ideo concoct a collection to help counter manic mondays

ideo concoct a collection to help counter manic mondays
all images courtesy of ideo

in a span of only three weeks, ideo’s new york team listened to complaints submitted to WNYC’s studio 360 radio station about places and experiences that could use more joy. the result of all that research is ‘monyay!’, a collection of objects and digital concepts designed to bring more laughter, play and joy to otherwise dreadful mondays. 

the ‘lolzzz’ alarm clock 

the first redesigned device they conquered was the alarm clock. ‘lolzzz’ wakes the user gently with a child’s joyful laughter. as it giggles, the clock rocks back and fourth with delight and can be made to laugh even louder by tickling its belly button. to snooze it, simply set it upright again.
‘sincerely’ can-and-string bluetooth phones

the ‘sincerely’ application for smartphones was designed to chase away weekend curtails. on sunday nights, it would prompt the user to record a simple and genuine ’thank you’ message to someone they cared about. then on monday, the same user would get the same response. ideo created a childlike can-and-string phone that connects using bluetooth that records and relays those messages in a joyful nostalgic form to evoke an even more personal experience. 

finally the team developed ‘popup’, a calendar app that looks at appointments and draws attention to the hidden or overlooked opportunities for joy. for example, it might point out that meeting includes someone the user has never met before, or it will alert to a piece of street art near by.
the playful ‘notifly’ 

the application has an abundance of bright colors and round forms that counter traditional grey boxes layouts of other calendars. instead of beeping to notify of upcoming appointments, the application also comes with a device ‘notifly’. it sits on a desk and when a meeting comes up, it blows a bubble to let the user know in a more playful context.

early stages of the devices