Indoor Space - Office Bathrooms
Product Design . UX Design . Incubation . 3D Exploration
My Role :
Product Designer, UX Researcher
Duration :
34 weeks
Goal :
The goal of this project is to improve the indoor conditions of workplace washrooms, making them healthier and more comfortable spaces. This enhancement aims to provide employees with a private area to relax and recharge, ultimately boosting productivity and well-being during office hours.
Tools :
Fusion 360, Keyshot
Solution :
Office washrooms, are rich in negative ions from elements of water around the place, provide a natural refuge from the stress caused by positive ions emitted by electronic devices. This helps balance mental states & reduces stress. Neon maximizes engagement with water in workplace washrooms, ensuring employees return to their desks refreshed.
Overview
The design challenge in this project is to enhance the indoor environment of workplace washrooms to better accommodate employees' needs for privacy, relaxation, and productivity. Many current office bathrooms do not adequately support employees in taking effective breaks from work, leading to increased workplace anxiety and reduced productivity. The goal is to design solutions that transform these spaces into supportive environments where employees can comfortably recharge and return to work refreshed.
“Modern Workplace Anxiety Is Manifesting In The Bathroom”
The restroom is becoming an important part of the workplace as an escape from the corporate environment. However, many modern bathrooms are not designed for employees to comfortably take breaks, leading to a lack of personal space and reduced productivity. In stressful settings, employees often seek refuge in bathrooms, with research showing that the average time spent there has increased from 5-10 minutes to 40-50 minutes.
The goal of the project is to develop solutions to improve the indoor conditions of workplace washrooms, providing employees with personal space to enhance productivity during office hours.
Critical Areas
Upon initial observation, I discovered that people naturally gravitate towards locations with water bodies nearby, or they keep water bottles within reach at their workplace. Consequently, workplace washrooms serve a crucial role as personal sanctuaries and break rooms for employees. However, there are inherent issues with these bathrooms that can result in :
Bad sanitary conditions washrooms leads to Health risk.
Germs from washroom gets transferred to the office too.
People spend a lot of time in the washroom.
Productivity gets hampered.
Meeting the experts & users.
To gain an in-depth understanding of why washrooms are often considered safe spaces, I sought insights from various experts and users:
Interior Designers & Architects: Provided insights into the design rationale behind office washrooms and their functional considerations.
Psychologists: Explained cognitive behaviors that lead people to spend extended periods in washrooms, offering a psychological perspective.
Human Resource Managers: Shared employee behavior patterns, management practices related to washrooms, and their personal experiences.
Employees: Offered firsthand accounts of their experiences with workspace washrooms.
After identifying user groups, we categorized them based on behavior extremes. Only a small fraction of users fell into the extreme user category. This categorization helped me recognize product limitations and prioritize the needs of the majority when designing the solution.
A solution that would help improve the bathroom environment that would increase the productivity of the workers.
Re- brief :
User Research : Interviews
User research is conducted so as to understand users’ characteristics, aims, and behaviors towards achieving these aims. Its purpose is to produce designs that improve their working practices & lives. User research also involves the continuous evaluation of the impact of designs on the users, not only during the design and development phase but after long-term use, too. To conduct user research, a multidisciplinary team may employ both observational and experimental methodologies.
Data Analysis
This is the stage where all the data that
were collected from the experts and
managers are to be decoded and organized , to make the process simple the tool that will be used is metaphorical analysis, which is a design tool where the key aspect to solve this is through observation, in this people choose pictures related to the current topic (which is how will you imagine a healthy washroom to be), which then will be further decoded one by one to know some common insights and also a direction to find out some opportunity areas .
This is a data synthesis framework called metaphorical analysis
Initial Insight : Exuding a good energy in the place
Decoding all the interviews all comes down to one factor of creating a source of good energy, which means creating a positive source through which one individual balances his conscious mind with the place and does not hamper his productivity towards his/her work. By creating that source will make way for people to express themselves even in their own space and would be enough to help themselves think better.
Vision
To balance the consciousness of a human being to ensures their growth as an individual and secure their mental peace in the workplace bathroom.
Direction towards ideation : An abundance of negative ions
The reason people frequently visit washrooms is due to the presence of water. In office spaces, electronic appliances emit a lot of positive ions, which can cause feelings of anxiety, dullness, and a lack of energy, making it difficult to focus & leading to stress. Positive ions lack oxygen, so people seek places rich in negative ions to balance their mental state. Water, with its extra oxygen molecule (known as a negative ion or "air vitamin"), triggers a parasympathetic response in our brains, similar to the calming effect of looking at a forest or beach. Therefore, the ideation will focus on ensuring people have maximum engagement with water.
Introducing Neon
About Neon
Neon makes sure you get back to your desk with a fresh mind or with some new ideas that you had trouble with before. it makes sure that your bathroom break is worth that 10-14 minutes. The seamless ring shaped design helps the user experience an ambiance like never before.
Features
Ambient Lights
Ambient lighting brightens up as you move towards neon. The ambient light is adjusted so perfectly it gives out the exact feeling that you experience in any luxury bathrooms. Looking closely its a ring shaped light lets you know the product from in and out creating a complete transparency between you & the product.
Surround Sound
The surround sound system giving you a
subtle sound of nature at a precise 528hz well known to make you stress free from within so that you fully enjoy the experience and get yourself to think better with a clear mind
Knows who's around
The infrared sensor activates the ambient lighting as you move closer and get to know neon. Neon senses people within the range of 1 meter and slowly brightens the light as you move closer and closer. Well now you are close enough want to know more?.
Surround waterfall
Experience the waterfall, the splashes on your face, each nozzle throws the water gently on your face so you feel refreshed, rejuvinated and just your own head space for a while.
Always in your control
Neon's wide touch screen display can now be customized to your preferences. Simply set the temperature and time to your liking, and within a few seconds, Neon will process the information. Once you place your head, the speakers will emit a subtle beep, signaling you to remain still for an amazing experience.
How does it work ?
Key Takeaways & Conclusion
Working with the Karnavati Incubation team provided valuable insights into balancing team collaboration with individual project development. I recognized the critical role of literature research, interview frameworks, and synthesis in shaping effective design outcomes. This project taught me about the rising impact of modern workplace anxiety and how it affects different aspects of individuals' lives.
A key takeaway was the importance of designing indoor spaces that foster well-being, focusing on elements that create personal space and relaxation. In particular, it highlighted the role of healthy bathroom designs as essential contributors to employee well-being and productivity. Reflecting on the project, I realized the opportunity to explore diverse office and washroom designs further, analyzing how companies approach these spaces for men and women. Handling this project individually limited the depth of qualitative research I could achieve.
This experience deepened my understanding of user-centered design and reinforced the importance of creating environments that support mental and physical health, ultimately enhancing productivity and job satisfaction.