Window of Opportunity

Office workers often live increasingly sedentary lives. Walking meetings are a great way to incorporate physical activity without interrupting work, but people still feel drivers and barriers before planning a walking meeting with colleagues. The Window of Opportunity is a device based on the Dilemma Driven Design Framework, that uses the key elements of the Aesthetic of Friction to trigger the internal dilemma of going for a walking meeting versus planning a traditional meeting, without clearly pushing to one side.

The Window of Opportunity aims to lower the conversation threshold between colleagues so everyone can voice their opinions. It resembles a vintage skylight and can be situated in any meeting room. When the colleagues enter the meeting room, the windows of the design open to guide the attention towards the product, and symbolize connecting with the outside. The Window of Opportunity then provides information-rich sound and light corresponding to the current outside conditions, to trigger mental imagery of the outside conditions and the internal dilemma. It poses the question: ‘Should we walk or only talk?’, to start the conversation among colleagues about the dilemma, thus aiming to lower the conversation threshold and implying an alternative choice to staying inside.