Tales of Sunlight: A roadmap to the Future Philips Wake Up Light
Andrew Kunz · 2010
This report describes a graduation project in Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology conducted for Philips Design in Amsterdam. It treats the explorations of future potentials for the Philips Wake Up Light from 2012 until 2015. From extensive research both on existing solutions as well as waking up, sleep and the bedroom environment in general, several user issues were identified. There is especially a need for personalized wake up tools, solutions adapted to couples and products that can assist both waking up and going to bed. These three directions shaped a Design Experience Roadmap containing user insights, personas and product concepts. Based on consumer feedback the strongest one of these directions – the personalized wake up experience – was developed further into a complete product proposition: ‘Bennu’, the new Wake Up Light model of 2015 uses dynamic LED lighting to create moving patterns of light and shadow as if the real sun was shining through the window. Users can change and even create new sceneries via their smartphones – enabling them to freely design their own wake up experience. First reactions to the new concept are very positive: people say it is something that would help them wake up both more effectively and pleasantly. With the introduction of dynamic lighting, Philips opens the door to new user experiences, but also strategic advantages in the market of dawn simulation.