Wellbeing/the new reality - Spread Design Barn

SHIFT

Wellbeing

The New Reality

People are becoming aware and mindful of the present moment. Feasibility, accessibility, and simplicity is a design philosophy pioneering digital innovations and transformations. New mediums of sound, podcasts, guided meditations are the new nurturing forces for the brain. We are rethinking the concept of a “home”, innovating and recycling the ideas about “food”, redecorating / reshaping of our nests with relaxing lights, sounds and greenery.

INSIGHTS

Talking Hearts of Survivors

Bangalore based Talk Your Heart Out, a cancer support initiative and part of Onco.com hosted a monthly online event on Zoom. They also use creatives, letters, gifts, ecards that are therapeutic for the mind of a cancer survivor and those seeking help.

Smiling Brain

Jim Kwik is the founder of Kwik Learning and a widely recognized world expert in speed-reading, memory improvement, brain performance, and accelerated learning. His online courses and workshops garner interest from over 1.2 million followers worldwide.

Happiness Platters

From 2021 mainstream markets in the West have already imbibed adaptogenic mushrooms – varieties like reishi and lion’s mane that benefit cognitive health, stress levels and immune support.

Becoming Mindful

Online mindfulness courses are on the rise. Vipassana courses to date required someone to pre-book and wait for almost a year – till a chance landed to go to the location and meditate for a duration of 3-10 days. It is now online and can be done from home.

For instance, David Barker’s (world-renowned meditation teacher) online Vipasanna course are even tailor-made and segmented into user categories and schedules of:

Workplace Warrior – for People who have a full working schedule, kids to look after or other duties

Spiritual Hustler – for someone who can take 1-3 hours a day for getting work done and focus on meditation for the remainder of the day

Silent Sadhu – 10 days of silence for those who can keep all responsibilities aside

Each of these avatars has benefits and challenges of its own.

Brahma Kumaris recently uploaded an exhaustive schedule of their Raj Yoga course. Different from Hatha Yoga these Yoga practices focus on the mental aspect at a foundational level with concepts of the universe, mind, self knowledge and affirmations. Without stepping out of the home, users are now recreating spaces with lighting, mats, music and these online courses, webinars and workshops are their mental health guides.

Making Things Easier

Luis Novo, CEO of Skore recently introduced The PaperBot, a tool that helps to collect links from Slack and this again forms daily / weekly email digests. Design-led innovations for health-care is an emerging trend.

Pro Grasp is a Myo Electric Hand Prosthesis developed by Design Life Design Studio for Dee Dee Labs Pvt Ltd. It was a winner in the Health Care and Medical Equipment Design at the 10th CII Design Excellence Awards 2020.

Sonic Tonic

ASMR: Autonomous sensory meridian response – for tingling sensation in ears based on your liking. For instance, you can search for keyboard sounds or paper sounds or fireplace crackle sounds. ASMR is generally produced by someone on the video with props based on the theme.

Ambient Sounds: From Rainy Night in Gotham City to Hogwarts Library, transport yourself anywhere while at work or rest in your room with these ambient sound loops.

Sound Bath: Immersive full-body listening experience that intentionally uses sound to invite gentle and powerful therapeutic processes for mind and body. Tibetan prayer bowls and handpans are often used for these sessions.

Frequency Meditation and Chants: Binaural beats in the theta (4Hz to 8Hz) and alpha frequencies (8Hz to 13 Hz) and guided affirmations and chants.

Sound is a dimension that grew over the years and now reaching new frontiers in therapy and wellbeing with people becoming more and more home oriented.

Reel Kill

The Sushant Singh suicide/murder investigation which was everyday news was now raising questions in Bollywood movie buffs at large, questions that target the standards, lifestyles and things they look up to, is the glam world of Bollywood good for mental health at all?

Drinking Sense

This year probiotic infused water brands like Huzzah, Wildwonder and Bio-K+ and CBD water brand Fountain are launching exciting products. The Sparkling Water industry is on the rise.

Food choices of the future will be more about alignment with values like sustainability, racial and economic equity.

Food and Beverage is seeing a new dimension from 2021- based on alignments with Wellbeing, Sense, Alignment and Health.

Lifting Spirits

Exhale launched in August last year is the first emotional well-being app designed for Black, Indigenous and women of colour. Wellbeing websites have a repository of exciting and fresh articles based on NLPs and daily positive programming for the subconscious mind through habits.

Beauty, Life and Home

Documentaries like The Minimalists on Netflix launched in Jan 2021, is taking the Minimalism movement to the next level. Sustainable living is now a mantra with people reducing all extra “stuff” from their life, transforming vans and giant cylinder tanks into irresistible themed homes.

Let There be Light

Brands like Dyson, Phillips, Lutron and Bios lighting have releases this year that will make it easy to switch to relax mode anytime the user wants. From this year artificial lights will kickstart our internal clock as we rise to lights and even schedule them to experience the same benefits of outdoor natural light.

Medicine Ivy

The ornamental plant market is on the rise with more and more rare plants being introduced online. Colour tones for interiors will reflect the tones of the earth and the environment.

Back With Love

Turning overripe bananas into banana bread was a recent trend to support upcycled food movement.

Relaxing

Award winning apps like Calm helps to sleep with guided voiceovers and storytelling in categories ranging from Develop Gratitude, Better Sleep, Improve Performance and Reduce Stress.

During the lockdown insomnia wreaked havoc. It still lingers with disrupted schedules. Many working from home employees now has unusual sleep schedules they made for themselves. It is here that apps are playing a vital role.

CLOSING NOTE

Emotional ecosystems are in place be it at home decors or in the world of online communities.

We are finally starting to reshape the way we experience our food, our interactions, our ambience and our own mind. Greenery and light is entering homes and we are becoming plugged to nature and the world than to a rigid mechanical way of living. Frontlining this dynamic movement is the role of the digital and the content creators who are making statements and showcasing shifts.