Oasis: Speculative Water Cooler

Project Context

Role: User Experience Designer and Brand Strategist

Timeline: Spring 2024

Tools: Fusion360, Adobe Illustrator, Chipboard

Team: Sofia Grytsenko, Ben Hone, Qianyue Zhou, Eva Mo

Oasis is a speculative water cooler designed to protect employees from unwanted and unconsented recordings by their employers. Developed as part of my MFA in Products of Design, the project reimagines the common water cooler, something that is present in all offices, as a protective object for employees' rights. I led the research, brand design, and assisted with physical protoyping.

The Challenge

Corporations are increasingly weaponizing workplace surveillance technology, not to enhance productivity, but to detect organizing efforts and preempt union activity. From monitoring keystrokes to tracking conversations and location data, these tools create a climate of fear that undermines workers’ legal right to collective action. This misuse of technology doesn’t just violate privacy: it erodes trust, chills democracy in the workplace, and tilts the balance of power even further toward employers.

The Process

We believe workers attempting to organize a union are entitled to privacy from recording devices during in-person conversations at work. In order to begin research, we interviewed union experts and consulted online articles to see if employers taking action against employees is something that happens. We learned yes it does.

Research & Insights

Initial sketches explored natural forms, moving away from the rigidity of office design, discreet features and activation, and the ability to block the widest area possible.

Exploration & Ideation

The visual identity evolved through rapid prototyping and 3D modeling. We figured out what the approximate size and radius for an audio jammer, built a test version of our product, and tested with commonly used water bottles. We wanted this to be able to be used by all employees.

Design Development

The Solution

Oasis was created!
The clean design makes it look like a normal office appliance, no one would guess it's protecting your privacy. One of the key features is our 180-degree interference coverage. The jamming speakers are built into the sides and top, so the interference can cover everything in front of the cooler, as well as the space above it. That means any phone, whether in someone’s pocket or on the table, will get jammed.
The buttons are designed to be flush and subtle, blending into the surface to avoid drawing attention.

Outcome & Impact

A fully designed speculative product was created. As more and more employers take action against employees through the invasion of their privacy, the importance of products like these will rise overtime.

Reflection & Learnings

Oasis was a way for me to learn more about underprotected populations and how we as designers can use our skills to try to make the world a better place. A future step would be to make this into something employees can buy and carry around with them, making any space a protected space.