The Design to Behavior and Impact brief was to think of ways to reduce screen time and foster digital well-being among adults. Over the course of two weeks, the team addressed this assignment by conducting a research process in order to understand user behaviors. They then started the ideation process, finding challenges and opportunities to design a strategy to help shape new behaviors and impact. DistractiOFF was the result of this process.

“DistractiOFF” is a device that helps CIID students disconnect from their phones for an hour. Through a reward system, it encourages productivity and/or rest time.  The research shows that students push or delay strenuous tasks to later on. The easy way they find to do this is by using their phones. 

As soon as the user sets the phone to “DistractiOFF” mode, it will turn on and start charging the time bar until the hour is up. If the student remove the phone before the hour lapse ends, it prompts “DistractiOFF” to generate a noise, change the facial expression and stop the time until the user sets the phone back on the device. 

It was a challenge to design a device with an intuitive and organic way to use it, and to generate an emotional engagement with the product's reactions.

Learnings from the process:

• Sometimes there's the scenario where you need to use the phone as an emergency


• People are willing to use this kind products to reduce screen time


• People understand it is there to help and not to “punish" them