Bol Chair Process

DATE Fall Semester 2020 / 3rd Year

Project Brief

To create a household product that tackles issues faced while working from home.

problem of working from home.png — The Problem With
Working From Home

**The most common issue** that telecommuters face while working from home is unplugging after work. Working from home in a stagnant space can become tiring and result in **more stress** as it becomes **difficult to relax in the same space they were just working in**.

Inspired By Hygge and
Wabi-Sabi

The concept of hygge is heavily centered around the idea of **comfort and coziness**, while wabi-sabi finds **beauty and value in imperfections**.
Considering the home and the **importance of comfort within the home**, I was inspired by the hygge aesthetic. Bol Chair’s form is inspired by **kintsugi**, the Japanese art of mending broken pottery using precious metals. **The different pieces of Bol Chair come together to create a functional and unique piece of furniture**.

Concept exploration of various household products

Starting from a broad range of products for working from home, I explored various items including furniture, kitchenware, and stationery.

As I created new concepts and refined previous ones, I found the most potential in my Bol Chair, Bulletincentives Board, and Sleep Pod concepts for tackling the issue of connecting relaxing and working.

Choosing the Bol Chair out of my top 3 concepts

Bulletincentives Board

This bulletin board uses digital and physical incentives to help motivate the user to complete tasks throughout the day and provide important reminders including relaxing.

Cons: Limited potential for refinement; there are many other items that can serve the same purpose; difficult for me to envision further

Sleep Pod

A desk during the day and a sleep pod at night, this sleep pod can help you transition from work to relaxation with 360-degree screens and surround sound to create an immersive experience that can help you escape from reality and relax.

Cons: Don’t know if people would want to sleep in one every night, unclear about the type of setting/living environment it would be in

Bol Chair

A transforming chair that can help create a comfortable, more private space for working while also shifting into a comfortable lounging space to help the mental shift between work and relaxation.

I saw the most potential in this concept for further exploration of form and the ability to add additional features to the original analog design. I felt that it would best tackle the issue at hand.

Finding the area of opportunity through market research

The chair is the most common space for people to work and relax in. There’s no chair on the market that specifically aims to connect these two functions. My area of opportunity connects work with lounging space, and targets usage for personal space rather than a shared space.

Combining the Bol Chair and Sleep Pod

Instead of a fully analog chair like my original bol chair and two-seater designs, a combination of sleep pod and bol chair creates a more effective product with the added digital component and immersive features.

Though I explored other forms besides the bowl shape, I found the bowl shape to be the most effective for the chair’s intended purposes, including creating a comfortable space and fitting well with my inspirations from hygge and wabi-sabi. — Though I explored other forms besides the bowl shape, I found the bowl shape to be the most effective for the chair’s intended purposes, including **creating a comfortable space** and fitting well with my **inspirations from hygge and wabi-sabi**.

Bol Chair

A transforming chair that adapts with a physical shift of the chair and an immersive experience to help the user’s mental shift between work and relaxation.

The large bowl shape creates more privacy and comforts the user in its naturally enveloping form. The 360-degree dome screens and embedded speakers provide an immersive escape.