Completed in 4 weeks as an interaction design exercise during Industrial Design Intensive at Umeå Institute of Design. 

Project Toolbox

User-centered Design, Workshops, Co-Creation, Storytelling, Design Ethnography, Prototyping.

Role on team

During the project I aided in leading user workshops, concept ideation, interaction workflows, and model making. As a group we built a prototype that was used in a concept video to illustrate how uko would look and feel within the workplace ecosystem.

Reflection

During this project I learned valuable lessons when it comes to organization and working within a team of designers. We were able to create clear outcome goals and worked well together as a team. I also became very comfortable is designing and conducting workshops that are geared toward engaging users with the design material. A challenge for me during this project was taking this workshop material and fusing it with our own group insights to create a meaningful end result. 

Movement in the office

How can we inspire more movement within the office workspace? In addition how can we build on the increasingly dynamic work environment that is becoming increasingly prevalent? We have seen many attempts over the last few decades to solve the dilemma of employees sitting to often while at work. How then could we as a group build on what has been studied and attempted to design a new product or system to combat this very issue.

"Workers who are able and encouraged to move while at work not only felt better physically, but also had better moral" 

Research and co-creation

Drawing on my ethnographic background myself and the group conducted in field observations as well as interviews to gain this knowledge base. After conducting this preliminary research we held a series of workshops in order to test these initial concepts and co-create new solutions. It was very important for our group to get feedback from office employees in order to allow for their direct impact on our end result. From these workshops and subsequent ideations we developed uko.

Moving to a Shared Workspace

The common ergonomic saying goes "the best posture is always the next posture". Repetitive or stagnant workdays contribute to the vast majority of workplace injuries and fatigue. If the way in which we worked and the spaces where this work was done was fundamentally redesigned with a focus on a more democratic use of the office space could an employee be more inclined to move without thinking about it? We believe that through redesigning the workflow within contemporary offices a more lasting impact on worker satisfaction and fatigue.

The office WITH UKO

With uko an office environment that is flexible and dynamic is created. An employee can choose to work in whatever way suits their current project. Uko helps to flatten the hierarchy between boss and employee andfacilitates a more open work environment. We view an uko powered office as a office that is able to grow and adapt to new developments in technology.