Overview
Marage is an innovative desktop projection system designed to enhance remote work by minimizing interruptions and supporting focus. Leveraging ultra-short-throw projection and calm technology principles, Marage projects interactive visuals directly onto tabletops, allowing seamless multi-touch interaction like a touchscreen.
Duration: September 2020 – April 2021
Methods: User Interviews, Task Analysis, Wireframing and Prototyping, User Flows, Information Architecture, Usability Testing
Type: Capstone Project
Problem
Remote workers face unique challenges—constant notifications, a blurred work-life boundary, and the need to stay visible to in-person teams. This pressure can lead to an unhealthy work relationship and hinder genuine communication.
Solution
Marage uses calm technology principles, moving notifications to the user’s periphery to reduce disruptive alerts. Notifications are clustered based on user status (available, busy, do not disturb, offline), allowing users to manage communications on their terms and better maintain their flow state.
Impact
Through a projected interface, Marage empowers remote workers to control notifications and interact with status updates more meaningfully. This approach helps foster healthier remote work habits, combining productivity with reduced strain.
Marage was designed to support remote productivity by moving notifications to the periphery, allowing users to maintain deep focus without constant interruption. Through smart statuses, Marage enables workers to control their notification flow, making it easier to stay in the zone.
Following Marage’s development, Apple introduced its own focus-oriented UI update, implementing customizable focus modes that align with Marage’s approach. This evolution highlights how Marage’s design was ahead of the curve, anticipating the shift toward calm, user-centered technology that empowers focused productivity.
Process
Objective: Design a tool that enhances productivity for remote workers by minimizing distractions and interruptions while keeping them connected to essential updates in a non-intrusive way.
Target Audience:
Remote workers and professionals seeking to balance focus and collaboration in their daily workflow.
Problem Statement:
Traditional productivity tools often overwhelm users with notifications, leading to frequent interruptions and reduced focus. Workers need a way to stay informed without constant disruption to their workflow.
Key Takeaways from the Competitor Analysis
- High Distraction Levels: Many tools (like Slack) prioritize real-time communication but bombard users with notifications, which disrupts focus and productivity.
- Lack of Real-Time Focus Control: While Status Hero reduces meetings through consolidated reports, it does not offer real-time control over interruptions, leaving users susceptible to workflow disruptions.
- Narrow Focus Management: Tools like Serene block distractions effectively but are isolated from collaborative features, limiting their utility for team-based work that requires staying informed.
- No Smart Status Integration: Smart statuses that dynamically control notifications based on user availability are absent from these tools, setting Marage apart as a solution for balancing collaboration and focus.
Ideation and Initial Development
From my research I highlighted three main areas that I wanted to address. Remote working has emphasised the unhealthy relationships we have with technology. It has made it easier for work to reach us at all hours of the day. Yet at the same time, remote workers experience social isolation from coworkers and reduce the human connection needed for worker wellbeing.
- Create something that respects technological privacy
- Create something that aids workers be present in a hybrid workplace
- Create something that reminds remote workers of routine
I decided to pursue concepts that aim to improve the quality of communication that remote workers experience. Facilitating meaningful conversation between workers can reduce distractions and improve productivity. Reinforcing feelings of validation to remove the pressure to over-perform With more people transitioning to remote work, they need something to guide them to do so properly.
Concept Direction
My chosen concept tackles this problem by improving the transmission of messages, and reinforces the proper usage of instant messaging and email. Instead of being bombarded by a lot of notifications, it will display them naturally using principles of calm technology. By displaying these through light projections using ambient awareness. It will be able to communicate information without taking the user out of their task. This gives the user control and the ability to limit the way they receive notifications. They are no longer at the mercy of how often their coworkers choose to use instant messaging. This device would use Ultra-short throw projection along with two cameras positioned to track hand movements.
Usability Testing
Analysis & Insights
Iterating the Design
Final Design