Mirror is a product concept designed to address the lack of self-awareness during deep work. It acts as a passive, non-intrusive digital mirror, capturing subtle facial cues in the background to help you see your own state over time. The goal is not to coach or judge, but to provide gentle reflection that fosters natural self-recognition and supports healthier work habits.
Background
Modern knowledge workers spend most of their day in front of screens.
During long periods of intense focus, pressure, or cognitive load, people often become disconnected from their own bodily and emotional state.
In these moments, tension accumulates silently:
facial expressions tighten,
breathing becomes shallow,
mental loops deepen.
Because the person is inside the state, they usually do not notice it.
Awareness often returns only through an external mirror — for example, when briefly seeing one’s reflection in a restroom mirror and realizing: “I don’t look healthy or relaxed right now.”
That moment of recognition is often enough to trigger a natural adjustment: a breath, a smile, a pause, or a change of posture.
This project explores how technology can provide such moments of awareness gently and non-intrusively, during everyday screen-based work.
Core Problem
Professionals do not lack motivation, discipline, or tools.
What they lack is state awareness while they are immersed in work.
Specifically:
People cannot reliably perceive their own stress, tension, or mental strain while it is happening.
By the time discomfort is consciously noticed, it is often already excessive.
Existing solutions rely on self-reporting, alerts, or interpretations that feel intrusive or judgmental.
The core problem is not “emotion detection”.
It is the absence of a simple, external reflection of one’s current state.
Questions
How can a person become aware of their own mental and physical state during long periods of screen work, without being interrupted, judged, or analyzed?
More precisely:
How can users see themselves as they were during the day?
How can awareness arise naturally, without instructions or labels?
How can this awareness support healthier work habits over time?
Our Approach
This application acts as a passive mirror, not a coach or evaluator.
Using the device’s built-in camera, the system periodically captures brief facial snapshots locally and privately, extracting only minimal signals related to facial tension and expressiveness.
The product presents a simple time-based reflection: “This is how your facial state changed while you were working.”
Users interpret the data themselves.
The value emerges from recognition, not instruction.
Target Users
Knowledge workers
Creators, engineers, designers
Professionals engaged in long, cognitively demanding screen sessions
People who care about long-term mental and physical well-being, not short-term productivity hacks
Value Proposition
External awareness: helps users notice states they cannot perceive internally.
Non-intrusive: no real-time alerts, no emotional labels, no productivity pressure.
Private by design: all processing happens on-device; only abstract signals are stored.
Habit-supportive: awareness precedes change; no forced optimization.