Hygge Desktop
There are two problems I found when trying to come up with this idea. The first is that not every situation or moment can easily be considered hygge. The second is that in today's increasingly digital life, we often take many photographs to try to preserve memories, but often these photos get lost in our storage boxes or bins, or in folders on our computers.
I wanted to combine these ideas. Everyone has moments in their daily lives in which hygge, or a sense of comfort or coziness or enjoying the company of friends or family, could enhance the experience. Examples include traveling, commuting to work, having lunch at your desk at the office, etc. In many of these moments, it's not practical to have a gathering of friends or family, nor is it practical to curl up in front of a fire, or any other hygge activity.
For me, the moment I think of where hygge would enhance the experience the most is my morning routine of sitting at my desk with a cup of coffee. This moment is typically before the day gets hectic, and I'm trying to wake up and collect my thoughts for the day. But I do not want a house full of people, nor do I own a fireplace to sit next to. So what can be done to bring hygge to this moment?
To add to this experience, and to deal with the noted increase in forgotten pictures or memories, I have designed a system that takes old, forgotten photos on your system (PC in this case) and allows the user to experience them once again. These pictures are accompanied by some soothing music to make the experience more hygge, as well as a description of the content of the photo determined at selection.
Based on my research and http://hyggehouse.com/hygge , these elements fit with the theme, especially considering that hygge can be considered a way of making wonderful memories with family, friends, or simply the basic comforts in ones' life.
So instead of creating wonderful memories we are re-experiencing them, and bringing that sense of Hygge to the moments in our daily lives that typically do not lend themselves to a hygge experience.
I wanted to combine these ideas. Everyone has moments in their daily lives in which hygge, or a sense of comfort or coziness or enjoying the company of friends or family, could enhance the experience. Examples include traveling, commuting to work, having lunch at your desk at the office, etc. In many of these moments, it's not practical to have a gathering of friends or family, nor is it practical to curl up in front of a fire, or any other hygge activity.
For me, the moment I think of where hygge would enhance the experience the most is my morning routine of sitting at my desk with a cup of coffee. This moment is typically before the day gets hectic, and I'm trying to wake up and collect my thoughts for the day. But I do not want a house full of people, nor do I own a fireplace to sit next to. So what can be done to bring hygge to this moment?
To add to this experience, and to deal with the noted increase in forgotten pictures or memories, I have designed a system that takes old, forgotten photos on your system (PC in this case) and allows the user to experience them once again. These pictures are accompanied by some soothing music to make the experience more hygge, as well as a description of the content of the photo determined at selection.
Based on my research and http://hyggehouse.com/hygge , these elements fit with the theme, especially considering that hygge can be considered a way of making wonderful memories with family, friends, or simply the basic comforts in ones' life.
So instead of creating wonderful memories we are re-experiencing them, and bringing that sense of Hygge to the moments in our daily lives that typically do not lend themselves to a hygge experience.
Initial Sketches
This set contains the initial sketches and ideas I had. They are mostly focused on the interaction itself, as opposed to an experience or feeling. The thought behind these was how could I use the system to bring Hygge or Hygge elements to a particular case.
Additional Sketches
My second round of sketches expanded a bit on some of the previous ideas, and threw some new ideas into the mix. There was a greater focus on outside, or outside the home/office environment. This was inspired by the notion of Hygge often including aspects of nature, or nature walks.
Idea refinement
This final set of sketches played around with the variations on the Hygge Desktop idea. While again mostly focused on the interactions, by the end it became more about the experience, that of enhancing the quality/mood of that "morning routine." The final two ideas are more about helping you set up a good Hygge aesthetic for this routine, wherever it may be (the pictures still show a table, but the idea is portable).
Final Sketch
Above is my final set of sketches. The first set contains a simplified UI, focusing more on setting up the atmosphere, and less on seeing the actual interaction. The second set again focuses more on the idea, with further simplified interaction. The final set portrays the idea of picking an old pciture/memory.
Prototype
For the prototype, I focused on just getting the Kinect v2 to work with my idea. Currently, it waits for a user, then upon detecting a user randomly chooses an image from a predefined pool, and fills the screen with the image. It also plays some soothing music, and each picture has some text overlaid onto it.
With more time and better technology, I would improve the photo selection process to be as the idea suggested. Similarly, I would need a powerful AI to both check the selected photos, and overlay relevant text on them.
Overall though, I think it works as a proof of concept for bringing hygge to your daily moments via your own old memories.
With more time and better technology, I would improve the photo selection process to be as the idea suggested. Similarly, I would need a powerful AI to both check the selected photos, and overlay relevant text on them.
Overall though, I think it works as a proof of concept for bringing hygge to your daily moments via your own old memories.