Naptick — Prineeth Ramachandra

Naptick — a sleep experience device for the bedside — 01
A sleep device for the bedside

Research material withheld under NDA

Discovery — analysis and contextual inquiry

03
Form exploration — 30 concepts, four directions

Somnus — an early form study — 04
Somnus — early form study

Light and sound design withheld under NDA

Light choreography across the sleep cycle

Digital experience withheld under NDA

App structure

Project

A bedside device that choreographs light, sound and voice across a full sleep cycle — evening wind-down, middle-of-night disruption, morning wake-up. I led user research, industrial design, physical interaction and the digital experience as an independent consultant over eleven months. The product is now live, which still feels slightly surreal for something that started as foam models on my desk.

The central problem is designing for reduced cognitive function. The controls have to make sense to someone who is half asleep, and the object still has to be worth looking at eight hours later when it is doing nothing at all. Contextual inquiry into nightstand setups and evening routines confirmed the obvious thing that is easy to design past: people operate these devices in states of consciousness where reading a label is not on the table. Competitive analysis found most products excel at either light or sound, rarely both — and few have physical controls worth using in the dark.

Over thirty narrowed to four directions — stacked forms, tapered cones, faceted geometry, and organic curves referencing the brand's own silhouette. Scaled 3D prints and foam models tested proportion and physical presence before anything functional got built. The tapered cylinder won because it projects light well and does not fall over.

Light is choreographed rather than switched. Evening sequences shift colour temperature from energising to calming; night illumination gives just enough visibility without suppressing melatonin; morning follows a sunrise progression matched to a sound wake-up that builds with it. Material transitions double as grip points, so the object tells your hand where to hold it in the dark.

Across physical and digital, we drew a hard line about what lives where: time-sensitive and frequent interactions belong to the product, complex scheduling and personalisation to the app, convenience and accessibility to voice. The app has three sections and no more — sleep setup, wake up, settings.

The last phase was DFA and DFM, which meant the form I had spent months refining changed again right before launch. That is, apparently, how products work. What stayed true through every revision: the transitions — in the light, in the sound, in the interface — are where the whole experience is either gentle or not. Get those wrong and nothing else matters.

Some visuals withheld under NDA. The product is now live.