Research and Prototypes

I choose the Habit Box idea, still trying to decide whether it should be expanded to habits or limited to smoking.  I created a role paper prototype to conceptualize the idea better, focusing on the smoking idea. Then, I spent some time on researching about the real action, to quit smoking, tried to understand the drives behind it and the role of society to empower it.  I realized that, all of the information on the web about quitting focuses on deciding on a day to quit smoking, like stopping it in an exact date. It is not a gradual process. You have to decide and implement at that moment, without looking back. Right now, my project is about trying to motivate people to smoke less, not to help them to quit immediately. At that point, i decided to change my direction, instead of putting the cigarettes, I thought it’s be better to put nicotine bands, gums, playful stuff  to distract  the person whenever the urge to smoke hits. However, I am still not sure of what to do, I might use the feedback from class today.

This is a precedent , a quit smoking box:

Here’s the role prototype sketch:

I started a new Facebook group inside my account and looked at the Facebook API documentation to see how I can get the technical part working. I have screenshots of this group created, however, I do not have an implementation. Until I get the API part done, I’ll be faking it.


I searched for support groups in Facebook, both about quitting smoking or any kind of support group. I found a bunch, they are in anyways different than regular Facebook groups.


I found an iPhone app that motivates the quitter by calculating the time and money saved since he quit smoking.

Then, I found a useful website that gives information of the process of quitting. They have useful tips that I might consider integrating to my system.

Then, I decided to expand the interface, creating a custom interface that pulls the data out of Facebook but also keeps track of your status. How many times you opened the box, within which time lapses etc. I might consider expanding this interface to other users if I get a successful output of the project. This example interface is somehow close to what I am planning for my interface.

I also tried to think of look& feel of the box but it’s kind of hard if you are not fully sure about the idea. I already had a black box with an LCD screen, however, I’m not planning to put an LCD screen there.

I thought it would be nice to have a glowing box, that changes colors according to peoples comments, or likes. The 3D sketch does not represent the idea that well though (Darn, I forget how to make diffused lighting in Maya!):

Or, I might try a traditional looking wooden box like the one below, to give the feeling of dealing with something precious. Or, people open these kind of boxes only when they need it, they are like not that much touched for years. However, I’m not sure about the look and feel yet.