At the very outset of our thesis journeys, we were invited to explore a question through the creation of a provotype.
One of my favorite quotes is from the French philosopher Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” This led me to ask: How might we give the gift of attention?
Per UX Collective, a provotype is a design artifact — digital or physical — whose main goal is to provoke discussion among different types of users and stakeholders. (Prototypes, on the other hand, are used to test concepts and gather feedback.)
For the second week of our Thesis Studio course, I brainstormed 50 provotype concepts spurred by this question of attention as a gift. The goal here was not to identify potential product solutions, but instead to spark new thoughts, conflicts, and opportunities.
As part of this brainstorm, we were asked to select one concept and create a 3D sketch (a physical provotype). After noodling on a number of more predictable concepts involving gift wrap, care packages, and cards, I landed on something a bit more out in left field: a smartphone kennel.
Rapid ideation sketches
3D sketch of a portable phone kennel
Reference sketches & provocations
The kennel is intended as a gift that a parent would give to their kid(s). However, the real gift here is the gift of responsibility: to look after the parent’s smartphone in the same way one might look after a (low-maintenance) pet.
Little kids love being given big-kid responsibilities, and they love playing with things that belong to adults. And of course, by putting the smartphone away in its kennel for a rest, the kid is reclaiming their parent’s attention.
My initial kennel (”Kernel”) paper provotype.
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- Ben Hone, Dad of a three-year-old
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As Ben Hone ’26 told me, his wife hates nothing more than when he’s on his phone while with Amelia, their three-year-old daughter.