Talk&Brew

STUDENTS INVOLVED

Jina Kim

Hyejin Lee

ABOUT

Independent Project

Stress and Loneliness in a Modern Life

We all know stress is about as inevitable as it gets, but the way we handle it is the key. The stress that 4 out of 5 people are struggling with, and the reasons behind it was our starting point. Stress as a physiological reaction changes our mental, physical and behavioural actions. Modern stress which comes from work, money, relationships, social insecurities and more, makes us anxious, tending to ignore the problem, freak out, or in the worst case, snap. Reactions to stress can easily provoke communication issues and cause relationship difficulties. Being lonely can’t be ignored. 37% of adults feeling stressed reported feeling lonely because of stress. Being stressed drives us to feel lonely, and being lonely makes us stressed. Stress can be quantified but loneliness is a very subjective matter. However, a vicious cycle between our strongly linked stress and loneliness can damage our health.

Story of Talk&Brew

Talk&Brew’s key values are making tea moments to pause in our busy lives. Users take a short break time to look back, reflect and clarify their minds. They join a quick and effective mood elevating journey to receive matching tea and suggestions. The whole process also works as a way to share and communicate with people. They can continue the stages of taking care of oneself and others through Talk&Brew. We are using tea as a method to benefit our body and to find hormonal balance. Reflecting allows users to start being aware of their emotions and further expand that to others. We encourage users to make moments to have a tea break to connect with people. We believe these methods can create a change in people's physical, mental, and behavioural actions.

Personalised Reflection and Tea Matching

A simple and effective digital reflection unlocks people’s emotions in a safe place. Service starts making it more personalized by profile setting. With the delivered tea set users can reflect their emotions and get matching tea. Mood matching tea and suggestions to alter are provided to elevate their day. Each reflection is connected and human-centred through analysing what people have selected and occasionally themed curated tea will inspire subscribers further.

Unique Experiences of Brewing

Unique touchpoints and physical interactions uplift the experience to refresh our body. Eco-friendly packaging with 20 tea bags made out of biodegradable material arrives bi-weekly. Its design protects the environment in everyday life and makes it convenient to make and drink tea one by one. The thoughtfully designed tea bag and tag show its benefits, rituals and simple making process. Inspiring texts on the tea package work as small nudges to bring delight for people. Also, the Talk&Brew podcast provides more stories about the tea within the matching steeping time. Once the tea is ready, a tea bag which is used as a coaster will show a secret message printed in heat-sensitive ink.

Communicate Further and Keep Up

The mood elevating journey of Talk&Brew starts by taking care of oneself and further enables users to continue the steps of taking care of others. Better mood and wellbeing are a valuable material for better connection, communication and relationships. Tea packages are deliverable as a gift with a written message on the back of the square tea cover. This uplifting tea experience will be a small nudge as a delightful event in ordinary life to have a positive impact.

The Impacts of Talk&Brew

Drinking tea is a daily ritual that everyone needs and does in any place - home, offices, and eateries. Science may never come up with a better communication system than the tea break. With this familiar start, people can start a mood-elevating journey with Talk & Brew without barriers. Talk&Brew can impact individuals who are more likely to be exposed to triggers of stress. Its design targets 20 to 40-year-olds to meet the needs of making me-time and connecting to others. The simple and effective reflection process encourages people to open the door to mindfulness. The digital and physical interactions of Talk&Brew bring them inspirational journeys with seamless and mood-boosting experiences which fulfil both their need for relaxation. Not only for individuals, but also organisations where emotional labour is heavily required can hire Talk&Brew. The B2B service is adaptable to meet the various sizes and characteristics of companies. Tea for building teamwork and inclusivity will be ready at the office along with the tools of Talk&Brew rituals. An annual report about mental health will be shared with HR teams to empower them to change work environments.

special thanks

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to project Talk&Brew. The time and experience that you shared gave us great energy to progress the idea and make it valuable. A special thanks to Runa who we worked with during term 4, Lily from White city place, Phil and Jay from Mother, Jan Casey - mental health expert, Melodie from Apple, Chris from SeekUK, Frankie from The Good Listening Project and all the visitors to our pop-up store. Also, we would like to express a lot of gratitude and love to our Tutor Hannah Kops and Clive Grinyer - the head of Service Design who always supports and inspires us.

Projects

Talk&Brew

Personalised Reflection and Tea Matching

Unique Experiences of Brewing

students involved on the project