Nosho
A fun way to reduce that pesky phone-checking habit.
Nosho is a delightful, low-tech desk gadget aimed to minimize intrusive notifications in our daily lives by redefining what it means to meaningfully interact with your phone.
Jump to final design!
Jump to final design!
Role
Tools
Team
The problem space
Compulsive notification-checking is real, and frustrating.
By the time we’re aware we picked up the phone, we’re already been completely taken out of the task we were working on.
Heavy phone dependence is frustrating when you’re wired to constantly expect something that won’t appear.
Secondary research
Understanding habit formation/breaking is crucial to understanding why phones are so addicting.
The phone/habit space is a complex topic with a lot of breadth. So, it was important to me to dive into research papers to properly learn the psychology behind how bad habits with phones form:
Bad habits stick because they’re easy to start, and hard to stop...
Notifications + Mere Exposure Effect = wanting to check apps more.
People tend to be unaware of what cues ACTUALLY trigger unwanted actions.
User interviews
75% of interviewees wished they could create a dedicated, no-device space for themselves.
After four 1-hour interviews, it became clear that many recognized the addictive nature of phones, yet struggled to make a space to take a break from them.
Key insights
I realized young adults struggle most with successfuly removing “notification bombardment” from their lives.
Insight #1: Content expectation
There’s a disproportionate expectation for new content, reinforced by notification triggers REGARDLESS of value.
Insight #2: A need for introspection
There’s a high requirement for discipline and awareness for people to take action on phone dependency from boredom.
Design opportunity!
Going phone-free shouldn’t feel like a punishment.
Many existing solutions (such as locking your phone away in a safe) almost feel like a self-imposed exile, yet people feel like they need to resort to this extreme in order to find solutions that stick.
One of my favorite phone experiments that show just how far we have to go to remove ourselves from our phone addiction.
Problem statement
How might we motivate phone-reliant young adults to reclaim their own space for the present moment in order to cultivate a healthier relationship with their phones?
Design exploration
Ideating for fun, function,
and effectiveness
The key is to change the experience from a “punishment” to “something fun”. This is where Nosho was born!
Design exploration
With a basic concept down, it was time to refine how Nosho removes notifications as an intrusive trigger.
Picking the right measurement to emphasize.
Focusing on the number of pick-ups (instead of screen time) encourages users to reflect if they truly need to pick up that phone right now.
Making Nosho a charging home for your phone!
All interviewees sit next to a charger for easy charging/usage. Integrating phone charging into Nosho also solidifies its place as a useful phone hub.
Just the right amount of fun without stealing your focus.
Nosho’s goal is to minimize notification intrusion, yet, it should feel delightful. The longer your phone hasn’t been touched, the more lively your aquarium becomes!
Sketching & 3D prototyping Nosho’s form factor.
Nosho should look approachable. So, I ideated different form factors, settling on two, and eventually 3D-modeling and printing the final result!
Visual design & video work
Creating the visual feel &
video for Nosho
Nosho’s visual look is captured by the idea of being delightful, fun, yet calm.
“Nosho” came about as a double play-on words. “Notification-shoal” (like a shoal of fish) and “No-show”!
Storyboarding the product video & working with Blender
Since Nosho is a physical product concept, I knew a product video would help visualize its use cases. Plus, who doesn't like a little motion?
Final design!
Without further ado, here’s
the final Nosho design!
Nosho is a playful, dynamic notification visualizer in the form of an aquarium to help manage those tempting phone pick-ups with a simple motto: out of sight, out of mind!
From loud notifications, to calm fishies swimming in.
Nosho softly restricts unessential notification information while providing some level of transparency in order to avoid notification anxiety.
A natural desk home for
your phone.
Nosho is able to wirelessly charge your phone while keeping track of your notifications, serving as a great desk gadget whether you’re working or heading to bed.
Impact
Nosho has promising potential to redefine how we experience habitual phone pick-ups.
When evaluating the success of Nosho’s concept, I turned to fellow designers and participants to provide their opinions.
82%
User satisfaction
Users felt that Nosho could effectively shape their relationships with their phone for the better.
100%
Success rate
Users successfully navigated through Nosho to remove notification noise.
If I had the opportunity, I'd also test:
% Change in phone pick-ups
Retention rate
Net Promoter Score
Taking the prototype into my everyday life…
I’ll admit, I’ve been using my own Nosho prototype to stay focused at times...and I’m happily surprised to find out that since using it, my screen time’s been down by 63%.
Late June’s screen time...
...versus early July!
Reflections, takeaways, & the UW Design show!
Lots to say, lots to thank, and lots to reflect on.
Personal notes
Where do I begin! Nosho is especially meaningful to me because it’s my final project as an Interaction Designer at the University of Washington. I challenged myself to combine as many different skillsets as I could; UX design, research, visual design, 3D modeling, motion, prototyping, 3D printing; it was an amazing mesh of everything I wanted to do and more.
Nosho at the UW Design Show!
As my UW Design capstone, I presented it at the 2025 UW Design Show along with my other fellow designers and their capstones! While the show has already ended, you can check it out here: https://www.uwdesignshow.com
Working solo: the creative freedom and lack of constraints
Working on Nosho has taught me a LOT about the ups and downs to working solo. I always love working in a group because everyone has a different perspective! So while I had much more creative freedom, it also meant that the final decisions were up to solely me. In that sense, it’s helped me understand that having some constraints isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all!
Thank you!
Lastly, I’d like to thank my fellow designers and my instructor, Bridget Weis, for providing feedback throughout this very quick 9-week process! And of course, thanks to you, the reader, for checking this out! It’s a concept I’m very proud of, and maybe someday I’ll make it a real thing. Who knows? :)
