HEALTHCARE
Sahaj
Making Healthy habits a natural part of your workday
Introduction
“It's okay to take rest when you need it, not just when you earn it!”
In current times, where desk jobs dominate our work lives, why accept sitting as a standard during our workday? With this thought, it is important to transform sedentary work environments into spaces that encourage movement and wellness.
By employing a behavioural change model, we intend to replace the common habit of maintaining desk bound postures with a healthier practice of engaging in movement through Office Yoga at regular intervals. This approach is designed not just to improve physical health, but also to boost overall work productivity and employee well-being.
Project Scope and Timeline
MY role
Researcher I UX Designer I UI Designer
Tools
Adobe XD I Miro I Adobe Illustrator I Adobe Photoshop
TEAM
Collaboration between two people
problem discovery
Working professionals often overlook the need for consistent small movements throughout their workday.
While engaging with working professionals across various industries, many reported a common challenge, the difficulty of integrating small, health-promoting movements into their long, sedentary workdays. Often, even when aware of the benefits, their initial efforts to incorporate these movements gradually waned over time.
OUR SOLUTION - SAHAj
A systematic and engaging approach
to integrating healthy movement into everyday work life.
ADD VIDEO
DISCOVER
01
Market Analysis
User Research
User Interviews
DEVELOP
03
Brainstorming
Idea Solutions
Idea Evaluation
Storyboarding
DEFINE
02
Empathy Map
Affinity Map
User Needs
Pain Points
Key Insights
Themes and Implication
How Might We
DELIVER
04
Wireframes
Visual Design
Prototype
User Testing
The Process
RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM SPACE
Office employees are experiencing longer hours at their desks, leading to reduced mobility
In a corporate environment, employees often develop sedentary postures from continuous hours spent at their screens. Maintaining such postures can lead to severe back pain, muscle strain, ankle discomfort, a protruding abdomen, and rounded shoulders. These physical ailments further result in low employee morale, reduced work efficiency, adverse business impacts, and changes in employee behaviour.
Forming and maintaining a static posture is easy, but developing a habit of good posture requires careful attention.
Can technology be used to solve the problem created by ‘Technology’?
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Analysing Market & Competitions
Market analysis shows, companies are similarly
tackling workplace wellness with ergonomics
and wellness programs.
01
Ergonomic Health Solutions
Workplaces are incorporating standing desks that allow employees to alternate between sitting and standing, helping maintain posture and reduce back pain
02
Wellness Programs and Health Breaks
Employers are adding activities like dance and yoga to their wellness programs, usually guided by physiotherapists. Scheduled breaks for desk-side exercises are promoted to offset the effects of prolonged sitting.
With these products and programs available,
why do professionals still struggle to make small movements daily?
UNDERSTANDING THE WHY
Interviews with 30+ corporate professionals, who shared their usage with exercise devices, fitness routines, frequency of breaks during work, and their daily habits.
We conducted mixed methods interviews, combining quantitative and qualitative data, to identify the root causes of poor posture and evaluate yoga's potential as a therapeutic tool in the corporate environment.
Task During Interview : Draw your Comfortable posture at the workplace
Focusing on users' emotions and motivations helps to better understand their daily challenges and design solutions that meet their day-to-day needs.
WHO ARE WE DESIGNING FOR?
Young working professionals aged 25 to 40 years in urban India, typically who spend nine to twelve hours daily seated at their desks.
Metropolitan Mover
Mid - Career Motivator
Experienced Innovator
Aditya Kumar
26 Years | UX Designer | Mumbai
Aditya is an energetic marketing analyst working for a multinational company. Living in the bustling city of Mumbai, he is ambitious and career-focused but struggles to balance his health with his demanding job. He is always on the lookout for efficient solutions to maintain his health despite a hectic schedule.
Looks for visual cues to keep him engaged and remind him to stay active.
Desires to have posture awareness as a seamless part of his daily work routine.
Seeks a wellness program that uses social challenges to enhance posture, build connections, and encourage active participation.
Challenging to maintain a regular health and fitness routine due to his unpredictable work hours and high job demands.
Struggles to find opportunities for physical activity during his workday, despite his desire to stay active.
Intensifies his discomfort and reduces his overall wellness by keeping him desk-bound due to the demanding nature of his job.
Needs and Goals
“ I am irregular towards health and fitness. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I don’t. “
Pain Points
USER DRIVEN DISCOVERIES
Addressing the specific needs and behaviours uncovered, the key conversations highlight insights which explore the complexities of daily work life.
Breaking the static nature of work is needed to achieve regular movements
You have to push to certain extents and then once the work is done, you can take a break or a leave. Due to workload, I end up in a poor stationary position for a long time.
