Shengjie Guo
Department of Design and Culture
Bachelor's thesis WS 23/24
First supervisor: Prof. Pelin Celik
Second supervisor: Prof. Jan Vietze
Industrial Design
HTW Berlin
Rut System is a system that specializes in improving the culture and work climate in an organization. It also helps employees and managers to reduce their stress levels at work. With the R-mess, employees can measure their stress levels scientifically and accurately. The data is uploaded to the Rut app, which provides them with the most professional stress analysis and tailored solutions, be it an intuitive analysis of their stress levels, a professional breathing exercise or a personalized relaxation plan. Rut offers it all. Employees can also reduce stress at work by receiving breathing relaxation training with all their senses with R-relief.
The data measured by R-mess and transferred to the mobile app can be used by users as a basis for connecting to R-relief.
As the programme is customised for each individual, the parameters will vary. However, by connecting to the mobile phone with a single click, the employee can obtain their own effective decompression solution.
In the theoretical foundation of the Rut System, I explored how toxic workplace culture is not just an individual problem, but a systemic issue shaped by social and organizational structures. Drawing on cultural and design theory, this study examined the psychological impacts of hierarchical pressure, emotional suppression, and fear-based performance expectations.
By critically analyzing the *2024 Global Culture Report*, I identified key patterns in harmful leadership behavior and communication breakdowns. The aim was to understand how design can intervene not only on a surface level (e.g. UI/UX), but on a cultural level—shaping environments that promote psychological safety, empathy, and emotional resilience.
This theory study laid the groundwork for the Rut System: a speculative design project that challenges the normalization of stress in professional life and seeks new narratives of care within corporate culture.
The often-ignored problem of too much stress at work.
In the fast-paced modern workplace, work stress has become a problem that cannot be ignored. We are always chasing higherperformance goals, but often neglect our physical and mentalhealth. So how does corporate culture affect employee well-being?
Annual increase in workrelated stress globall
Percentage of Employees Fe-eling Stressed at Work in Different Regions of the World
Global growth in the percentage of employees who feel stress at work
We can see that the most important cause of burnout is communication. There are many reasons for burnout, but in the final analysis, they can be converged into one invisible killer: a toxic work environment, or a toxic corporate culture.
The design process involved two key personas — an employee and a manager, representing both ends of the organizational communication chain.
The employee persona embodies daily work-related stress, emotional fluctuation, and the need for self-regulation and acknowledgment.
The manager persona reflects leadership pressure, decision-making fatigue, and the challenge of maintaining transparency and trust within teams.
Together, they form a dialogue of empathy and feedback that shaped the dual-interface system of RUT, ensuring a balanced design approach for both sides of workplace interaction.
Zhen Cheng is a 27-year-old administrator based in Beijing who faces strong financial and career pressures typical of young professionals in large cities. She experiences anxiety from housing and job insecurity, and recognizes the harmful effects of toxic corporate culture. Although she has tried stress-reduction apps like Tidal, she finds them insufficient in addressing her deeper challenges. Her motivation lies in seeking healthier ways to regulate emotions and reduce workplace stress. As a persona, she represents a generation of young workers burdened by structural pressures and emotional fatigue, making her an essential archetype for designing tools that promote resilience, empathy, and cultural change.
He Lin is a 48-year-old tea store owner in Berlin who strongly values transparent communication and a healthy workplace culture. Despite her leadership role, she often struggles to understand her coworkers, which leads to conflicts, inefficiency, and additional stress. While she tries to cope through hobbies, conversations with family, or relaxation apps, these solutions feel insufficient. Her motivation lies in creating a work environment where communication flows more easily, reducing stress for herself and her employees alike. As a persona, she embodies the managerial perspective: someone responsible for both business outcomes and employee well-being. She highlights the importance of designing tools that not only reduce individual stress but also transform organizational communication and cultural dynamics.
RUT System is designed to enhance communication, transparency, and well-being within organizations by combining biofeedback technology with emotional intelligence design.
Through wearable measurement devices (R-Mess) and a synchronized mobile application, RUT scientifically measures stress indicators such as HRV, GSR, and RSP.
Data is visualized through personalized avatars that represent stress conditions, providing intuitive emotional feedback.
Employees receive tailored stress-relief programs, while managers gain aggregated, anonymized insights into team well-being — turning invisible emotions into actionable awareness.
RUT operates as a closed-loop system integrating data collection, AI-based analysis, and human-centered feedback.
- Employee Side: Measures and tracks physiological stress, visualized as evolving avatars and detailed analytics. Users receive personalized breathing exercises, private consultation plans, and well-being reports.
- Manager Side: Accesses anonymized company-wide stress data, visual dashboards, and improvement insights for team culture and leadership behavior.
A central database securely processes data to provide collective understanding without breaching individual privacy, fostering a transparent yet protected feedback ecosystem.
