Week #6: Opening the Door to Ideas 💡

This week, we entered the ideation stage for the first time. Instead of trying to "solve the problem," we opened a space for imagination, letting ideas flow freely without judgment.

Brainstorming: Exploring Possible Solutions 🧠

We imagined a classroom moments before explosion: someone said something hurtful, glances sharpened, voices rise but officially, "nothing has happened yet." Into this tense space, we threw out as many possible solutions as we could.

Ideas ranged from practical to playful: an AI agent that helps rephrase messages, a quiet timeout corner, an emotion wheel, a positive feedback box, random collaborative tasks that force cooperation, and even a physical object that absorbs the classroom's emotional atmosphere.

From this creative chaos, two compelling directions emerged: a physical object in the classroom that "senses" the emotional climate and a character that listens and offers guidance.

Choosing Our Window: When Do We Step In? ⏳

One of our most important decisions was defining when our solution intervenes. Rather than trying to address the entire conflict lifecycle, we focused on a narrow, critical window:

From the moment a trigger occurs until the moment of explosion.

This is the space where everything is still reversible, but emotions are already burning. Here, our product should help teens pause, identify what they're feeling, feel heard, and receive a small tip to de-escalate.

The Scenario: A Student's Journey

We built a usage scenario around our most compelling idea: a physical object in the classroom paired with a digital character that listens and provides real-time guidance.

During a break, after a tense moment with a friend, a student approaches a quiet corner where the object sits. They touch it, and it "wakes up"—the light shifts to a calm color, and a listening character appears:

"Something bothering you? Tell me in a few words."

The student shares what happened. The object enters "listening mode"—gentle light, steady color. When finished, the character summarizes what it understood and offers choices: a quick tip, a phrase to say, or a suggestion to reach out to an adult.

Based on the choice, it provides a short, practical tip while the light becomes stable and calm. At the end, it gently asks if things feel even a little better, then returns to neutral, ready for the next time.

Looking Ahead 🚀

We now have a direction and a vivid scenario, but it's still raw. Next week, we will continue refining the idea, sharpening the interactions, clarifying the design, and testing whether this concept truly resonates with our target audience.

Stay tuned. ✨