Vibhor Sharma
Senior Android Enggineer, Jio
We can't eliminate a bad habit, but we can replace it with a good one. A good posture is a consistent habit.
Habitual postural patterns are associated with musculoskeletal pain and improvement for this requires postural awareness.
My posture has become my habit and my body has accepted this posture now and hence I don't find it uncomfortable. I rarely sit straight up. It is inbuilt in my habit.
Rohan Aggarwal
Software Enggineer, IBM
Positive Reinforcement can be used as a constant reminder to help increase the probability of specific behaviour.
In a desk yoga session, they taught us various movements that could be done at the desk to help reduce postural pain. But after that, no one continued it during office hours as no one remembered the session or the exercises.
Yashika Gupta
UX Designer, Cisco
Habits are a cycle of cue-routine-reward. We need to craft memorable routines that our brain values and retains.
Use role models to inspire better posture habits
BRAINSTORMING STORYBOARD REQUIREMENTS
How do we support for the ideal solution scenario?
To facilitate the generation phase, the design requirements were reframed into key actionable statements that are broad enough to allow for multiple solutions, but narrow enough to set focus.
HMW apply a behavioural change model to create interventions that enhance sedentary work routines and foster the habit of frequent movements?
Utilize alarms
to alert users about their posture
Offer specific exercises for pain relief directly at the desk
Provide interactive guided yoga sessions for practice
Create chair change routines that foster regular movement
Change the mouse cursor dynamically for posture adjustments.
Provide a simple and rewarding exercise reward system
Provide constant reminders for engaging in yoga
Reduce screen brightness as a cue to change posture
Introduce cycling movements while seated
Integrate musical prompts to signal break time
Automatically adjust monitor position
Encourage regular mindfulness practices during work
Help users explore their self-journey through yoga
Encourage desk-based exercises during breaks
Put the system on standby to prompt a posture break
Build a platform for shared wellness activities
Monitor the productivity effects of regular yoga practice
Use biofeedback to personalize and enhance yoga exercises
Have fear of health consequences to prompt proactiveness
Lock the screen temporarily
Integrate meditation into the daily work routine
Offer simple exercises that fit seamlessly into the workday
Suggest easy chair yoga movements
Create awareness of their current state
Inform users About their posture
motivate user to Exercise while working
motivate user to take breaks while working
Encourage yoga as a somatic practice
BRAINSTORMING SOLUTION ideas
Facilitating rapid exploration of workplace needs, generating creative solutions that address the complexities of daily work life.
Using the "How Might Wes", I started brainstorming ideas, leveraging my corporate experience. This
first-hand knowledge gave me critical insights that shaped the direction of our solutions.
Eight Ideas, Eight minutes
To challenge conventional thinking, the Crazy 8s method was explored, encouraging the rapid generation of a diverse set of ideas. This exercise led to innovative solutions, such as an office chair that heats up when the user's posture is incorrect and a gamified workspace where employees can earn or lose points based on their activity levels.
Crazy 8s
Process of Habit Loop
REWARD
the positive feedback that close the loop.
the habit itself, both good or bad
A Digital Wellness Solution
Introducing Sahaj
Sahaj is a digitally-designed system crafted to combat the sedentary lifestyle of working professionals. It utilizes visual cues and a supportive app, starting with consistent visual reminders to boost awareness, followed by practical support through easy, office-friendly yoga exercises on the Sahaj app designed to enhance mindfulness and physical well-being.
How does it work?
The Sahaj Movement reshapes behaviours into habits. It leverages the Habit Loop principle, where a positive reward creates a desire to repeat an action, thus forming a habit.
ROUTINE
TRIGGER
the reminder that signal us into the routine.
IDEA STORYBOARDING
Placing the persona in an ideal context scenario helps in visualizing the real-world application of ideas.
Anika's day begins early at 5:30 am, and after quickly completing her housework, she endures a long, crowded bus ride to reach her office. Throughout her workday, despite prompts from her workplace wellness program to take breaks and perform exercises like wrist rotations, Anika remains focused on her tasks, neglecting her posture and skipping meals. The visual feedback from her laptop, showing a future self with strained eyes and a hunched back, finally compels her to take a brief stretching break, but she continues to experience discomfort due to prolonged periods of sedentary work.
SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
Consideration for our persona’s context directed a user flow focusing on minimum steps and time.
We streamlined key scenarios to enable users to access primary use cases quickly and with minimal steps. Recognizing that users track their daily posture and take breaks, we simplified the interface by hiding secondary functions to minimize distractions and focus on essential interactions.
