As we progressively get busier and busier, our work/life balance can become difficult to balance, and levels of anxiety and depression can rise. 9.7% of people in Britain will suffer from mixed depression or anxiety.

Aside from taking medication that can cause drowsiness and lethargy, anti-anxiety techniques are all self-administered. Listening to ambient music is a simple daily method that can induce calm - ambient music actually pushes the brain into the “ambient mode”, allowing the listener to be immersed in the calm soundscapes of the music, whilst still being conscious and grounded in the real environment.

Musical rhythm and vibrations affect the brain and the state of mind. By adjusting the bpm and melodic frequency of music, the brain can sync to adjust, changing brainwaves and thereby changing emotions.

Every brain is unique, but the frequency of brainwaves has been documented and split into four distinct brain states.

Attributing a genre or style of music to each brain state, with emphasis on frequency, allows the user to attain the desired mood. The genre and mood of the music influenced the colours and shaped involved in the design, allowing for a visual representation of the music and mood.

Ambient® is a packaging system for ambient music, pseudo marketing it as medicine. Each colour is a brain state (alpha, beta, theta, delta) with each pill containing a USB with relevant music inside. Depending on the mood, different ambient music is administered, eg. meditation, sleep and healing or work. Ultimately, by marketing the music as medicine, people will be more likely to try drug-free solutions and treatments.

An accompanying report book was produced, to document the progress of the project and the reasoning for design choices throughout. To take a look, see below