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Panasonic | Miraie Smarthome

The Brief

Designing a Smarthome ecosystem for Panasonic products

This project is the property of Panasonic India Pvt Ltd. Any distribution or publishing of this content without prior approval is prohibited. Panasonic and Analogy have shared a trustworthy relationship and have provided explicit approval to showcase the work

Services

Design Language
Ux Design
UI Design
Product Strategy
Prototyping
Style Guide
Android and iOS Design

Year

2019-2020

Download the App

Android Apple

Awards

Introducing

The Growing IOT Economy

The IoT economy in India is projected to surge to USD 15 billion by 2020, driven by increasing numbers of families embracing new technologies to enhance their lifestyles. To accommodate this significant change, it is essential to understand the needs and desires of Indian households and incorporate a design language that is familiar and suitable for them.

Designed for local, with a global standard

We developed an ecosystem that encourages passive users to become active and empowered through a seamless, gradual interface. Our design challenge was to create a connected experience that starts from the basics and becomes deeply intuitive while keeping the visual elements engaging yet light enough to run on lower-end phones at scale.

Our approach was to introduce users to basic functionalities and gradually lead them to more advanced features like automation, sleep cycle, troubleshooting, and data analytics. By doing so, we aimed to raise awareness and promote wider adoption. We mapped the first-time and repeat user journeys and created distinct user personas to separate frequently used actions.

Our layered user experience was designed with the insight that Indian consumers identify, trust, and then adopt new technology. Therefore, we incorporated digital interactions based on familiar physical elements to create trust and familiarity with key personas. Micro-interactions conveyed expressive actions, allowing users to transition seamlessly from object-based to digital experiences without a steep learning curve.

2 types of process flowcharts
PROCESS AND ARCHITECTURE

Customizing the Design Process to Achieve Success

We customized our design process for Panasonic’s smart home experience by combining the waterfall approach for research with a more agile approach to match the Panasonic team’s working style.

The structured process of the waterfall approach helped us understand the needs of Indian households, while the agile approach allowed us to be flexible and collaborative during the ideation and implementation phases.

This customized approach resulted in a successful design process that created an intuitive, engaging, and scalable connected experience, meeting both the households’ needs and the Panasonic team’s requirements.

PROCESS AND ARCHITECTURE

Defining Personas

We identified three types of users – active, passive, and power users – during our research. 

With a layered approach, we designed core features to familiarize passive and active users with basic functionalities like lighting, temperature control, and security. Advanced features, such as automation, sleep cycle, troubleshooting, and data analytics, were added below the core features to cater to power users. 

This approach resulted in an intuitive and engaging connected experience for all user types, meeting the needs and wants of Indian households while being scalable and adaptable to different devices and technologies.

3 Personas, Active user, passive user and Power user
PROCESS AND ARCHITECTURE

Mapping Out Features

To map out the features of the connected experience, we used a post-it ideation approach with the Panasonic leadership and design team.

Together, we categorized the features into the three core categories we identified: control, automation, and monitor. This collaborative approach allowed us to prioritize and organize the features effectively, resulting in a connected experience that met the needs and wants of Indian households.

Through this process, we were able to create a functional and intuitive design that was adaptable to different devices and technologies.

Posts it's in blue and yellow grouped together
Design Principles

Core Atrributes

We defined the core attributes that drove the overall design philosophy and user interaction with the product. These attributes guided our design decisions and ensured that the experience was connected, comfortable, and convenient.

By focusing on these core attributes, we were able to create a connected experience that met the needs and wants of Indian households, while also meeting the technical requirements for a wide range of devices.

PROCESS AND ARCHITECTURE

Research And Insights

Through our research, we gained valuable insights into the Indian consumer’s environment and how they interact with physical devices.

We used this knowledge to replicate those interactions through digital widgets and create a connected experience that felt familiar and intuitive to users.

