Concept: SMASH IT - Relieving stress without making a mess, allowing you to smash, hit or break objects without making a mess!

What:

Allowing humans to relieve stress, anger, frustration that can come from a work environment, school/university or family situation. Using a non-destructive way allows people to smash, hit, bang, squash physical objects with force. This is then captured and displayed on a screen.

How:

Using everyday home objects, people can destroy them and this can relieve the stress or angry feelings. Some people enjoy breaking things and this is a perfect way to do so without making a mess and doing it safely.

The objects will be made of a malleable, sturdy foam that can pass the force through without actually destroying the object. There will be conductive sensors that can pick up the force and then translate this onto the screen. The screen will be gameified and the more an action is done the more red blocks will appear. It will be level-based.

Purpose:

• For stressed, angry individuals who want an alternate way of relieving their stress
• Non- destructive
• Playful and gamification
• Can be done in the home or in public (depends which is more entertaining)
• Visualisation of the stress or anger
• Can result in a happier state of mind
• Safe Environment

Concept Sketch:

Inspiration:

I drew my inspiration from a few different sources. They can be found in the image below along with the links as well. After some ideation and mind mapping of different things I could create a concept on I settled on the idea of human wellbeing and happiness. Using technology in a playful way to improve human happiness can be important in this day and age as it's all around us. And a message I took away from the HCI exercise - Human-Centered Symbiosis. Technology has to be integrated seamlessly into our lives to improve it. If it's not working for us in a purposeful way then why have it. It has to be beneficial and what better way to do that with happiness and ensuring we all have a good mental state.

Smash Splash - https://www.smashsplash.com.au/

Rage Room - https://www.ragecagesmashroom.com.au/about/

Stress Relief - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/16-ways-relieve-stress-anxiety#section12

Stress Relief Products - https://www.bestproducts.com/lifestyle/g3219/stress-relief-relaxation-products/