Intertwi­ngle

User‐modes

These would enable collaboration through matching users to fellow work colleagues with the same user‐mode when they are matched or in close proximity through the Dial or other portable objects. These include:

Focus mode: The equivalent of a do not disturbmode on mobile devices but approached from a human perspective. This would let users customise their notifications and de-list them from online matching server.

Collab mode: Letting users being notified that their colleagues that they are open to collaborate on various projects and can get help when needed on request. A typical usecase scenario would be:

Unwind mode: Enabling the initiation of interactions and connections by letting the user's colleagues know that they are ready to unwind from the day's tasks for example by grabbing a coffee, or getting lunch.

Connection to the Digital platform

This consits of an auto‐match feature where the system automatically match people with the same user modes.

A ‘fountain’ of dials

We considered a possibility that when people are doing group work, they could combine their dial to form a Group dial – stacking them up, or in otherwards a ‘fountain’ of dials.

People shall always be people:

• People may match with the person they do not like.
• They may also not choose to and they ignoring a particular person on purpose as they can select or filter who not to match with in the different collaboration user‐modes.
• A possibility of using the digital product as a dating space in similar usage as Tinder which may go against work policies. We solved this by adding Report and Help functionalities.
• People may forget to use the dial
• People don't use the dial!

Management level concerns

• Turning OfficeMix into a monitoring device for employees at different levels.
• People competing about how long they are on Focus mode.
• People choosing to always stay in Focus or Unwind mode. We tackled this by adding time limits for example a 5 hour budget of Unwind mode each week and letting users deciding when to use it.
• Employers worrying or being unhappy about how much time people spend in each mode.

Inspiration

Borrowing from the slick Microsoft Surface Dial, ...

3D printing the Dial

Making the Dial surfaces clearer

We later on socked the 3D‐printed Dials in water to remove the stickiness and give the surface material a clearer and cleaner look.

Programming the Dial turning mechanism

To add working functionality to the Dial that would enable a it to communicate with digital devices, we employed the use of an Arduino board, a button–switch turning component and a lighting component.

The Arduino board as the brains to the Dial, it was being powered through a USB cable connected to a computer with a program interpreting code that we wrote listening to the Dial for button–switch turning signals when it is turned in the clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. This in practice, would be in direct seamless communication with the mobile application, smartwatch application and desktop plugin.

The lighting component would in a similar state with the button–switch turning mechanism would change colour as a visual cue to let the user know they are in a desired mode:

• No colour in Away mode or when the Dial is turned off
• Blue for Focus mode
• Green for Collab mode and
• Orange for Casual which later became Unwind mode.

To give the Dial a professional fit, we spray‐painted the outer surface with a grey colour to come as close as possible to a device one would be attracted to using every now and then they wanted to change their working mode.

Ideation

Due to time and cost implications, we exchanged ideas on the most effective and swift way we could run User‐testing within the available time frame. One of them was to make a few colour‐coded rollable circular charts as illustrated below and put them on tables observe how people would utilise them. However we opted to use the ever–readily available power of pen and paper with friends and friends of friends in the final week.

Story‐boarding and script‐writing

As we were unable to accessible faster alternatives, we used taboo material post-its, to create a storyboard that would tell a story that would resonate and market our product to our audience, come our final presentation. The script outlined an individual, who turns on their work device only to get bombarded by notications.

But, luckily for them, their company just acquired shiny new OfficeMix Dials that they make use of, to switch to Focus mode for some piece of quiet. They later switch to Collab mode when they require professional skillset help and then finally, Unwind mode with which they navigate to a meet‐up location for a quick chat with work‐mates.

Did anyone carry popcorn?

For creative inspiration — minus popcorn, we watched a short film from the ‘usual–suspects’ Apple, to guide us on storytelling and film shooting techniques and tricks.

First video draft

Guided by our story‐board, we shot natural lighted hand‐held scenes that Marty later one put together to make the first video draft:

Here was the feedback from the second-last day of presentation:

• Think about the difference between Do‐not‐disturb mode on mobile devices and Focus mode.
• We had designed the Dial in the form of a land-fill — one that could be easily forgotten or discarded.
• Test, test, test... Test as much as possible and consider abuse‐testing where necessary to identify more of what could go wrong.
• Provide proof of concept where you give actual scenarios where the ideas would be useful.
• Make the user‐modes clearer to understand both literally and visually.
• The idea of Focus mode not getting people interrupted was entirely fictional.
• It would be useful to add closing hours or end of day notifications.
• Lessen the Mobile application clutter as it looked like a lot was going on.
• To think about materials for example ceramic and wooden options and also why the dial took that particular form and not any other.
• A possibility that this was simply crossing siloes but not actually collaboration especially in Casual mode.