App allows users to effortlessly track their posture throughout the day and view a daily average.
Current app stage provides desk-based exercise suggestions tailored to users' analyzed posture after long hours of being in a sedentary posture.
Log In
Current location
Track Posture
Login with office ID
Select your location
Suggestive desk based exercises
Visual based notification
Step 1
Step 2
Final Step
Quick desk exercises
Guided steps
Easy to do desk exercises
Positive nudges in the end
DESIGN SYSTEM
Male
Female
Colors
Typography
Logo Creation
Illustrations
Buttons & Navigation Tab
Progress Bar
Cards
Icons
Primary
#0E1831
Secondary
Greyscale
#5887F6
#FD586B
#6F0613
#757682
#FFD275
#9ACAD3
#CBCCDC
#112E7B
#EAF0DE
#EDEDF7
#FFFFFF
Primary
Secondary
Primary
Secondary
Head Strained
Swollen Neck
Backache
strained eyes
DEFAULT
disabled
Office
Home
Others
h1
Lato I Regular / 36px
h2
Lato I REGULAR / 30px
h3
Lato I MEDIUM / 24px
P1
Lato I REGULAR / 18px
P2
Lato I REGULAR / 14px
Small
Lato I REGULAR / 12px
Ideation
Final
App Icon
🧘🏻♀️ PROMPT MODULE
Visual Based Notifications
Users receive notifications on their phones when visuals, triggered by analysis of their sedentary posture, appear on their laptops.
These prompts lead them through a sequence of desk yoga exercises tailored for posture enhancement.
💪🏼 Exercise DISCOVERY
Daily Posture Insights
On the home screen, users view quick summaries and statistics of their daily posture and movement.
It also recommends exercises that can be performed quickly and on the go.
🌿 WELLNESS HUB
Breaks + Chatbot + Rewards
The app suggests tailored breakout activities to refresh users during office hours.
It features a chatbot for discussing posture-related concerns and provides a rewards system that motivates employees to maintain fitness based on their performance.
Visual Notification
Exercise Step 1
Exercise Step 2
Exercise Step 3
Positive Nudge
Sign In
Input Weight
Input Height
Select Location
Home Screen
Office Breaks 1
Office Breaks 2
Office Breaks 3
Posture Chatbot
Rewards
TESTING IMPACTS
User testing revealed behavioural changes and actionable insights, enhancing posture awareness and increasing engagement with daily exercises.
We conducted testing with a specific group comprised of our family and friends, due to access limitations during the pandemic. This allowed us to evaluate the prototypes and coded visual-based notifications, observing how this user group responded to the interventions
User Testing Flow
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Login & Enter BMI
Visual Notification
Prompt Notification
Recommended Exercise
User logs in & inputs his/her BMI in the app to see the best recommended Desk Exercises
By analysing the sedentary posture through the laptop, the app will throw the visual notification on the users device.
With the future visual of the user, the app throws a notification on his/her mobile to take the immediate action.
Based on the analysed posture, the app will show a quick step by step exercise, that the user can start engaging in while sitting on the desk.
⚠️
Notice
Keep Straight Posture
‼🚨
Key Observations
👍🏼
04
01
Users responded positively to the first notification and adjusted their posture accordingly.
Users ignored the first notification for reasons such as small size and deep work engagement.
02
Observations revealed mixed emotions from fear to laughter in response to visual notifications, indicating a strong engagement even if the immediate utility was questioned.
03
Despite some initial resistance, the clear display of potential future health problems encouraged at least one user to immediately try the recommended stretches.
👍🏼
Participants
The prototypes were tested across diverse individuals. Given the varied needs of our users, we tailored the solutions to meet their specific requirements.
8-9
Users
30-45 yrs
Age
Professionals + Business People
Users
BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS
Three months later...
After three months of integrating small movements into her routine, Anika experiences significant improvements in her posture and overall wellness. Each day, guided by visual cues and periodic prompts, she seamlessly incorporates stretches and posture corrections into her workflow. This new habit not only enhances her physical health but also boosts her productivity and energy levels at work.
PROJECT TAKEAWAYS
A journey through the key discoveries that informed
our approach and outcomes
Understanding the 'Why'
It's crucial to always question the 'Why' behind our actions. This approach ensures purpose and clarity in every project phase.
Streamlined Organisation
By proactively organizing our research with a clear protocol, we created a structured roadmap
that guided us through potentially unclear aspects of the project.
Power of Self Reflection
Focusing on personal observations was particularly insightful for this human centered project.
The 'BodyFirst' theme encouraged me to reflect on my own movements and habits, enhancing
my understanding of user behavior.