Cobble

Cobble is an interactive speaker that expands the ways we play music. It features four pegs that the user can plug into matching patterns to activate music profiles. Cobble advocates for the idea of "inadvertent mindfulness," where momentary awareness of one's actions helps them reduce stress and calm down.

This product complements the popular mindfulness paradigm where users choose to actively participate in meditation sessions or listen to calmful environmental noise. Research and studies have found that mindfulness does not have to be intentional and regulated but can also be realized through much subtler ways.

The product is inspired by Go, the Asian strategic board game, where players often enter states of heightened concentration and flow. The act of placing stones and concentrating on one's thoughts are a classic example of how mindfulness could be achieved outside of deliberate interventions. Similar to Go, Cobble does not seek to overpower its primary function -- music playing -- with mindfulness functions. Rather the novel interface provides a complementary way to interact with sound profiles and achieve a calming effect in the process.