Lumenate Nova™
Designing a Gateway to Your Consciousness
Imagine closing your eyes and being instantly transported into a vivid kaleidoscopic universe of colour and pattern, a meditative state that calms racing thoughts and opens the mind to new perspectives.
The Journey
Lumenate is a light therapy company, whose amazing app has over a million users worldwide. The only problem was the app used the phone’s flash, meaning users had to hold their phone towards their face, lean over it on a table, or jerry-rig a contraption to hold it.
Recognising this challenge as an opportunity, Lumenate partnered with Realise to transform their light technology into a more functional wearable mask, enabling people to comfortably experience profound meditative and semi-psychedelic states at the touch of a button.
We immediately saw its potential as a Positive Product that should be realised. So we supported Lumenate with preliminary concept material that enabled them to raise the capital for full product development.
Our team then led the complete development process, from early concepts to manufacture-ready design and production, bringing their consciousness-altering Nova Mask to life.
The product was launched by a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, making hard-to-access mental states available to anyone, anywhere. No mind-altering substances or years of meditation practice required.
The Design Challenge
 
- Look discreet (and comfortable) aligned with their brand identity
- Integrate shaped foam and textiles with hard plastics & electronics
- Comfortable fit and light blocking on a wide range of face shapes
- Engineer the light system to safely maximise neurological effects
- Intuitive controls to make user onboarding as simple as possible
- High quality materials and feel, but cost-effective production
- Maximise product lifespan, repairability and ease of disposal.
Our Design Solutions
Our Engineers and Industrial Designers worked closely with Lumenate to develop a form that balances aesthetics and functionality with a strong emphasis on comfort, minimalism, and repairability. Following extensive concept exploration, we arrived at a design that is true to Lumenate’s brand and practical for inclusive, large-scale manufacturing.
Ergonomics presented a significant challenge: the mask needed to fit comfortably while achieving a complete light seal. Many existing eye masks we tested failed to accommodate different nose and head shapes.
In response, our team developed over 80 prototypes to perfect the shape, fit, and material, using techniques such as vacuum casting, sewing, thermal bonding, and 3D printing.
The Realise team also worked with Lumenate’s electronic engineering partners to define the technical spec of the light system, ensuring it would safely deliver the precise light intensity and sequences to achieve the intended neural effects.
The Delivery
The Nova mask shows how good design can transform complex technology into something comfortable and attractive with consideration of long life and repairability.
Features include:
- Precision LED system delivering research-backed light sequences
- Ergonomic design with comfortable light-blocking fit for a diverse range of users
- Simple, intuitive controls for adjusting experience intensity
- A design with consideration of the product lifecycle and repair
Through our collaboration, Lumenate has launched a phenomenally successful Kickstarter campaign that has raised £564,698 – an extraordinary 7 x their £60,000 goal.
This remarkable response proves the strong market demand for accessible consciousness-shifting technology and validates Lumenate’s innovative approach to mental wellbeing.
Ready to talk?
Have you got a product idea?
We'd love to hear it.
Let's talk >
