SMOOZE

The context of this project was creating an alarm clock while focusing on the ‘Aesthetics of Interaction’.

In this design, the emphasis is laid on creating a ‘magical’ experience and the interaction being intuitive. The alarm clock can be set by opening a window, the larger the window the more time is added (e.g. 15 minutes or 2 hours). Since the amount of time of each window is also dependent on when you interact with the alarm, the user has to play with it and has to try out different options to eventually reach his goal of setting the right time. The outcome is not fixed and there are different ways to come to the same outcome. The set time is shown on a display at the front of the alarm clock. Next to this, the curved shape invites stroking and the material stimulates this as well, since it’s a soft, felt fabric. The beads attached to the threads create the affordance for the user to grab and pull it. With all of these characteristics combined, we wanted to create an alarm clock that asks to be used and therefore becomes ‘irresistible’.