Snippets of pictures taken on a field vision showing a messy washing machine, a TV in a home an a fridge with many fridge magnets
UI concept showing a range from minimal to realistic
Design Direction

Design Direction Exploring UI Options

To explore the interactions identified during our research, our design team experimented with various design concepts, ranging from realistic neomorphism to simplified UI.

The goal was to create a user interface that replicated the physical interactions that Indian consumers are accustomed to while also being intuitive and visually engaging.

By exploring various UI options, we were able to define a design direction that aligned with the core attributes and overall design philosophy of the connected experience. 

Design Insights

Bringing In Familiar Objects

To make the connected experience more intuitive and familiar, we replicated familiar objects and controls through a subtle neo-morphic UI.

For example, the lighting controls looked like a traditional switchboard and temperature controls looked like a thermostat.

This made it easier for users to understand and navigate the app, while also making it more engaging and adaptable.

Panasonic Miraie smart home home screen showing the rooms and AC widgets
Design Features

The Home Dashboard

The home dashboard was designed to be scalable for both small and extended families, with options and tabs for each house.

We used a widget-based control and navigation system with multiple swipe gestures to stack the various smart home items.

This was done to ensure that the app can grow with the user as they purchase new smart devices.

Widget controls showing the various gestures like swipe or tap
Control Dials
AC control widget for the Pansonic Miraie app
Custom Widgets
On and off fan widget of the Pansonic Miraie app
Custom Switches

Core Interactions

Breaking Down Interactions

We designed each widget in the home dashboard with multiple layers of interaction, such as swipe and tap, for greater control and customization.

A visual feedback dial provided a clear indication of the primary gesture being performed. Secondary interactions were placed at the side of the widget in a reduced size to prevent clutter and confusion while still being easily accessible if needed.

This intuitive design approach made it easy for users to navigate and interact with their smart home items, resulting in a seamless and enjoyable experience.

Wireframe of the Pansonic Miraie smart home app outlining its functions along with the UI widget
UI Interactions of the Pansonic Miraie smart home app outlining the various gestures for the home page
Core Features

Muti Gesture Navigation

We added multi-gesture navigation, enabling users to swipe left or right to access different rooms and up or down for different categories of smart home items like lighting or temperature control.

This natural and intuitive approach provided users with greater control and customization, reinforced by visual feedback such as changing background color. The design approach enhanced the user experience and made the app more engaging and enjoyable to use.

Core Features

Nudges

We designed nudges to act as dynamic notifications, providing users with direct access to important app functions.

They were also designed to provide smart notifications based on the device status, such as maintenance alerts or notifications for applications running for too long.

This approach ensured that users remained informed and engaged with the app, leading to a better user experience.

Home page
Core Features

Seamless device onboarding

We aimed to make the device onboarding process as seamless and intuitive as possible. To achieve this, we utilized a simple step-by-step process that guided users through the setup and configuration of their smart devices.

We also provided visual feedback and progress indicators to keep users informed of their progress and reduce confusion or frustration. This approach ensured that users could quickly and easily connect their smart devices to the app, and begin using them right away.

Device Controls

AC Dashboard

The AC dashboard was designed to provide users with easy access to the most important controls, such as temperature and fan speed.

We took a realistic view of the AC system and developed the dashboard with these core principles in mind.

This approach ensured that users could quickly and easily make adjustments to their AC settings, enhancing the overall user experience.

iPhone UI mockup of the AC dashboard of the Panasonic Miraie smart home app showing the various controls to operate the AC

Device Controls

Seamless Controls with Minimal Effort

3 UI components of the Pansonic Miriae app showing the various notification types
Control Dials
6 control widget UI components showing the various modes to control the AC
Custom Widgets
Close up shot of the Pansonic AC UI
Custom Switches

Press & Reach

The Panasonic Miraie app’s intuitive and engaging user interface has successfully created a unique branding point for their range of devices. Its design approach won the app the Red Dot award and garnered significant attention on social media. The app’s user-friendly controls, visually appealing interface, and direct access to device functions have proven to be a major draw. With user feedback and regular updates, Panasonic maintains a loyal user base and attracts new customers.

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