RUT addresses the root causes of workplace burnout through multi-layered design interventions:
- AI-Powered Stress Analysis — real-time insights and progress tracking
- Anonymous Feedback Tools — encourage open communication
- Personalized Stress-Relief Plans — tailored breathing and mindfulness training
- Work-Life Balance Tracker — self-reflection on daily rhythm and boundaries
- Corporate Culture Analytics Dashboard — identify communication barriers and engagement levels
- Leadership Coaching Support — help managers build empathy and trust
Together, these functions transform a toxic corporate culture into a resilient, people-centric system.
The design process of RUT System follows a structured logic from data acquisition to emotional transformation.
It begins with biofeedback measurement — collecting HRV (Heart Rate Variability), GSR (Galvanic Skin Response), and RSP (Respiration Rate) data from users via the R-Mess device.
These physiological signals are transmitted to a central data-processing system, where the information is analyzed and categorized into personalized stress indicators.
Based on this data, the system generates visual avatars that represent each employee’s mental state, transforming invisible stress into a tangible interface.
The flow continues with AI-driven analysis, which proposes adaptive stress-relief programs, corporate insights, and real-time feedback loops — connecting employees and managers within one coherent well-being ecosystem.
The flowchart represents how data → analysis → visualization → feedback → improvement forms a continuous cycle of organizational health.
- Employee Flow: Users receive data from R-Mess sensors, generating real-time avatars that visualize stress intensity. The app then offers tailored guidance — from breathing exercises to personalized consultation plans — and tracks progress through satisfaction surveys and feedback modules.
- Executive Flow: Managers access anonymized, aggregated reports that visualize team stress levels as company-wide avatars. The dashboard recommends cultural improvements, leadership coaching, and targeted well-being actions while maintaining strict data privacy.
Together, these two flows create a closed feedback loop, where individual wellness supports collective growth, and corporate culture becomes both measurable and improvable.
Employee version
Executive version
R-relief is an office chair that specialises in quickly relieving stress for employees at work. Advanced intelligent textile technology can change the temperature, release aromas, and provide sound effects and humidification, while the movement of the two-layer textile discs can change the visual effect in front of the user, guiding staff through effective decompression breathing training. R-relief can be adjusted according to these aspects to provide employees with comprehensive relaxation and decompression conditions to help them relieve work pressure in a timely and effective manner. R-relief can be adjusted according to these aspects to provide employees with comprehensive relaxation and decompression conditions to help them relieve work stress in a timely and effective manner. At the same time, it allows users to communicate with each other to promote communication and improve the working environment.
Final result
Each part works together with the others to provide employees with the best conditions for relaxation.
HEX #EDDABD symbolizes warmth and softness, helping to reduce anxiety and make users feel comfortable and secure. This color palette avoids high saturation and strong contrast, and uses soft, natural colors that help users have a calm and relaxing experience while using the app, and feel visually at ease, thus enhancing the experience.
The RUT logo is a combination of the letters R, U, and T. The same preferred use of a few very warm colors allows users to feel a sense of intimacy and will not be uncomfortable with the app. Moreover, during the process of using the logo, the dynamic effect changes will also interact with the user.
The app tailored to the product is very important. It is the link between the measuring device and the treatment device as well as the connection between the employees and the management. Based on the data obtained from the measuring device, the app analyzes the various indices and not only creates a detailed program for the employee- user, but also gives appropriate advice to the management, and at the same time, the employee can use his own personal work stress data for personal treatment guidance by linking the app to the treatment device.the process of the app is as follows.
Final product
Depending on the degree of fluctuation of the avatar can be visualized to reflect the state of work stress, while different avatars can be selected according to the user's own preferences.
Professional Health Data
Users can directly view their HRV, RSP, GSR professional data analysis. The comprehensive health index is also indicated based on scientific algorithms.
HRV data
GSR data
RSP data
Company rating system
Users can give their companies monthly evaluations as well as recommendations and see in real time how their company's corporate culture ranks nationally and even worldwide. It is also possible to email or schedule appointments directly with senior staff.
Professional personalized stress relief program
Users enter their personal data and get a professional analysis of their health data.
The AI system customizes a stress relief plan exclusively for all users, which may include various user preferences and more.
The Executive Version of the RUT App provides managers and team leaders with a data-driven yet empathetic overview of organizational well-being.
Through aggregated and anonymized employee stress data, the system visualizes the collective state of the company using dynamic stress avatars and intuitive dashboards.
Managers can monitor patterns, identify communication breakdowns, and receive AI-generated recommendations for leadership coaching, workplace culture improvement, and real-time intervention.
By integrating biofeedback analytics, cultural insight, and emotional intelligence, the Executive App transforms invisible tension into measurable insight — empowering leaders to build a transparent, supportive, and resilient corporate environment.
Final product
Professional corporate culture improvement program
Top company users can get professional company improvement advice specific only to their business. Private appointments with employees can also be obtained directly.
It is possible to view the status of the company's specialized product R-relief.
A personalized stress-relief program designed specifically for senior executives is also generated directly by the RUT AI system.
© 2025 Shengjie Guo. All rights reserved.
Based in Berlin – Available for collaboration worldwide.
Based in Berlin – Available for collaboration worldwide.