Making Mondays Joyful

Design makes all sorts of things better, easier, more efficient, cooler. But can good design take unpleasant experiences and make them joyful? Last month, we asked you for suggestions of things that could use a joy makeover.We got a lot of good ideas, from the DMV to taxes and the morning commute. We handed your suggestions over to the design firm IDEO, and they picked an ambitious challenge: to bring joy to Mondays.

IDEO devised three concepts for making Mondays more joyful, and we took a trip over to their New York officesto test them out. Check out IDEO’s micrositeto see more of the inspiration and design process.

Lolzzz

IDEO’s Lolzzz alarm clock

(Courtesy of IDEO)

That Monday morning alarm clock. IDEO zeroed in on one of the most painful aspects of the start of the work week and designed Lolzzz, an alarm clock that wakes you with the sound of a child’s laughter. As it giggles, it rocks back and forth. You can make it laugh even louder by tickling it.

You can downloadyour own Lolzzz giggle alarm tonebelow:
Learn how to set up the audio file as your phone alarm for iPhoneor Android.

Sincerely

IDEO’s Sincerely app

(Courtesy of IDEO)

IDEO wants to snap us out of our Monday morning resentment that ourweekend time with friends is over. Sincerely is an app that lets you send warm little thoughts to your buddies or lovers. IDEO’s prototype sends the messages through a Bluetooth version of an actual tin can-and-string…the thing kids use to share secret messages.

Send your own text-based message of gratitudeby clicking here.

PopUp & Notifly

IDEO’s PopUp is a calendar app that fights that dreary calendar of appointments you face when you walk into the office every Monday morning. PopUp introduces a little joy, perhaps by reminding you that in the next meeting, this is someone you’ve never met before. It might alert you to the wonderful piece of street art near your lunch date or point out the meteor shower happening around bedtime.

And even more fun is the add-on appointment feature to PopUp called, Notifly. It’s a spherical object that sits on your desk. Instead of buzzing or beeping at you, it emits a soap bubble.

IDEO’s Notifly is made to pair with their PopUp calendar app — thehardware will release a bubble before an appointment.

(Courtesy of IDEO)

Slideshow: IDEO’s Design Process