Chronic migraines affect over 12 percent of the US population and are most common in adults ages 18 to 44. During migraine episodes, sufferers cannot function properly due to their increased sensitivity to light, sound, and increased fatigue causing them to miss out on work for days at a time. To help combat the symptoms of migraines and help sufferers continue with their daily lives, we created Cocoon. Cocoon is a workplace migraine haven that adjusts its environment to the user's needs to help them continue in their work and maintain workplace productivity.
Cocoon is a portable private workspace where users can enter its soundproof walls and shut the noise and lights of the office out while maintaining their productivity and drive. Combined with its corresponding desktop app, Cocoon tracks users' usage and environment preferences to create significant insights for users' usage patterns and understanding of their migraine preferences.
Cocoon is the only private workspace on the market designed to help combat migraines and adjusts itself to the user's preferences based on their migraine needs. While there are other private workspaces on the market, none have been designed to allow users to focus on their health and comfort during a chronic illness episode for long periods of time while in the workplace. Our market research showed demand for private dark workspaces that allow users to experience their migraine while at work without feeling shame or discomfort due to their environments.
Migraines are a very individualistic neurological disease that affects each user differently. Unlike other disabilities which tend to either be outwardly seen or more spoken about, migraines are still a very minimally researched disease that many people tend to misunderstand. Due to this, our users requested we help create workplace understanding while allowing them to care for their migraine in peace and privacy. These design criteria enabled us to create a private workspace that adjusts itself to the user that can help create a norm in the workplace for needed isolation and mental health self-care.