Digital well being

Active sensing for stylus

Stylus is a versatile tool that mimics the physical pen allowing a unique set of interactions from doodling to checking things off the task list. I investigated how the familiar pen form factor could be augmented with sensors to create more intuitive workflow management. The idea was to improve stylus integration with productivity tools to encourage healthier work patterns.

Role

Duration

Interaction designer
6 months

So, what’s it all about?

Digital planning tools disrupt flow and lack the flexibility of traditional methods like paper and pen. I redesigned the stylus as a smart tool to integrate such tools better in their day-to-day work. This would help knowledge workers improve their productivity and wellbeing.

Research objectives

  • Understand what productivity tools people use.
    What kind of tools people use to plan their day at work? What are their benefits and limitations?

  • Identify opportunities for stylus-based interventions.
    How can styluses play a role to improve productivity and achieve flow at work?

  • Explore ethical considerations around workplace monitoring.
    Are users comfortable with a stylus collecting environmental data and receiving personalised feedback around breaks?

Deliverables

  • Analysis of pain-points with current break taking technologies for knowledge workers.

  • Design concept visualisation for addressing pain points for users through proposed smart stylus.

  • Addressing data ownership, privacy and user concerns around workplace wellness systems

Methodology

Conducted semi-structured survey + analysed using Qualtrics, by hand, and NVivo 14+.

Outcomes:

User journey

Design recommendations

Building trust through transparent data practices

Users expressed hesitations about:

  • How their break pattern data might be used by employers for performance evaluation?

  • Whether the system would share data with third parties?

  • Will a stylus become the tool for constant surveillance?

  • How to ensure transparency about what data will be collected and why?

I'd worry about my manager seeing how many breaks I take... What if that affects my performance review?
- a young professional

I proposed an design recommendations based on 4 ethical pillars:

  • User Control — Users maintain ownership of their physiological and break pattern data. Users should have the option to share anonymised insights rather than raw data.

  • Transparency — Clear communication about what data is collected and how it is used. Historical data should be automatically deleted after user-defined periods

  • Opt-In By Default — All monitoring features require explicit user consent. Users can enable and disable specific sensing capabilities

  • Data Minimisation — Only collecting what's necessary to provide value. Physiological data should be processed on-device where possible.