TIME SAVER – an artefact to break unconscious phone unlocking

This project was born during an experimental phase of my bachelor’s degree, when I was first introduced to the phygital dimension and to a process of questioning, reflecting, and exploring the philosophy behind concepts. This new way of designing made a big impact on me and shaped the way I like to bring ideas to life.

Thanks to both, the fusion between the physical and digital and the deep reflection through the creative process, I began to see the transformative power that design could reach.

The starting point was becoming aware of my own digital behavior. I realized I had developed an automatic habit of unlocking my phone repeatedly throughout the day. By tracking it, I discovered that on average I unlocked it every 11 minutes during waking hours.

From this situation, I created a prototype: a phone case with a built-in countdown timer. It was programmed with an Arduino board and connected to smart liquid–crystal glasses that shift from transparent to opaque. The glasses act as a firewall, between the eyes and the screen. Each time the phone is unlocked, the timer decreases from 20 to 0. Once it reaches 0, the lenses turn opaque, blocking vision and forcing a pause in phone use. This way, the artifact makes visible and tangible the cost of an unconscious digital habit. Through a strong shift, as suddenly losing sight, it opens spaces to more intentional choices.