Xinyue: Delight in the Everyday
Are you seeking to make your daily life more joyful without spending too much effort or money? Xinyue Wu's thesis project, Xinyue: Delight in the Everyday, offers simple, affordable solutions for 24-35-year-old workers. By transforming ordinary experiences into delightful ones and using everyday products as emotional intervention tools, Xinyue aims to bring joy into people's lives in a more accessible and sustainable way. With this approach, individuals can unconsciously infuse their daily lives with new-found vitality and happiness.
"The most successful designs are those that evoke an emotional response from the people who use them." — Don Norman
Born with the Chinese name meaning "Joy," Xinyue's parents believed it to be the perfect wish for their child. With a sense of purpose, Xinyue's mission is to bring happiness to more people through her products. Her approach focuses on three dimensions: personal experience (HairTunes), community relationships (Pawws), and connection with the world (Sensory Scavenger Hunt). By targeting different scenarios, such as home, work, and the outdoors, Xinyue's products gradually open users' hearts and bring delightful surprises and joy to seemingly mundane daily routines.
HairTunes: Musical Combs
HairTunes is an imaginative line of combs that subverts your expectations, creating a new and practical multi-sensory morning ritual. As you style your hair, they produce unique sounds that inject excitement and vitality into your routine. With no need for charging and its lightweight design, Hairtoons effortlessly reinvigorates the mundane act of combing hair.
"By combining music and touch, we can create a deeply engaging and satisfying experience that can have a positive impact on our well-being." - Dr. Klemens Gutmann
Rain Curle is inspired by the rain stick instrument. “The spiral structure inside, struck by metal beads, creates a spa-like experience for your hair, leaving you feeling refreshed,” Xinyue explains.
Accordicomb is inspired by the accordion and flute. “Its structure allows air to flow into the handle as you press it against your head, and you can control the tone with your fingertips,” Xinyue says. “Relax and train your brain at the same time.”
Inspired by cymbals, Cymbcush is a comb that creates a percussive sound as you press its teeth against your head. The internal spring compresses, causing a ball to strike against a copper plate and producing a rhythmic sound.
Pawws: Virtual Pet Companions for Workplaces
Pawws is an innovative desktop software that addresses the common workplace challenges of low mood levels and a desire for a greater sense of accomplishment, control, and belonging. By linking human workplace behavior with animal behavior, Pawws offers virtual pet companionship that brings joy and enhances employee productivity and job satisfaction.
Fetch: After using AI technology to create a unique virtual pet image, you can plan your daily tasks, and your pet will explore independently while you concentrate on your own work. When the job is completed, the pet will bring a random virtual souvenir to celebrate your achievements.
Bark: Your virtual pet can send meeting reminders before meetings and bark after the expected end time, adding a touch of humor and reducing the stress of long discussions. This boosts meeting efficiency and gives employees a greater sense of self-control.
Play: Your pet initiates prompts that facilitate connection with others, such as suggesting to invite a colleague for a coffee break. With your approval, the pet will knock on the colleague's desktop and invite them. Your pets have the opportunity to play with each other, and you and your colleagues can also have time to relax and chat together. These micro-interactions break down barriers between people, enhancing the sense of belonging in the workplace.
Sensory Scavenger Hunt
Sensory Scavenger Hunt is a personal experiential project that uses audio prompts and a map to guide participants in focusing on each of the five senses, enabling them to discover connections with the world around them. By embarking on this journey, participants enhance their perceptiveness and curiosity toward their environment, significantly boosting positive emotions.
Inspired by Rob Walker's book, The Art of Noticing, this project creates a unique structure to cultivate the ability to find joy in everyday life, tapping into our innate energy of delight.
To learn more about Xinyue Wu's work, take a look at her projects in more detail at xynewdesign.co.