Week #4- Converging Toward a Final Product 🥐

After weeks of exploration and experimentation, this week was all about making decisions and moving toward something real.

We shifted from "what could this be?" to: 👉 What is this product, exactly?

🥐 Locking in the Croissant

We made a clear decision this week the croissant is our form.

Not just because it's visually appealing, but because it checks all the right boxes:

• Comfortable and natural to hold

• Works as a bag charm people actually want to carry

• Unique enough to spark curiosity

We also spent significant time dialing in the exact dimensions — making sure the size is large enough to house all the internal components, while still feeling right in the hand.

⚙️ Fitting the Technology Inside

On the technical side, we refined the vibration logic:

• A clear start vibration and end vibration to guide the breathing cycle

• All electronics controller, battery, and motor fully embedded inside the form

This was a key milestone: the croissant is no longer just a shape. It's a working device.

🤲 The Material Problem

One of the clearest pieces of feedback from previous user rounds was this:

👉 3D-printed material doesn't feel good to hold.

So this week, we opened a new research track focused entirely on materials. We're actively testing and comparing options to find what feels best — both for gripping and pressing.

The goal: a material that's soft, satisfying, and invites interaction.

📋 Designing a Full Day with Our Product

Beyond the object itself, we began writing a formal experiment protocol including what it looks like to spend an entire day with our product.

We're asking:

• How does it integrate into a student's real routine?

• When do they reach for it naturally?

• What does a full day of use actually reveal?

This is our next step toward evidence-based design.

💡 Key Takeaways

This week taught us that convergence is its own kind of challenge. We learned that:

• Committing to a form unlocks everything else

• Small size decisions have big technical consequences

• Material is not a detail it's core to the experience

• A good protocol turns a product into a real experiment

🔜 What's Next?

We're moving toward a fully integrated prototype — the right shape, the right feel, the right vibration logic — all working together as one cohesive product.