Hazel
A study companion cat that keeps self-taught learners focused and rested.
- Role
- Product designer
- Category
- Education
- Project type
- New concept
- Year
- 2026
Design brief
Help self-taught learners on a computer stay focused and take real breaks so they come back to each session rested.
01 · Brief
Nobody tells you to take a break.
I started with people studying by choice on a computer, with no teacher or deadline to hold them to it.
02 · Directions
Four directions. One black cat.
Agents built three directions at first, I asked for a fourth, and the dormouse became a cat.
03 · Prototype
Nine lives, carried between sessions.
Going too far costs a life, three clean sessions earn one back, and at zero Hazel takes a long nap.
A lamp, then a shadow.
Checked with
3
test agents on a full session, then I walked through the sprint’s questions myself.
One evening, from plan to recap.
What worked
- 01Two of three agents ran a full session cleanly.
- 02Every agent was sure the session had worked.
- 03Hazel’s body shows how tired it is, no meter needed.
What I’d change
- 01Rename Blocked to Watched, since nothing is blocked.
- 02Say beside the lives what costs one.
- 03Test the lives with real learners studying by choice.