/ˈmel.əʊ/
MELLOW
The Mellow project is designed to create a sense of calm and emotional well-being for individuals facing stress and anxiety.
Just like the word "mellow" suggests, our aim is to develop a toy that helps people relax and express their emotions during challenging times, providing a soothing and comforting experience.
Introduction
I wanted to create Mellow to provide individuals facing stress and anxiety with a way to relax and express their emotions because I believe everyone deserves a comforting outlet during tough times. This problem is particularly challenging since designing a toy that effectively addresses emotional needs while remaining simple and intuitive presents a unique set of design challenges.
Common Stressors
Pandemic's Effect on Gen Z Stress
•Anxiety due to health concerns
•Social isolation and loneliness
•Disrupted education and uncertainty about the future
•Family stress and conflicts
•Economic challenges
Impact of stress
Impact of stress
Headache
Muscle tension or pain
Chest pain
Fatigue
Stomach upset
Sleep problems
On your Mood
Restlessness
Anxiety
Lack of motivation or focus
Feeling overwhelmed
Irritability or anger
Sadness or depression
Impact of stress
Overeating or undereating
Angry outbursts
Drug or alcohol misuse
Tobacco use
Social withdrawal
Exercising less often
Common Stressors
Design Brief
Design a toy that caters to the emotional needs of introverted and anxious individuals, offering a healthy means of expression and distraction during tough times. The main goals include enhancing emotional well-being, alleviating stress, and providing a healthy outlet for emotional expression. However, obstacles such as designing an effective and engaging toy, and creating both physical and non-physical solutions that cater to different user preferences, must be overcome.
Final Product
Introducing the final prototype of Mellow: a wooden interactive toy designed to provide comfort and emotional support during times of stress and anxiety. With its unique features, Mellow offers a tactile and engaging experience:
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Wiggles: Fidget with its tail by giving it a slight push or wiggle.
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Curls: Fold its legs to adapt different poses, expressing various emotions like sleeping or sitting.
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Ears: The ears move up and down, indicating whether the owner is open to conversation.
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Belly Rubs: A metal ball on its belly allows for fidgeting during anxiety bursts.
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Poops: Feed Mellow a metal ball, then navigate a maze inside its stomach through sound, guiding the ball to exit, simulating a pooping action.
Prototyping
Almost the highlight of this project was the iterative prototyping process, where I continuously refined my designs based on user feedback as well as the productibility of the toy. This iterative approach not only improved the effectiveness of the toy but also helped me create a product that was engaging and enjoyable to use.
Reflections
Working on the Mellow toy design project has been a deeply rewarding experience. Throughout the project, I learned the importance of empathy-driven design and the significant impact that even a simple toy can have on emotional well-being.
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One of the most valuable aspects of this project was the user research phase as well as the main challenge I faced, where I had the opportunity to deeply understand the emotional needs and preferences of the target audience and cater to them. Their insight's guided my design decisions and ensured that the final product was truly tailored to the needs of introverted and anxious individuals.
The main heroes of the project were user research methods, which helped identify a persona for the target audience and understand their emotional needs. Despite reaching for venture goals aimed at enhancing emotional well-being, initial designs weren't fully satisfying, requiring further iterations and prototypes to meet user expectations and provide effective emotional support, engaging and enjoyable to use.
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User Testing?
Users Playing.
Here are 2 people in action with the final prototype.
Ashmi Rajnish and Parth Dandekar
