they don’t have to keep working afterhours.
Unlike existing standing desks, this product not only allows them to change their body posture, but also encourages them to stand up and walk, changes their view, and creates a new working environment at home.
Let us tell you the story behind W1nk.
WHY W1NK
Our idea all started from this problem that we found from an interview.
People who have a decent workspace at home such as a relaxing chair, or a fine display, have trouble focusing. They try to work elsewhere in the house, but they end up being unproductive.
Though it’s not that big of a problem that they have to move to a bigger place or renovate their home, it’s big enough that it affects their work-life balance.
It’s hard to concentrate working in a single room all-day. In a seclosed space, unable to refresh. Going out of the room is the only solution to change their mood, but they end up slacking off and the living space just doesn’t motivate them to work.
We took the following approaches towards the problem.
The work room is boring and claustrophobic, so its hard to concentrate for a long time
→ Accept the act of going out of the work room
It’s difficult to find the motivation to work anywhere outside the work room
→ Create a place that has a different scenery for light work
This is the foundation of our product, W1nk.
W1nk creates a new work-life balance at home, by the window.
ABOUT W1NK
W1nk is the perfect product for people who work all day in their work room and want to change theirworking space or body posture. In addition, they can also use W1nk when they want to focus on light tasks such as replying to emails or scheduling meetings. W1nk helps them balance work and life.
Here’s how to use W1nk for work.
(1) Don’t feel like working in the work room anymore? Get out and open up W1nk.
(2) Work for a while in the new space behind the curtain, while bathing in the sun.
(3) After feeling refreshed, fold up W1nk.
(4) Return to the work room to continue working.
Outide of work, W1nk can be used for sunbathing, playing games, reading, or doing other hobbies.
We built a prototype of W1nk and showed it to some potential users. Here’s what they said.
Of course, we shall be developing W1nk to expand it’s use cases. In addition, we are planning to create a color line up so you can match the one that suits your room the best.
W1nk. Bringing you the new work-life balance for the new-normal.
That’s all about our product. Scroll further down to see our design process!
DESIGN PROCESS
Our team was a mix of Japanese and English speakers, and most of the communication within the group, including meetings, discussions, and chats, was done in both languages.
Here, we would like to share with you the good and tough times that we experienced as a mixed team in EDP.
THE PROS AND CONS OF A MIXED TEAM
The first good thing about being in a mixed team was that we had the opportunity to verbalize our arguments in both Japanese and English. By verbalizing our thoughts bilingually, each of us was able to objectively look at our own arguments before discussing them with others, which we feel was a great advantage.
Our cultural differences also gave us an opportunity to go deeper into the reasons for our actions, since the way each of us interpret a user’s behavior was different. This was a great method for us to notice a user’s discomforts (called “ZawaZawa” in EDP), which are often overlooked.
On the other hand, there were many difficulties that we faced, among which the group was not able to convey expressive nuances of language, so we kept repeating the same discussion without getting a common understanding within the group.
After six months of EDP, we can say that our team building was not “smooth like butter”. Let’s dive into some concrete episodes.
“I’m talking about…” signs
First of all, our group often spent a lot of time in discussions. People around us sometimes say that we work very hard and work late, but the reality was that our discussions were dragging on because we were not getting our opinions across.
That is why we developed the “I’m talking about…” signs. There were four types of signs: Conclusion, Reason, Confirmation, and Question. We used them to interrupting someone, or when we want to start speaking. The speaker will lift up the card that matches the purpose of his or her speech.
The aim of the signs is twofold.
1. To prevent the speaker from losing sight of the purpose of the conversation.
2. To help the listener understand the speaker’s intentions.
As a result, everyone’s speech became clearer and more coherent, and the rest who listened were less likely to be left behind.
Language Trouble
On the other hand, there was also a problem that we could not solve.
We conducted most of the interviews in Japanese, which made it very difficult for the international student members. Abstract phrases such as “向き合う” in “子供と誠実に向き合う”, onomatopoeia such as “パンパン” and “ドンドン”, phrases like “めんどくさい”, and other small nuances unique to Japanese were hard to understand. Although we had bilingual members in the team, it was a huge struggled to understand these things to empathize with the users.
We still don’t understand users’ behaviors very well.
Turning Point: Mrs. O
However, after conducting more than two dozen interviews, things started to change when we found Mrs. O.
In our first interview with her, we focused on the events surrounding working from home. From there, we found the following three issues.
- Lack of communication with co-workers and supervisors, resulting in low motivation for work
- Although going to the office is permitted and can definitely change her attitude towards work, commuting is a hassle
- Wanting to separate living and working spaces, but she ends up working on the couch and slacking off.
First of all, we used the following two parameters to narrow down the problem for us to address.
1. has a large impact on people’s lives
2. has a feasible solution
Furthermore, we made several hypotheses, and through a second interview conducted an even deeper analysis to find out her true needs. Here are some of the hypotheses we actually formulated.
- There is a need to make a physical boundary to separate work and personal life.
- Changing work spaces will change one’s mood
After showing the user our prototypes, we found out that she does not want to completely separate her living space from her working space, but needs a place where she can feel motivated to work when she feels like she’s reached a dead-end at work, can no longer concentrate or does not feel motivated.
Trial-and-error
With our problem definition covered, our next step was to design our solution. In the process, we thought and asked ourselved a lot of questions.
What kind of space can efficiently restore motivation to work?
What kind of posture is appropriate?
What are the minimum necessary functions that the product needs to satisfy these requirements?
We unraveled the necessary elements of the product by conducting user tests and actually testing out the product ourselves.
For example, we held an online meeting where everyone had to work by the window to see if it can really change one’s moods, and to figure out the kind of the functions that the product would need.
We found out that working by the window can make us feel refreshed! This gave us confidence in our product. At the same time, however, we found issues such as glare, and noticed a need to adjust the position and height of the desk.
Furthermore, we experimented with different table sizes and curtain heights, considering specific cases in which the product would be used. We aspired to make a product that could be used in various kinds of room settings.
In making the final prototype, we went to the university’s “Monozukuri Center” and used heavy cratfing tools such as wood cutters and a panel saw, and used the laser printer at the Design Factory to cut out simple acrylic parts.
Unlike the previous prototypes that we created using cardboard, a more precise design and detailed work were required. Thus, our discussion automatically leveled up and more time was sepent to determine specific mechanisms and the final appearance.
The result of all these efforts is W1nk.
Our team building was not smooth like butter
…
but we stuck together like butter and toast.
PREVIOUS PRODUCTS
Before we created W1nk, we challenged ourselves in creating different kinds of window experiences. We had the opportunity to focus on the issues of various users, such background noise during online meetings and raising children while working from home. We discovered problems surrounding teleworking and sought solutions to make people’s lives healthier.
ABOUT OUR GROUP
北川拓 / Taku KITAGAWA (東京工業大学大学院 Master’s Student in Architecture)
Jeremy GAVRIEL (東京工業大学大学院 Master’s Student in Mechanical Engineering)
藤田佐和子 / Sawako FUJITA (東京工業大学大学院 Master’s Student in Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering)
Peimin XU ”Jo” (東京工業大学大学院 Master’s Student in Transdiciplinary Science and Engineering)
田中雅 / Miyabi TANAKA (多摩美術大学 Bachelor’s Student in Information Design)
Please refer to our Japanese page for more details about our members.
We hope your enjoyed this blog article!
Thank you for reading.
Slides
Poster
