pebble

Communication device for work-life balance
Strategic Product Design
Cisco for your work and life

Team: Yuan Hong
Duration: 8 weeks (2022)
Collaboration partner:

The rise of hybrid work culture...

Remote working trend before the pandemic

Before the pandemic, remote working was already becoming more common, with many people opting to work part-time or full-time from home

Wide-spread adoption of Remote working

The pandemic dramatically accelerated this trend, as companies were forced to adapt remote work to comply with social distancing guidelines

Continued growth of Hybrid working

As the pandemic evolves, most companies are adopting hybrid working. The hybrid working trend will likely continue to be a norm in the future

Consequences of a poor work-life balance...

Unable to unplug

Hybrid workers often find it difficult to unplug after work and even tend to work overtime and on weekends

Poor health

Constantly thinking about work can cause chronic stress, which can cause physical and mental issues

Reduced productivity

This stressful lifestyle can negatively impact an individual’s motivation and reduce their productivity

Affected social relations

Focusing too much on work and working overtime can harm relations with friends and family

While working
the hybrid worker needs...

• to be productive and time-efficient
• to have reliable equipment for online meetings
• reminders to take care of their health
• the flexibility to move around the house
  

After work
the hybrid worker needs...

• to detach from the work environment
• to use the same devices for digital entertainment
• to not be reminded of things related to work
• to maintain their social relations

Collaboration devices are Cisco's strength.

The hybrid work culture has redefined the modern workspace and continues to influence the context in which collaboration devices are used.

In cooperation with Cisco, we aimed to re-envision it as a lifestyle brand, thereby bringing them into the homes of its users.

We saw it as an evolutionary step for Cisco since our product would organically extend into the consumer market.

This is Pebble!

A portable collaboration device for hybrid workers to support their work and after-work activities while maintaining their work-life balance.

With a retractable screen...

Pebble is a transformable collaboration device designed for flexibility within the hybrid worker’s environment. A physical Work-life switch assists the user in maintaining a healthy balance in their daily life.

Portable
speaker

Standalone
audio device

Collaboration and video
entertainment device

Hybrid workers can personalise how they perceive Pebble and transform their environment through smart lights with the Work-life switch

Designed to blend in
Pebble is designed to blend in seamlessly with the home environment. The CMF forms an intricate balance between comfort and sophistication. Its small footprint ensures multiple use cases around the user’s home.

Contactless experience
Users can command simple functions like playing or pausing a video or switching off a timer through gesture control when their hands are busy. Additionally, voice control offers a deeper level of interaction to enhance the contactless experience.

Smart assistance
The screen gently rises to notify the users of upcoming meetings. The user can then choose to attend meetings on their workstation or accept them on Pebble, resulting in the screen rising to its maximum to start the video conference.

Physical Model

How Pebble took shape...

Initial idea

The concept started off as a portable phone/tablet docking module with reliable networking and audio capabilities that enables hybrid workers to have quick Webex meetings from the comfort of their favourite spots at home. The device doubles as a portable speaker for after-work entertainment. The portable module consists of a wired charging station and a smart hub that controls smart devices in the home. A physical switch on the charging station allows the user to switch between work and life modes, represented by environmental and digital changes.

Concept refinement