Wrest came into life from my collaboration with my friend Tomáš Trejdl health-tech-themed hackathon . We selected the challenge called Diseases of affluence , and during the 48-hour-long event, we identified this problem:
People who work with a computer mouse for many hours each day may have an increased risk of developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve. The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway surrounded by bones and ligaments on the palm side of the hand. When the median nerve is compressed, symptoms can include numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and arm. [source] Our solution was to develop a smart mouse pad with pressure sensors, detect suboptimal hand positions and notify the user to correct their position or take a break. Notifications would come through an app, which would also be used to calibrate the device for each individual.
I took on the UX/UI Designer role and was also involved in product design as we developed a physical mouse pad.
Getting to know our users After the hackathon ended, we were interested in the problem and decided to continue developing this idea. We gathered contacts and got in touch with some people who worked with a computer mouse and interviewed them, intending to get to know the problem and answer the following questions:
What are users' daily habits or problems when working on the computer? Do computer users understand the risks associated with poor hand position when using a mouse How do computer users deal with discomfort or pain when working for long periods of time? After interviewing 15 participants, there were the most important findings:
Participants only search for information about occupational hygiene when they develop symptoms of wrist pain (but some do not search even when they start having pains) Those working in companies mentioned OHS training for computer work, yet most did not follow recommended procedures and interventions before the onset of pain Some participants who were students had never had training in proper sitting at a computer 💡We now knew we needed to focus more on educating users about work hygiene, correct sitting, and wrist positioning rather than just notifying them and displaying data. Mapping out the experience
Designing a habit-forming experience Researching ways to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome caused by excessive mouse usage, we concluded two main factors:
Take regular breaks Exercise your wrist every day So we designed the Wrest app to help our users take regular breaks and teach them exercises that would keep their wrists healthy.
Teaching users to exercise We consulted licensed physiotherapists to create a set of exercises that promote healthy wrists and collaborated with motion designers, who created this exercise buddy avatar.
Designing the onboarding flow Onboarding the user was critical for our product as the pressure sensors in the mouse pad required to be calibrated for every user due to different hand and mouse weights. And it was essential to instruct the user on proper sitting and hand position for the duration of the calibration process.
First prototype This was the first version we showed to users, and they struggled with the instruction when they had to place the mouse on the mousepad but not their hand.
Second iteration Better understood, but the 3D visualization could never match the user's environment.
Final design Combining text and visual instructions enabled users to complete calibration on their first attempt. This also better fits with the rest of the app's design and establishes a visual language.
Onboarding flow prototype Creating interactive prototypes in Figma allowed us to quickly test multiple flow versions with users and update copy and move UI as we found spots where users got stuck.
