Halo

CWD

Chirp

2024

Industrial Design

User Experience Design

CMF Design

User Research

Rendering

About The Project

This project was done from 2022-2024 for Chirp. I was the lead designer and communication liaison with manufacturing and engineering, taking the project from concept to market, initially as an Intern and then as an Associate Industrial Designer. All renderings done were done by myself, however photography was done by the Chirp creative team.

Simplifying TENS and EMS

TENS/EMS therapy has been around for decades. And it has worked. It is a scientifically backed therapy. But the drawback has always been its intimidating and messy application for usage.

The main question that I set out to answer when I began designing the Halo was how can I take this therapy that works and remove the confusion in pad placement, the detangling of wires, and the carrying of a bulky battery?

From this initial point I began to explore different form factors, processes and applications in the ideation process.

Process

Research and Development

The sketching process had many different forms emerge. From smaller pill shaped units inspired by AirPods, to concaved and curved pucks to allow for easier button navigation and ergonomics, many ideas were thrown around. On the pad side, I noticed that the same three standard pads always existed, but trigger points were at different distances across muscle groups, presenting an opportunity for innovation in the shapes of our pads to better interact with the muscles that the unit was triggering.

The prototyping process saw us explore smaller and larger pucks, depths of the power button concave, and testing different pad sizes and shapes. A big discovery in this process was that pad effectiveness was directly correlated with shape, but not necessarily with size. This validated the need for shaping pads specifically, rather than just making them bigger or smaller.

To further improve usability, we created the accompanying optional Halo App to educate and suggest. Referred pain, the idea that pain is typically caused by muscle tightness in surrounding or adjacent areas, is not intuitive. By letting the user select where their pain is coming from and then suggesting where the unit can be effectively used, the Halo is combating pain in the moment and the future by showing the user where to be mindful of later on.