What could the smartwatch of the future look like?

Nowadays distraction and new products are everywhere. Thousands of notifications, ads and videos are screaming for our attention. But how could a product of the future – a standalone smartwatch – look like, which focuses on a improving life quality instead of distracting it?

LYFE-watch is a speculative design project based on a product design of a fictional smartwatch, which is intended to counteract the attention economy of the present. For this purpose, current and future megatrends were examined and influences such as Calm-Computing were integrated into the course of the project. After defining a speculative thesis, our USP was defined in the course as follows: "AI supported standalone wristband with the focus on the human and not the technology. AI is there to show people ways to grow personally, expand their horizons, live healthier and increase their efficiency. Personalized notification feedback will reduce distraction from technology."

The purpose of our smartwatch provided the basis for the elaboration of our extended goal definition: the promotion of “digital detox”, digital wellbeing, the improvement of physical and mental health, the pointing out of habitual patterns and a more conscious and sustainable life.

After defining the target group and comparing it with the Sinus trend steering wheel, a market positioning of the watch was carried out. Based on this, a compilation of the first functional scope was made. This was divided into different categories, such as IoT connection, physical structure or feedback. In addition, visualization possibilities and potential technologies were discussed.

Refine the process
Based on UX methods such as how-might-we questions, this analysis was refined. The four main categories “Digital Detox”, “Health Tracking”, “Motivation” and “Efficiency” were defined, but due to time constraints only the last two were further elaborated. Depending on the categories, measures were defined that the AI can perform to react to the respective situation. For example, temperature adjustments in case of loss of concentration or the detection of the biorhythm and appropriate instructions for needed movement. An interference on an ethical level was not fully addressed, as the focus was on the possibilities of technology. Through user scenarios, the scope of the smartwatch for this project was defined and limited.

For this purpose, the scenarios were each considered as their own “mode”, which are marked by their own visual design, exact definitions and a comprehensive specification of the contents can be found in the documentation. Subsequently, considerations were made about the operation of the watch, for example via motion sensors, voice recognition or projected surfaces, idea phases for the visual design of the watch and the audiovisual feedback of the elaborated functional ideas, such as the notification feedback within the states, which should each be displayed differently. For example, five categories were defined for this purpose, ranging from minimal notification to normal and active notification and each conveying different information or preventing delivery, for example by matching concentration phases.

The Design Phase
The final phase of design was devoted to visualizing the content on a fictitious watch design that should have a wraparound screen. Thus, the entire watch can be used as a screen. The design should be both modern and appealing, show various application scenarios and at the same time present information clearly. Gradients and a modern typography selection ensure a contemporary appearance. Here too, the design selection can be looked up in the documentation. For a better idea, a 3D model of the watch was rebuilt afterwards and the screen design was mapped onto the model. Finally, the final brand was worked out and staged on a landing page that was built with Webflow. The focus here was on presenting the product.

LYFE-Watch a speculative but conscious project for more well-being and health care.