Ora
Low tech
Holistic movement
Mind-body connection
Purpose
What if we could exercise with time itself? As the field of personal fitness grows, so have the amount of metrics and strategies for optimizing results; however, despite the significance of time in any workout, little has been done to target timing specifically.
Product
Ora is a sand-filled exercise implement resembling an hourglass that provides people with a holistic, full-body exercise routine. As a low-tech fitness product, Ora invites users to tune into their own sense of time and develop their mind-body connection.
In addition to designing the object itself, an essential piece of creating Ora was designing the routine around it. Through several user testing sessions and personal exploration with the prototypes, I developed a 10 step routine to be performed with Ora. Each step was chosen to build on successively more difficult movements and end with a peaceful stage of active listening to the sand running down.
Boutique studios and home gyms alike are perfectly suited for Ora. A group setting is ideal for learning how to use Ora for the first time, but the fully-integrated nature of the implement makes it one of the easiest and most compact exercise products on the market.
Process
Initially focused on portable fitness equipment, I began to look at what kinds of objects people keep in their home and what portable implements are kept at gyms. During this observation process I noticed one item that was consistently present and simultaneously separate from all of these items: a timer.
Regardless of the exercise being performed, everyone had one of three timing typologies: a watch, a phone, or a clock on the wall. This observation led me to a disruptive hypothesis that an exercise implement that manipulated time itself could be radically different than what's currently offered.
Inspired my the metaphor of "working out with an hourglass" to represent the manipulation of time, I quickly dove into prototyping — duct taping different vessels together and filling them with sand. I arrived at three distinct forms, each varying in overall weight and how long they would allow the sand to run for.
User testing was vital for illuminating how people interacted with each prototype. Through this process, I arrived at key poses that would inform the final routine design.
Several cardboard prototypes allowed me to explore different ways of handling the hourglass shape. Users tended to find grips along the outer perimeter the most useful. The final prototype was completely usable for a full workout, giving people a clear idea of what Ora would be like if it were manufactured,
The final design includes a rotomolded core of clear plastic, elegantly encased in brushed metal plates that are fixed to the end handles. The handles are overmolded with TPU to maximize comfort for all grip positions.
