Swell Peak – Smart Home Device For Surfers

A home decor piece that visualises forecasted surf conditions, helping ocean lovers stay connected to surf data without screens.

Swell Peak was developed in a class centred around Calm Technology, a design philosophy originating from Xerox PARC in 1997. Mark Weiser and John S. Brown proposed that when embedded computers are ubiquitous across everyday objects, this would begin to overwhelm humans. Weiser believed that this would lead to an era of “Calm Technology,” in which technology, rather than panicking us, would operate silently in the background, providing information only when called upon. This project explores the creation of such objects, designed to encourage presence and engagement within the home environment.

Swell Peak is a sculptural home decor piece that visualises forecasted surf conditions, helping ocean lovers stay connected to surf data without screens. The wave model scales with the swell at the user's selected beach, pulling data from weather APIs to present the next morning or afternoon's swell size.

Throughout this project, I engaged with a variety of processes including CAD (Fusion360), 3D printing, laser cutting, coding (Arduino IDE), electronics and soldering, and more. I really enjoyed the challenge of balancing the form with complex internal components and function, and look forward to doing more work like this in the future.

Problem: Urban surfers, and even those living on the coast, often feel disconnected from the ocean in daily life. Most surf forecast tools are purely functional, lacking the look and feel to fit into the home. This creates a sense of disconnection, leaving people longing for the beach and out of touch with the surf. Many also admire the surf lifestyle but have no real way to connect with it.

User Group: A product that combines surf data with stylish design can reconnect users to the ocean while enhancing their homes.

Target users:
• Passionate surfers wanting updates and a feeling of connection
• Surf fans drawn to the lifestyle and look
• Home decor lovers seeking functional beauty

Precedent Projects

Studio PSK’s Weather Systems pairs real-time data with elegant physical objects to deliver physical glanceable alerts. Using weather APIs, it provides accurate forecasts in a sculptural, minimalist, user-friendly form.

Google’s Paper Signals shows how digital info can be made playful and physical. It turns simple data into interactive displays, blending function with design. This inspires my aim: a surf-focused home object that delivers live surf data in a stylish, tangible way, deepening everyday connection to the ocean.

Concept Proposal

A minimalist wave sculpture rests on the desk, shifting with real surf conditions. The owner overlooks small waves but then notices a large swell, checks a report, and later heads out. Functional and stylish, it grounds the room while keeping the ocean close.