Designing calmworklight: signaling focus with a desk light

Abstract

While working, we are not always in line with our ability to focus. Being more mindful of own cognitive abilities, including the ability to focus, may contribute to a more pleasant work experience. This paper presents calmworklight, an initial design proposal for dealing with this issue. calmworklight is a desktop lamp that responds to changes in peoples' focus strength as captured by a commercially available EEG device. The lamp's expression depends solely on the user's level of focus. If it is strong, the lamp returns a steady, calming warm light. If not, the light emission follows a breathing pattern, aiming to encourage the user to be more mindful of their breath and to cultivate a meditative focus. We conducted 3 user studies to get a better understanding of calmwork-light's usage and benefits. The most striking outcome of the study is the worker's need for a regulating system that helps them plan when to socialize and when to focus, which should be considered for future workplace designs.