Lights out!

One such area is the evening routine: for me, the key question in this field is how we break away from devices or apps that are often designed to be hard to break away from. The psychological and physiological effects of these devices strongly affect an individual's sleep quality, so in my dissertation I examined the harmful effects of the evening and morning routine. I attempted to alleviate these by designing a bedside lamp that helps the user get ready for bed, makes waking up easier and reduces the negative influence of bad habits connected to the use of electronic devices late at night.

The starting point of my thesis was the notion that humans are rather slow-changing creatures physiologically, whereas the field of technology is advancing dynamically year-by-year. This affects our abilities, our mindset and our habits through the transformation of the environment we live in. In my research I examined the relationship between people and technology through the interfaces connecting them, using the literature (mostly English-language), user surveys, interviews, corporate announcements and technology-focused articles in my research. The first chapter of my thesis focuses on the micro-impact of technology, how it has evolved and how the possibilities of users have changed. The next chapter takes a closer look at the macro-impact, examining the consequences of these in a broader social context. The third and final chapter describes the benefits and critiques of the human-centered design philosophy, often employed in the development of contemporary objects.