Designers
Benedikt Herzau
Year
2024
Category
New Talent
Country
Germany
School
HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences
Teacher
Pelin Celik
»In an increasingly stressful world, NOISE offers a unique meditation experience beyond mobile apps. This thoughtfully designed hardware device creates an audio-visual space for mindfulness, valuable in compact living environments. NOISE's poetic approach and shy-tech design promote digital detox while empowering users through interactive, gesture-based meditation. The product excels in its attention to detail, showcasing excellent exploration and documentation. By leveraging existing technology creatively, NOISE presents a compelling, commercializable solution for modern meditation needs.«
Joon-Mo Lee and Hamed Yahyaei
And the award goes to...
Three questions for the project team
What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
The main challenge of the project in terms of the user experience was to create a balanced impression of novelty and familiarity. The fundamental idea was to design a product with an innovative and encouraging character that stimulates interest in the unknown and yet can be used intuitively and discovered in a playful way. For this reason, the design and interaction concept of 'NOISE' requires no prior experience with synthesizers or comparable products and is intended to minimize potential inhibitions. Interactions and semantic links were used and reinterpreted that we are already subconsciously familiar with. The combination of exploration and familiarity is intended to provide a positive user experience.
What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
I really enjoyed the entire design process of the project. It was exciting to transform the original idea and the research findings into a product with an emotional character and to realize that the resulting design is semantically logical and reasonable on many different levels. In general the production of physical prototypes was a really exciting and insightful part/highlight of the project, as main design decisions could be better evaluated and made, especially regarding the user experience. At the same time, the thermal manipulation of materials and surfaces, e.g. by vacuum forming, was also a major challenge that led to both satisfaction and frustration.
Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
Over the next years, I would like to expand my skills and my portfolio by studying a master's degree in product design with the focus on interaction and UX. As a graduated medical engineer, I would also like to gain further professional experience and insights through several design internships and figure out how I can combine my qualifications in the best way. After completing my Master's degree, I see myself as a part of a progressive design studio that works on exciting future-oriented ideas and concepts and bring them to life.
'NOISE' addresses the future-relevant issue of noise pollution in everyday life in an original way. For this reason, I hope to get in touch with tech-companies to present my project and receive feedback.
