Study Aid Design: Designing with and for a Friend
ID Special Topics Studio: Design for Divergence (RISD) - December, 2024
The objective of this personal design project was to design a personalized study/time-management aid device as a gift for my friend, Johanna, who wanted a tool to help her organize her time and enhance her study habits.
More than a product, this project was an opportunity to practice user-centered design in its most personal form, designing not only for someone, but with them. From initial interviews and observations to testing and iteration, Johanna was involved in every stage of the process. My focus throughout was on making direct connections between user insights and design decisions.
User Research
Primary user research included:
-
Direct observation through FaceTiming Johanna during study sessions
-
Reviewing a recorded video of her study routine
-
Conducted two interviews: an initial exploratory interview (pictured here) followed by a more in-depth, detailed interview
-
Using the “5 Whys” method to uncover deeper motivations behind her habits
-
Analyzing a journal entry Johanna wrote about her experiences with current strategies
-
Personally testing the device during my own study sessions to assess functionality and usability
These methods were supported by secondary research into time-management strategies, Pomodoro techniques, and sensory design principles, especially the use of light, sound, and scent to support focus and habit formation.
Research Findings
Studying is and will continue to be an important part of Johanna’s life, and is directly related to some of her future goals. She finds a sense of confidence and identity in accumulating knowledge, which she has always considered an important personal strength. Studying isn’t always enjoyable, so Johanna finds ways to make it more enjoyable for her. These strategies include the pomodoro method and lists, setting up an atmosphere with a laptop, music, hot beverage, water, candle, decent lighting, books and warmth.
Johanna is also highly sensitive to her surroundings, and easily affected by external factors like sounds, lighting, materials, and overall comfort levels. Visible clocks can be too distracting.
Balancing study time and personal time isn’t easy for her, and she often feels pressured to work even during leisure activities. At home, leisure activities and studying all take place mainly in one room, so having other ways to separate the two areas of her life through cues such as lighting, sound, etc. is important to her.
Device Preferences:
-
Lighting: Warm, adjustable lighting (possibly flame-like) as cue.
-
Scent: She prefers a light, sweet scent or pine scent, possibly from an oil diffuser or candle, that one can turn off and on
-
Sound: A gentle, unobtrusive reminder sound to signal breaks or session changes
-
Task Input: Having a way to input the type of task she is doing during a session is preferable, either digitally or on paper
-
Appearance & Materials: Johanna would like the device to have a natural, earthy look (wood, soft earth tones), with a stable but portable build. Not overly clean or ornate. After viewing sketches, Johanna prefers simpler box design.
-
Battery-Powered: As portability is important, she would prefer the device to be battery-powered, even though a cable option is acceptable
-
Timer options: 25 study time, 3x 5 min breaks, 1x 15 min break, and maybe also 45 study time, 3x 10 min breaks, 1x 15 min breaks
Design Criteria
1 / Enhances existing study strategies
During observation and interviews, it became clear that Johanna has multiple study habits that help her focus; a website that functions as a pomodoro timer and allows her to input tasks and using the candle as a light and scent cue to study. Through the second interview and five whys, it also became clear that Johanna is sensitive to senses around her, which is why signaling study time through light, sound and scent works well for her. The device should incorporate and enhance these study strategies through its design.
2 / Blends in seamlessly into Johanna’s room
In the second interview and in a follow up interview where I showed Johanna the sketches, it became clear that Johanna appreciates a device that would fit well into her room aesthetically; made of natural materials and neutral colors.
3 / Safe to use at all times
The device should be safe to use at all times. The light, sound and scent signals should work through a mechanism that don’t risk overheating the device.
4 / Must be less than 20 pounds
In the second interview and follow up interview, Johanna made it clear that the device shouldn't be too heavy in order for it to be portable when she travels between her apartment and parents’ house during break.
5 / Personalization aspects
When showing the sketches, Johanna expressed that she would appreciate a personalized design that is unique to her interests or a shared memory.
Initial Ideas
-
Study Companion — a cute wooden companion figure with light/scent functions
-
Candle Appearance — an ornamented candle-shaped object
-
Wooden Orb — a carved sphere with an internal LED for soft ambient lighting
-
Set Design — a combined object with slots for a candle, mug, and scent diffuser
To determine which concept best fit Johanna’s needs, I used a decision matrix based on key design criteria drawn from user research.
Design Direction
After discussing with Johanna, I ended up going with a mix of the ideas above:
-
Incense instead of a candle warmer or oil diffuser to avoid major safety hazards, while getting the same smoke effect.
-
The design will be a box with a dragon design on the front in order to personalize the design to Johanna’s interests.
-
In order to enhance existing study habits, there will be a note compartment on the bottom, a compartment for the arduino and one for the incense on top.
-
For lighting and sounds, I will use LEDs and a buzzer on an arduino.
Prototyping
This was an iterative prototyping process, combining circuit building, Arduino programming, and physical form development. I rewrote the Arduino code four times, using the Tinkercad website to simulate and troubleshoot functionality before testing with real components. Testing the device with Johanna over FaceTime revealed key bugs, most notably, the buzzer failed to play properly due to timing conflicts in the code. I resolved this by rewriting the function to trigger only in the first three seconds of a new session or break.
Alongside electronics testing, I also began prototyping the wooden casing, incorporating warm LEDs and incense to align with Johanna’s sensory preferences.
Arduino Code
1 / Capabilities
-
Customizable Study Sessions: a 25- or 45-minute study cycle with built-in break timing
-
Ambient Sensory Cues
-
Lighting: Warm, cozy LED glow signals study vs. break time
-
Sound: Subtle buzzer sounds indicate transitions
-
-
Distraction-Free Operation
-
No screens, timers, or flashing clocks
-
-
Portable & Resettable
-
Battery-powered and easily reset with one button press
-
2 / Hardware Components
-
Buttons:
-
Button A: Start 25-minute session
-
Button B: Start 45-minute session
-
Button C: Reset device
-
-
Passive buzzer for audio signals
-
6 LEDs for study-time indication 1 LED for break-time
-
Supporting Electronics: Resistors Breadboard/wiring USB/Battery power source
Final Design
The final product is a personalized study aid that uses light, sound cues, and incense to gently structure study sessions—custom-built for Johanna’s habits and preferences.