The app had to coordinate many devices without making the home harder to understand. Control was never the real question, people needed to trust what the screen was telling them
Unclear status created repeated checks
A flat list fought how people think
The original screen treated every device as a separate product, yet people described their homes by room, routine and time of day
Voice felt risky without confirmation
People avoided voice because the app did not explain what had changed. They could not tell whether a command had succeeded, partly failed or been ignored
Error recovery was hidden
When a device went offline, recovery was buried in settings, so people unplugged it and started again, the app never made the next step clear
02 · Role & Contribution
Cloud Home · Home
App screenshot
18%
Energy saved
99.8%
Uptime
12
Devices
24hrs
Automated
This is the shipped screen, the numbers describe what the home does day to day, not what the project achieved
User research & synthesis
Information architecture
Interaction & visual design
Prototyping & dev handoff
03 · Research & Insights
•
State clarity mattered more than speed
Devices with ambiguous status caused more repeated taps than slower devices with clear written status, people wanted certainty before speed
•
People think in rooms, not device lists
Every participant described their home by room or time of day, the flat device list worked against how they actually made decisions
•
Voice trust depends on confirmation
People who had stopped using voice said they would try it again if the app clearly confirmed what had changed and kept undo within reach
04 · Design Decisions
The research pointed to one priority, make the system readable before making it feel powerful. That rule guided every screen and kept the product from becoming another control panel.
DESIGN DECISIONS
Reduce visible complexity before adding control
The default became a calm home screen with one suggested routine, a small set of quick controls and room-level summaries. Fewer controls sat above the fold, so the screen stayed readable during everyday use.
05 · Key Solutions
Each flow answers one specific failure: unclear room status, automation without consent, forecasts without context and alerts without a clear next step.
Suggested routines
Suggested routines that wait for approval
The app recognises a repeated pattern and proposes a routine across several devices. It explains why the routine was suggested and waits for approval, so people can adjust or dismiss it without interrupting their flow.
ROOM STATUS
Room status at a glance
Each room opens with a short summary of lighting, climate and security before showing individual controls. People can understand the current state before they act.
Energy forecast
Energy forecast with visible reasoning
The analytics screen shows projected monthly usage alongside the factors behind it. People can compare the forecast with their own week instead of accepting a prediction without context.
Self-explaining alerts
Self-explaining alerts
When the app notices an unusual pattern, it explains what happened, shows its confidence and offers one direct fix, enough to act on without guessing.
06 · Validation & Results
In usability testing with eight participants, seven understood room status at first glance, all eight resolved a simulated device error without opening settings, and six said confirmation made them more willing to use voice again
Before
People inferred state from icon colour
Every device appeared in one long list
Voice changed the home without clear confirmation
After
Status appeared in plain words first
Rooms and scenes led the structure
Voice confirmed actions and kept undo visible
34%
58%
22%
27%
07 · Reflection