After the Night Ends: Reimagining the After-Work Life for Third Shift Workers
Jingyi Zhu’s thesis, After the Night Ends: Reimagining the After-Work Life for Third Shift Workers, centers night shift workers in the design of tools that support recovery, resilience, and recognition in a world built for the day. While most of society sleeps, third shift workers are on the job—staffing hospitals, driving buses, and keeping essential services running. Their schedules invert the body’s natural rhythms, forcing them to sleep through daylight and spend their waking hours under artificial light.
“How do we honor the lives of those who live against the clock?”
Jingyi began her research with simple prototypes—including a RGB lighting bowl that tested how colored light affects appetite—but soon realized that light itself wasn’t the root issue. The deeper question became: Who is most impacted by our lighting environments, and how does this affect their lives?
Focusing on the often invisible transition that happens after the night shift ends, Jingyi developed a three-part intervention—Decompression, Restoration, and Recognition—to help night workers downshift from high-alert states, reclaim meaningful rest, and reconnect with their identities outside of work. Her thesis challenges dominant notions of productivity and reframes rest as an active, dignified process of repair for those who live against the clock.
Daydreamer Sleeping Kit
To adapt to night shifts, workers must shift their circadian rhythm—learning to feel sleepy during the day and alert at night. But how does one retrain the body to rest under the glare of daylight? Through interviews with four night shift workers and consultations with sleep experts, Jingyi identified three major obstacles to quality daytime sleep. These insights led to Daydreamer, a sleep kit designed to reduce environmental disturbances and support better rest.
Who is most impacted by our lighting environments, and how does this affect their lives?
Glimpse Sleeping Mask
Frequent waking is common during the day, especially when exposed to sunlight during short wakeful moments. Jingyi embedded a light-dimming ND PVC sheet directly into a sleep mask, allowing users to move through bright environments—like answering the door or going to the bathroom—without fully waking to harsh light.
Meditation Pajamas
For many night shift workers, the biggest challenge is initiating sleep during unnatural hours. Jingyi was inspired by meditation tools that help users focus by tracing visual paths—but instead of vision, she turned to touch. Softly patterned pajamas allow users to trace calming shapes with their fingertips, helping ease tension and gently guide the body into sleep.
Tactile Alarm Clock
For many, a distorted sense of time adds stress to daytime rest. Rather than relying on phones or clocks, this tactile device allows users to physically feel the passage of time, effectively reducing visual stimulation and helping regulate sleep without breaking the restorative rhythm of rest.
Together, the tools in the Daydreamer Sleeping Kit help redefine rest—as not only possible, but also serving to empower those whose lives run on a flipped schedule.
N-Life
During an interview, a participant named Devika posed a question that stuck with Jingyi: “Why is it so hard to find services at night?” No doctors, no therapists, no cultural life—and certainly not on weekends. Jingyi’s response was N-Life, a mobile app designed to support the social, emotional, and practical needs of night shift workers. The app divides support into two categories: essential services and cultural life.
“Why it is so hard to find services at night?
There are no doctors, no dentists, no loan officers, no bankers…
…and NEVER on the weekends.”
For day-to-day needs, the N-Life app shows open services like pharmacies and clinics based on real-time availability. A density map shows where other night workers are active—reminding users that they’re not alone. Smart reminders notify users when stores are about to close, helping them plan within their unusual time frames.For connection and enrichment, the app prioritizes time over location. Users can search for events based on their actual free hours—often outside conventional schedules—and even create or share gatherings of their own.
Imagine Devika, a night shift worker, looking for an open CVS late at night. When she opens the N-Life app, a live map shows her that she’s not alone—other night workers are active nearby. She quickly finds available services without distraction, and the app sends smart reminders when stores are about to close. Since her schedule is irregular, N-Life prioritizes time over location—helping her discover events that actually fit into her life. Devika can also create and share gatherings with others, building community on her own terms.
N-Life gives structure, visibility, and dignity to a population that often moves through the city unseen.
Toast the Night: A Pop-Up Bar for Shared Strength
As Jingyi deepened her research, a new concern surfaced: safety in the invisible hours. Bokaya, a participant in a co-creation workshop, shared, “Since my job involves serving alcohol, a major challenge has been people attempting to touch me inappropriately.” In response, Jingyi designed Toast the Night, a pop-up bar experience hosted in downtown Manhattan on March 23. The gathering created a space for night shift workers to share stories, exchange resources, and support one another in navigating nighttime safety.
“Since my job involves serving alcohol, a major challenge has been people attempting to touch me inappropriately.”
The event opened with a quiet ritual: participants were invited to write down a difficult memory from their work lives. Then, they selected two drink ingredients—one representing the emotion tied to that experience, the other symbolizing a superpower they wished they’d had in the moment. These personal drink mixes became conversation starters, helping to transform intangible experiences into tangible, sharable tastes.
Through storytelling, sensory exchange, and mutual recognition, Toast the Night offered a moment of reflection and solidarity—helping participants reclaim a sense of safety, self-assurance, and connection in the hours when they’re most often unseen.
For a deeper look into Jingyi’s thesis process, research, and reflections, explore the following links:
Thesis Repository on Notion – a comprehensive archive of Jingyi’s thesis development
jo1ndesign.com – Jingyi’s design website
