Designed as a collaborative effort between Electrolux and the students at Umeå Institute of Design to think about post-Covid-19 home solutions, the Fika from Afar helps capture the nuances of work-life and work-leisure while at home. In Swedish, ‘Fika’ is a term for coffee or tea break (usually enjoyed with a cake or bun and in the company of others). Fika from Afar carries that concept and brings it into homes, allowing you to take a well-deserved break from work with your friends.

Working from home surely has its benefits, but it’s eroded the office’s social construct by creating an environment which only revolves around discussing work issues with your colleagues. Unlike offices, which have coffee machines or water coolers where people congregate to say hello, share a story while grabbing a refreshment, and renew their energy before they go to work, the home doesn’t have that social interaction. Fika from Afar, however, brings that interaction into homes, with a smart coffee-maker that connects you with colleagues through a smartphone app while you brew your coffee. Power on the Fika from Afar and it connects you and multiple colleagues through an app that lets you collectively take a break while you sip coffee. Friends can either share a cup of coffee with you, or some gossip, or even their own coffee recommendations, giving you a nice 5-10 minute break from the mundane routine of working from home. Besides, the coffee-machine even sports a side-platform to wirelessly charge your phone while you work!

Designers: Sydney Eilbacher, Jovan Vulic, Nathanael Boell (Umeå Institute of Design) in collaboration with Electrolux