EMBER REST
A Smart Sleep Lamp
Project Period
Summary
13 Weeks
Year Developed
2025
Design Field
Interactive Design
Ember Rest explores how thoughtful design and simple technology can improve nightly rituals. Combining ambient lighting, touch interaction, and calming audio, it’s a modular sleep aid built for calm, designed to last. The lamp encourages users to wind down, disconnect from screens, and prepare for rest, blending human-centered design with interactive electronics in a bedroom-ready form.
Role
Scope
Skills
Solo Designer
Concept → functional prototype → interactive, presentation-ready working model
Human-centered product design
Electronics and Arduino programming
Physical prototyping using 3D printing and repurposed materials
Interaction design and user testing
Time-constrained project management
Design Challenges
Modern lifestyles often disrupt natural sleep patterns, with screens, stress, and inconsistent routines preventing healthy rest. The challenge was to design a single-device solution that encourages users to prepare for sleep without being intrusive or overwhelming.
Constraints included time limitations, strict class deadlines, and the requirement to create a fully functional working prototype. The lamp also needed to be ergonomically suitable for a bedroom setting, intuitive to use, and capable of safely handling interactive electronics within a visually appealing, tech-forward design.
Functionality
Placed in a bedroom, the lamp automatically turns on when the room darkens. It begins a sleep wind-down routine when a phone is set on its wireless charger. The light shifts to a warm orange, encouraging relaxation and signalling sleep time, while calming audio fades in to cue the mind for rest. As the routine nears an end the light fades to a deep red before slowly bringing the room to darkness. A volume dial allows user control, and the modular, interactive design blends ambient lighting, touch interaction, and electronics into a sleep aid built for calm and built to last.
Through research and testing, I learned that warm light encourages relaxation, red and orange hues are most effective, and sound can reinforce calming routines. Conversely, blue light should be avoided, and exposure to screens before bed can disrupt circadian rhythms. The design encourages users to put away phones, promoting a tactile and mindful transition to rest.
Final Outcome
This project has been one of my favourite I have ever worked on, it resulted in a fully working prototype featuring:
WS2812 LED rings programmed for customizable lighting patterns
Sound cues integrated through Arduino-controlled playback
Interactive components including buttons and light sensors
Modular construction using 3D printed and repurposed elements
The lamp was tested by friends, family, classmates, and teachers, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback. Users responded enthusiastically to both its aesthetics and functional guidance toward sleep. The project demonstrated strong potential for further development and manufacturing.