GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree
MASTER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
on
Friday, November 22, 2024
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. EST
West Architecture 155
Online link
Zhifan Guo
will present a thesis defense entitled,
"Eliciting Design Insights for Everyday Device Supporting Informal Mindfulness Practices"
Advisor:
Hyunjoo Oh, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design
Committee:
Alexander T. Adams, Georgia Tech School of Interactive Computing
Leila Aflatoony Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design
Abstract
As smart devices increasingly dominate our daily lives, our attention has become increasingly fragmented. While informal mindfulness practices offer a way to restore present-moment awareness naturally integrated into daily activities, most technological solutions, such as meditation apps, paradoxically contribute to smart device distractions. This creates a need to explore alternative approaches that support informal mindfulness practices without relying on screen-based interactions. In this thesis, I examined ways to harmonize technology with focused attention by reconsidering time's role in mindfulness through a series of participatory study sessions. I developed two initial prototypes aimed at supporting mindful moments embedded in everyday living contexts. To gain deeper insights from mindfulness practitioners' embodied experiences and explore specific design considerations, I conducted a participatory design study with ten experienced mindfulness practitioners, inviting them to reimagine their relationship with time and everyday objects beyond screen-based interactions. One selected concept was developed into a working prototype through close collaboration with its original creator. The findings reveal time as a crucial element in mindfulness object design, with participants favoring ambient timing mechanisms over disruptive alerts and suggesting unobtrusive operation based on the nature of informal mindfulness activities.
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