Easy to Swap.
Vinayak Syam
London, United Kingdom
Kard
Kard is a design exercise project done under a live brief by the British Brand Roberts. Founded in 1932, Roberts Radio Limited is a brand leader in the portable radio and Bluetooth speaker market. With a heritage of over 90 years, Roberts has a brand reputation for quality and reliability. Products range from fifties-styled retro radios to high-value audio products.
Brief by Roberts.
Roberts would like to build on the experiences gained from introducing the Zen Plus clock radio and explore further the concept of a bedside well-being clock radio.
"Develop a new product design concepts for a bedside well-being clock radio for the Roberts brand. We urge you to investigate interior design trends, products, use cases, and upcoming technology. Research what ‘well-being means’ in this context and how it may be applied to design opportunities. Participants must examine the Roberts brand and incorporate it into the projects they create."
Market & Users.
In addition to providing market and user research study insights, the Roberts design team's brief placed a greater emphasis on the "Enhancers" user typology, which was discovered using data from user and market research.
63%
Identified enhancers
are Females with family.
80%
people use their smart phones before bed.
55%
Check phone when they wake up middle of Night.
A study of 2,000 people in the UK found that nearly 80% of people use their phones before bed and 55% check their phones if they wake up during the night. The study also found that those who use their phones before bed are more likely to report poor quality sleep (Statista, 2019).
Vision
Roberts Could help make them feel in control of their environment and connected to the Now.
Contextual Considerations & Clutters.
In the UK, standard bedside table dimensions typically range from 60-75 cm in height, 30-50 cm in width, and 30-50 cm in depth. These measurements may vary based on the table's purpose, design, and the bed it accompanies. Multiple British social media posts were analyzed to identify common items found on bedside tables and their spatial arrangement.
Lamp
Clock
Tissues
Pills
Books
Phone
Frames
Charger
Understanding Sleep.
Several studies have found that using smartphones and other electronic devices before bed can delay the onset of sleep, reduce sleep quality, and lead to daytime sleepiness. The blue light emitted by these devices can suppress the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep (Chang et al., 2015; Falbe et al., 2015).
Sleep consists of two primary types: REM and NREM. NREM has three stages: N1 (light sleep), N2 (medium depth), and N3 (deep sleep). Sleep cycles through NREM stages before entering REM, marked by vivid dreams and brain activity. These cycles repeat in about 90-110 minutes each night.
The sleep cycle is influenced by biology, circadian rhythms, hormones, and external factors like light and temperature. Disruptions from sleep disorders or lifestyle changes can harm physical and mental health, increasing risks like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression.
Sleep --->
Rapid Eye Movement (REM)
+
( )
Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM)
x3
Kard
A smart clock radio that measures and rates the quality of your sleep while cleaning out your huddled well-being and bedside table.
Count your sleep better.
The intelligent sleep Calculator "Kard" will improve the overall quality of your sleep while assisting you in the getting the right quantity of shut-eye.Since, for one to experience high quality sleep,the four stages of sleep must be cycled through for an acceptable period of time.
Work Like an Egg timer
Turn the knob to set desired sleep hours, like an egg timer. The Kard counts down and displays sleep duration,Number of Cycles and cycle quality.
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Analyse your sleep Better.
Kard counts the number of sleep cycles,as opposed to the overall amount of time spent sleeping, this helps the user meassure and analyse sleep in a more effective way.
A sleep calculator can help you not only achieve your optimum sleep quantity, but also improve your overall sleep quality. Sleep quality is attained through continuous rest, with enough time spent cycling through each of the four phases of sleep to maintain physical and mental health and function.
The average sleep cycle is 90 minutes long
A typical night of sleep includes 5 full sleep cycles
90 x 5 = 450 minutes, or 7.5 hours
Starting at your wake time, work back 7.5 hours to find your bedtime
Process
A new design vocabulary was explored through mood boards to make new assosiation with an evolved product form and CMF language considering the future of th Roberts brand.
Distinctive
Intutive
Timeless
Warm
Richness
Soft
Details
Interactive
The main focus of the conceptualization was on what the next step in the industrial design for the Roberts brand may be, with an emphasis on bedside well-being.
Multiple iterations of prototypes were made using form and cardbaord to understand and study the form and other morphological requirment challenges while integrating the wirless charging features integrated to the design of radio clock.
" While being the best sleeping companion, Kard functions as a wirless charger for multiple electronic devices."
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Internal Architecture
In product development, internal architecture was carefully considered to ensure electronics integration into the housing. The team envisioned a space-efficient layout with easy maintenance and cooling. This thoughtful design ensures that the electronics are snugly housed, improving reliability and longevity and making assembly and maintenance easy.
The timer features on the kard can help you work more efficiently during working hours. Since it reminds you to put your phone on the charging pad, it also keeps track of how much time you spend on it.