Research (secondary + primary) explored user behaviour, environments, and existing solutions to define needs, pain points, and the core UX problem.
To ground the design in real behaviour, 30 participants aged 16-27 completed a survey covering digital dependence, mindfulness attitudes, and openness to AI in health contexts.
Digital Dependence
Insight → Design for low cognitive load
Barriers to Mindfulness
Insight → Design for low cognitive load
The AI Opportunity
Insight → Design for low cognitive load
The Daily Struggle:
The ‘Doom-Scroll’ Cycle: Uses phone for procrastination.
The Digital Trap:
Reliance on phones for everything...alarms, calendar etc. makes ‘digital detoxing’ hard.
Insight → Distraction is built more accessible than regulation. Apps compete for attention, while tools for managing stress don't. Users aren't failing to self-regulate; they're responding to systems designed to pull them elsewhere. Solutions must direct their attention away from distraction, and guide them towards what they need in that moment.
No solution currently combines a physical device with real-time conversational AI to guide breathing- adapting to users' emotions and supporting regulation.
Design solutions established the brand experience and system workflow, translating requirements into technical approaches, app interactions, and hardware prototypes.
Two reference clusters shaped Sense Stone's design direction - the form & feel of the product, and examples of "Sensescaping" experiences.
Stacking Stones
Lungy's Breathing App
Tamagotchi
Form:
Circles and semicircles sized to the golden ratio.
Balance:
Proportions that feel natural rather than designed.
Inspiration:
The duality of yin and yang: expansion and release.
Sense Stone is built so that the heaviest interaction happens before the session. so none is required during it. The user describes how they feel, the AI responds with a tailored plan, and from that point the phone steps back entirely, and the device takes over.
I have a pitch in 10 minutes and feel anxious. Create a 5 minute breathing plan to calm me down
09:50
The AI responds with a specific, named breathing technique and a brief rationale.
09:50
Anxiety before a pitch is your body preparing. Here's a 5-minute plan to work with it, not against it: starting with a physiological sigh to reset your nervous system.
The phone enters Focus Mode automatically. The device takes over- guiding each breath through haptic rhythm and slow physical expansion. No screen required.
How do you feel now?
The app uses a minimalist, screen-light design with optional account creation and error-proof pairing to minimise friction. The MVP flow (in colour) prioritises core uses including device connectivity. Paths in grey map future iterations designed for long-term retention, including a Library for saving exercises, a Profile for mood logging, and Settings for adjusting haptic strength.
Onboarding lets users grasp how Sense Stone works, provides transparency on AI data use, and guides them to create an account.
Limitations
/Transparency
/External Support
The chat interface is clean and intuitive, allowing users to share their feelings in natural language. The AI responds with personalised, situation-specific breathing suggestions.
This AI concept render shows an early representation of the Sense Stone device highlighting its discreet form and overall design direction.
Evaluation methods gathered early user feedback and outlined future testing and validation plans to assess usability, refine the design, and ensure it meets user and system requirements,
Five potential users were shown the device visualisation and an interactive app prototype, with interactions explained. Using a think-aloud approach, insights were recorded as users shared suggestions, ideas, and thoughts about the concept.
