Co-Sleep: Design - Part 1
- Irene (Shiyin Zheng)
- Mar 2, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 21, 2019
Thinking about the relationship and trying to stay human, we decided to take one step back from last week. We are not sleep scientists and we cannot do much about improving quality of the couple's sleep. So instead of trying to directly intervene with couple's sleep, we thought about how to get them better understood with each other‘s sleep and how to convey the co-sleep data better —we wanted to leave the decisions for them.
Ways of conveying the co-sleep data
Two people's sleeping journeys are like two rivers having different rhythms. They intersect with and separate each other for several times in one night. We tried to convey these data for the couple in a beautiful way.
We thought about two ways of doing this. The first part (1 in the picture) is about changing the traditional form of data, visualise it and present it in a prospective way. The second part (3 in the picture) is to combine with Dreem's original app. We wanted to develop the app from targeting a single user to a couple.
Choosing and deciding on the data
We discussed about what kind of data we wanted to present. At first, we listed basic metrics in old graphic ways but later, we found we should concentrate more on couple co-metrics rather than simple combination of basic ones. We also interviewed couples about what kind of data they would be interested in and why. Later we summarised the data into a list.
Couple Metrics
Overview of couple-sleep data
Couple sleep stages
Couple sleep duration, get up/sleep time
Couple's snoring/sounds
Couple's movement
Couple's average body temperature
Day/week/month/year
Then we select suitable data for each way of presenting data, according to the their specialties.
The first part: Changing the traditional form of data
What we did first is "changing the traditional form of data, visualise it and present it in a prospective way."
Data visualisation
We started from the data visualisation for an overview of couple's sleep stages. We wanted to introduce Dreem and also the public with a new way of presenting sleep data, rather than commonly-used columns and graphs, and get people to understand sleep easier in a more visual way.
We thought about different ways of visualisation. One is about changing senses, turning sound into visual things, for example. We thought about turning EEG waves during sleep into water wave. We thought about using electricity as a metaphor to represent abstract sleeping activities. However, what bothers us is that realising these things are too difficult for us. We also thought about using the simple technique of hologram to represent data, which still did not turn out well (the video below).
We changed the way of thinking and start to think about data visualisation on a digital screen, in that case, we can apply the outcome onto varied platforms.
Form 1:
Normally, people put sleep stages on Y-axis and represent the sleep stages by a graph. I was inspired by octopus and found that we can take out the four sleep stages as separate points, and let time connect with the points. By this way, we can compare couple's sleep stages clearly and it looks like they are connecting and growing from each other.
To do this, I extracted the data from a couple's real data recorded by a sleep app. I divided the time by minutes and input the data into the Excel. I then used Rhino and Grasshopper to do the visualisation —because I wanted to design it in a parametric way, which means the image would automatically change after I changed the data, and I could either change the timeline into a straight line or a curve.
After deciding on the pattern and the shape, I baked the lines and exported the vector into Illustrator to do some colour change.
Form 2:
All four stages are actually decided by the strength of brain activities. Michael suggested that we could go back to the origin, using the brain activity to show the sleep process. The demo video is made by After Effects by Michael.
It is a more interactive way, for users can move the slide and see brain activities in each stage.
Thinking about the platform
All we talked about have been data and data. So, where are we going to put the data and how?
At first, we thought about windows, as a natural way for couple looking at data after waking up. But then we found the window was probably not a good way. It could rain and it was integrated with couple's daily routine.
Then inspired by previous research and also by Jordy, I was hit by the idea that bathroom's mirror was perfect for it.
Why mirrors?
a shared space for couple
separated from bedroom
the space you stay before/after sleep
Often, pre-sleep activities happen in the bathroom where there are mirrors. Bathrooms are also one of the first places a person would go upon waking. The mirror was just a seamless blend into users' daily routine. We think that it would be a good idea to integrate co-sleep data into this environment, informing co-sleepers about each others sleep health and metrics before they start or end their day.
We also love the literal visual metaphor of “reflection.” As if the users are reflecting on themselves.
Possible scenarios
One is already asleep, the other coming home late from work (brushing the teeth in front of the mirror).
One is getting up first in the morning (brushing the teeth in front of the mirror), the other still asleep.
Both waking up in the morning, wanting to see the sleep data together while brushing teeth.
I would be further discussing the wireframes and interfaces for the mirror in the next post.
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