Bay
Company
Year
Umeå Institute of Design
2016
Overview
Designing healthy habits is easier in theory than in everyday life. BAY started from a simple observation: dehydration is common, and children rarely respond to rational reminders. The project explored whether sound, light, and storytelling could transform drinking water into a small daily ritual rather than a parental instruction.
Developed during a two-week intensive group project in the MFA Advanced Product Design program, BAY reframed a basic object—a water bottle—into an interactive companion that encourages habit formation through feedback and play.
Summary
BAY is an interactive water bottle designed to encourage children aged 3–6 to drink water regularly. By combining physical product design with sound interaction and light feedback, we translated hydration into a game-like experience.
I worked as product designer within a team of five, shaping the physical architecture, interaction logic, and overall concept direction in close collaboration with interaction designers.
Project Stats
Role
Team of 5 – interdisciplinary collaboration
Timeline
2 weeks
Scope
Industrial design
Interaction concept
Sound exploration
Prototyping
Storytelling film
Awards
Problem
Hydration can be a long-term health issue, but children do not respond to long-term arguments. Parents remind. Children ignore. The tension sits between rational health advice and emotional motivation.
We asked: how do you build a habit before it becomes a problem?
Process
We combined research on childhood habit formation with rapid prototyping of sound and light interactions. A Wizard-of-Oz setup allowed us to simulate feedback and test reactions before building electronics.
Parallel tracks focused on character framing, physical ergonomics, and interaction timing. The goal was to understand not only how it works, but how it feels through sound and light.
Solution
BAY is a 33cl water bottle with embedded light and sound feedback that activates as a reminder and rewards drinking behavior. When children drink, the bottle responds with progressive “energy” feedback through illumination and subtle audio cues.
An inductive night dock recharges the bottle and reinforces the ritual—placing it to rest as part of the daily routine.
Check the full case study
Opportunity
Reframing Hydration as Emotional Learning. Anchoring the simple act of drinking water to an energy boost
Rather than designing a “smart bottle,” the opportunity was to reframe hydration as early behavioral learning. The leverage was not in adding features, but in designing feedback loops that feel rewarding without becoming distracting.
By positioning the bottle as a companion rather than a monitor, we shifted the focus from control to engagement.
Goals & Success Criteria
Sound triggers to activate behavior not technology
The primary goal was behavioral: increase voluntary drinking frequency without parental intervention. Technology served this goal, not the other way around.
Success meant three things:
Children understand the interaction intuitively.
Feedback feels playful, not medical.
The object remains usable as a normal bottle, even without electronics.
Process/ Approach
Designing Interaction Through Physical Form
The form had to communicate softness and approachability while integrating electronics discreetly. We avoided aggressive shapes and stereotypical “gadget” language. The translucent lower body allowed light diffusion without exposing technical components.
A gender-neutral color strategy supported inclusivity and avoided segmenting the product into predefined identities.
Simultaneously, we explored sound design using rapid Arduino prototypes and programmable light rings. Interaction timing was tested in real scenarios using Wizard-of-Oz simulations before committing to embedded systems.
Collaboration Between Product and Interaction
Working in a multidisciplinary team required clarity in decision-making. Physical constraints—battery size, LED placement, charging method—directly influenced interaction behavior.
The inductive dock emerged from this constraint. Instead of adding a visible charging port, we turned charging into a ritual moment. This aligned technical necessity with behavioral reinforcement.
Final Solution
A Companion Object That Builds Ritual
BAY demonstrates how small behavioral nudges can be embedded into everyday objects. It is not a medical device and not a toy. It sits between those categories, using subtle feedback to build routine through repetition.
The project reinforced a principle that has stayed with me: when designing connected products, the real system is not the electronics—it is the behavior you shape around them.
Testimonial
Most home chargers look like technical equipment. We saw a gap: a charger that users could proudly install in visible areas—on a wood wall, near the front door, or in a Scandinavian-style garage. on a wood wall, near the
- Someone Someoneson
President of the Customer Universe
Opportunity
Most home chargers look like technical equipment. We saw a gap: a charger that users could proudly install in visible areas—on a wood wall, near the front door, or in a Scandinavian-style garage. on a wood wall, near the
- Someone Someoneson
President of the Customer Universe
Opportunity
Most home chargers look like technical equipment. We saw a gap: a charger that users could proudly install in visible areas—on a wood wall, near the front door, or in a Scandinavian-style garage. on a wood wall, near the
- Someone Someoneson
President of the Customer Universe
Opportunity
Most home chargers look like technical equipment. We saw a gap: a charger that users could proudly install in visible areas—on a wood wall, near the front door, or in a Scandinavian-style garage. on a wood wall, near the
- Someone Someoneson
President of the Customer Universe