The Delightful Moment of Time Killing
Take a break with us. Stare out the window, look into yourself, talk to strangers, and listen to bits of stories left behind. We are asked to spend our time efficiently, productively and wisely. But perhaps, creativity and human experiences come from in-between moments, in our ‘break-times’, where it’s ok to ‘kill-time’.
We want to re-imagine our break experience. What if we could have a break that heals you emotionally, or connects you to unexpected acquaintances? With inspiration from our day-to-day breaks such as smoking, coffee, and meditational breaks, we augment an ordinary break into a sensory, emotional, surreal and social experience.
The installation brings the experience of the daily ”object” to the forefront. We want to focus on the sensory, tactile, portable, and sharable qualities of our break-mate, which bring social and personal experiences to people’s daily lives in a very personal and unexpected way. We have embodied the break experiences in to objects of everyday: the Cup, the Book, the Card, and the Window.
The installation reflects some of the fundamental human values and interactions which are embedded into everyday objects. These objects are designed to provide, ultimately, a better human experience. Imagine you’re taking a break with these ordinary yet smart objects. We hope this installation gets you to think about what taking a break means and how we can create this experience in the future.
Walk into our cafe, where extraordinary experiences are embedded into ordinary objects.
Break Experience 1: The Cup
The emotional break – The Cup as a memory vessel for discovery, emotional healing and human connection.
During your most stressful moments, you need a reminder that you’re not alone.
The Cup takes inspiration from cigarette butts, how each one carries a memory of a brief moment in someone’s day, like a memory vessel. The Cup stores thoughts and conversations that people have left for others to discover. With the Cup you can listen to past moments of someone’s day, and also leave your trace by using the cup to capture your story.
The Cup experience creates a localized, emotional, and memorable connection between people of past and present. It creates a sense of community with shared thoughts and experiences in places that are really just full of strangers.
Immerse yourself in a sense of empathy and community. Tell the cup about your feelings, or listen to stories of others around you.
Break Experience 2: The Book
The sensory break – the Book as a tactile thought diary for meditation and self-reflection
The Book draws on the tactile sensory experience of smoking, e.g. how touching the cigarette paper and holding it in your hand calms you down. The Book offers a meditative experience through touch, language and thought. The Book senses the state of your mind through touch, and guides you to a page. Selected inspirational quotes are gradually revealed upon touch, providing a moment of pause and self-reflection.
Listen to your body in the present moment and think deeply about a single idea. The book will guide you to calmness, both physically and mentally.
Break Experience 3: The Card
The social break – the Card as a social bridge that automatically connects strangers.
The Card augments social smoking behaviors, applying the role of cigarette as a social lubricant. The Card provides an experience of meeting new people at a dedicated space (the Table), similar to a smoking spot, and discovering common interests through facilitated conversations. We often have to break social norms or put ourselves in uncomfortable situations if we want to interact with strangers. There isn’t always a shared experience or chance event that breaks the barrier and invites us to talk. The Card connects people, who may otherwise not talk to each other, based on personal interests and provides an entry point for comfortable conversation between people who are very likely to enjoy each other.
Make unexpected connections with people around you.
Break Experience 4: The Window
The self-reflective break – the Window as a portal for seeing our past selves in our present setting.
The Window is inspired by the smoking break, where it gives you space and protection in the public for people-gazing or self-reflection. We are familiar with seeing our reflected self on the mirror – however, it is rare to have an opportunity to see yourself looking back at you from the past. This creates a slightly removed perspective for self-reflection, where you can meet your ”other self.” The Window provides you an experience to reflect on yourself by showing a mirrored image of you from moments ago.
Look out the window to an unexpected view. Concentrate your focus and let the Window bring a reflection of yourself from the past.
Credits:
IXD – Innovation by Design
