Shower Thing
Area
UI/UX Design
Client
Instituto Tramontana
Year
2022
About the project
Shower Thing is a non-conventional device thought for listening Spotify music in the shower. It has been designed considering the user’s capabilities and context.
Problem
Most of us like to listen to music in the shower. And for that, we use our mobile phones and the Spotify app. The problem? When we are in the shower we lose control and end up listening to things we don’t want to or even without music. How can we control and listen to music on the Spotify app while we are showering?
The challenge is to design a non-conventional device and its interface to listen to music in the shower. To do that, the capacities and context of the user should be taken into account, following the task-centred design methodology.
The user
The first step was to investigate who Spotify users and users who listen to music in the shower are, what their showering process is like, and what apps and devices they use. To do this, I conducted desk research and then an online survey with 22 people.
What I learned was that the users surveyed listen to music in the shower for three reasons:
- Because they like music.
- To unwind and relax.
- To entertain and distract themselves.
When they can’t listen to music in the shower it is due to lack of time or being in a hurry, low battery and the late night shower schedule.
But what needs do they have once they are in the shower? According to them, in the shower they want to be able to change songs, control the volume, change playlists and stop or resume the music.
The context
The shower is an uncomfortable and dangerous place to handle objects, where falls are a common risk. Visibility is poor, not only because of the steam, water and soaps, but also because users do not wear glasses. There are also problems of hearing and voice recognition due to the noise of the water. But above all, it is a place where we cannot think, because the main task is to wash ourselves.
The device
There are already a number of devices for listening to music in the shower. Most of them work via Bluetooth, are waterproof, allow you to pause or resume music and skip tracks. Some allow taking calls and have displays and others are just radios.
Considering the characteristics of the competition, as well as the user and the context, I made the following decisions about the device to design:
- The input will be silicone buttons, which will be large and easy to press. In addition, it will have Bluetooth to connect to the user’s mobile device.
- The output will be:
- Two side peakers.
- Bluetooth.
- Non-touch screen, since handling a touch screen with water is complicated.
- LED lights of various colours to provide extra feedback in a low visibility context.
- Other features of the device will be:
- Protection against immersion effects (IPx8).
- Dimensions: 10 cm x 10 cm x 2.5 cm.
- Material: silicone.
- It will be able to be hung by suction cup or with a strap system with hooks that attach to hangers integrated in the device itself.
- Spotify integrated (similar to Car Thing).
Physical interface
I opted for a wheel with five buttons for the main navigation, which can be turned or pressed. There will also be another button to turn the device on or off, as well as access to the menu. Given the low visibility context, I decided to include LED lights on the wheel, which indicate different actions, such as pause, play or on/off.
This interface of buttons and wheel will be used to navigate the digital interface, which will be visible from the screen.
Digital interface
With the digital interface, the user can access different contextual playlists, their favourites and recently played playlists, play these playlists, and control different playback options such as volume, shuffle or stop music.
Contextual lists
The contextual playlists are lists of about 15 minutes, based on the user’s preferences and designed to fit the duration of the shower process, from undressing to dressing.
Prototype
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