Though there are still some who have a negative or incorrect opinion of it, meditation has become a much-recommended tool to fight off stress, anxiety, depression, and other negative mental states that, in turn, affect our health or productivity. There is even a growing business of meditation assistance services that help guide people toward a calmer state, often daily or maybe even more times in a day. Given the way these tidbits of meditation aids come in digital format, they’re often delivered through smartphones, which is a bit ironic considering these devices are often the cause of stress and distractions. Having a dedicated meditation device might sound overkill, but this rather interesting companion makes that a bit more worthwhile by showing you an adorable face to go along with your mood or the mood that you’re aiming for.
Designer: Pascal Grangier
Meditation services like Headspace and Calm are able to reach a large number of subscribers by offering their content through smartphones. It’s a very practical and convenient strategy that lets you get into a calmer head space anytime, anywhere. The drawback is that you might be tempted or distracted by the very smartphone you’re using to meditate, defeating the purpose of the exercise entirely.
The Headspace Companion is a design concept for a device that leads you into that same state in a more detached yet also more visually appealing way. It’s basically a toy-like device that stands on small feet, almost like a clock. But instead of a clock face, you get an actual digital face themed like clouds, the sun, veggies or fruits, and other objects you might not immediately associate with meditation. The style of both the device and the faces are cartoonish and almost comical, enough to bring a smile to your face every time you look at it.
The idea is for these faces to reflect your mental state, either based on your mood (probably taken from health sensors or services connected to the device) or just how much time has elapsed since your last meditation. The faces can be gloomy or even angry, while clouds can become darker as time passes. Once you start meditation, however, the character’s face, mood, and colors lighten up as well, reflecting what should be your mental state after the process. Just like on the app, you can set how much time you want to devote to meditation using a wooden wheel timer on its side.
Admittedly, the concept leaves a lot of the technical implementation up to the imagination, since it seems to focus mostly on the visual experience more than anything else. It’s still a rather interesting meditation device that almost literally gives a face to your emotions, a visualization that might even help some people face their problems and watch the same calm reflected on their own faces.
