Smart Applications
Building products to allow users to use an app to control their kitchen appliances was straight away a project I wanted to be involved in. Why, because innovation is something I look for when designing so what better way than to put my designs together with than a company who thinks the same.
A kettle, Coffee machine and fridgecam were the three products I would be working closely with and at my time at Smarter a start up company it was great fun but a lot of hard work as it always is at a start up company trying to breakthrough in this industry with their brand new ideas.
The project
So working on the app was difficult than first thought it wasn't so much as simply putting together an attractive app design but the app would be also used to setup each product in their own individual way. Three products equalled to three different routes and completely different designs with their own colour schemes to quickly identify the product simply by matching their colour not only that but there was an additional product which was the luxury kettle product. So first things first was to allow the user to choose straight away which product they would need to setup and so all the options were readily visibly available and worth a click of one of the products their journey through the setup would begin.
Setting up the FridgeCam was no easy task. There were a lot to user tests we gathered not only in house but with our actual customers. Getting users into the office and observing them set up the FridgeCam was the most eye opener as it allowed us to watch as the user struggled to calibrate the device and having working so images of inside the fridge could be displayed on their smart phone. The process was long and careful, each user took their time which was actually timed to let potential users know the length of set up. I designed a step by step process to help guide the user on this journey and thankfully every setup was a success.
User testing
Once the app had been set up and a product calibrated which basically meant synced to their mobile it was then time to watch users behaviour within the product they purchased wether it be the FridgeCam, iKettle or coffee machine. Each product had its own instructions as each worked very different to the other as each product had different functions and purposes for instance. You could time the coffee machine to make you a coffee in the morning by setting a time, where as the kettle would tell the user how many cups of tea were possible to make by them viewing the water levels.
The Setup
When setting up the FridgeCam we had users come into the office and we would instruct the users to sep up the product without any instructions from the team. All the user had was a piece of paper with a step by step guide how the FridgeCam should be setup and how to connect to the app. From here we would conduct their actions and take notes while they went through the process of setting up the FridgeCam in the fridge we had installed in the office.
At the end we would ask questions to figure out what and where more focus was required in terms of improving the set up process. I also had meetings with the customer service team to gather intel on customers they receive direct email and calls from on a daily basis.
How the FridgeCam works? Once set up on the smart phone the FridgeCam would take a photo of the inside of the fridge so the user can see directly on their screen what was needed if they were at work, in the supermarket or generally anywhere that had Wifi connection.
Why we need the FridgeCam
Below is statistical diagram of the amount of food that is wasted in the UK alone. I designed this information to grow awareness of the damage we are doing to the planet but also how you can save money by buying smarter and not wasting what you have at home.
Breakdown of the information architecture
It's easier to manage the work flow of a website/mobile application if you have the step by step navigation laid out. Thing of the user journey is important as it puts you in their shoes and makes you think of the necessary requirements of the structure of the product you're designing.
Design sprint
A weekly workflow at Smarter was hectic and rewarding at the same time just like any other start up. The product team would get together every morning and talk about their work load for the day and what was needed and from whom to complete their tasks. We had a great understanding from the get go and these meetings were conducted every morning, it was literally a stand up with the team in a circle. As the products were going through changes as they being created in China it was up to us the design and developers to have everything ready for launch. I worked very closely with the dev team and provided all the assets they needed and we built a great rapport. There were times where I would tell them to make some changes and I would watch as code was edited and saved for me to confirm to be put forward for build and to be tested.
The iKettle
The iKettle was the easiest making it the most enjoyable process, having functions as water levels, keep warm to name a few. Below is the UX UI to allow users to set their water temperature by simply moving their finger over the lined dials and stopping at a certain point which highlighted in green as well as giving them a clear temperature in the middle of the dial. Under the dial if necessary the user would then be able to keep the water warm for up to an amount of time if the water in the kettle would fall in temperature.
Additional app features
There were many functions to this app. We team up with a number of supermarkets such as Tesco which would allow users to scan their items in their fridge so that they can then re-order anything that was about to expire or had been used. In the inventory I created a kebab menu which allowed users to do more such as edit an expiry date if it was correct by using the scan, they can track an item, add items to their shopping list for their next round of purchases or delete an item when necessary.
Smarter assist, how it works...
How I would tell a story to let users know how Smarter assist worked. Using Framer and recording it to create this animation to then add to a Photoshop mockup I developed an animation which shows the working method behind the actual working process. I designed the icons and images in Illustrator, exported the files to be used in Framer and using the timeline created this piece of design.
Final FridgeCam photoshoot
What you could see in the initial design picture of the FridgeCam is a photograph of an inside of a fridge. I purchased items from Tesco and arranged them in the fridge we had in the office and what you see below is the final picture used for the packaging of the product but some cheeky bugger used some of the milk lol.
Login and networks
I always want to make a product accessible to as many people as I can. Its a must in the product world! This design allows users to use their favourite social media platform to access the app or simply create an account with their email and password. Some users don't like to use their social mdeia accounts I found out from many user tests but they do like is no fuss, no hustle free sign ups. With no scrolling needed I believe I created that here with these screens.
Final
Website
The website was built using Wordpress, not the best for SEO but it can be depending on the plugins used as there weren't many at all when I arrived. Having dissected the website I found out that a whole restructure was needed as it was badly put together from a third party. Having to rebuild a built website is never easy but having code experience I used this to my advantage and was able to produce not only a great looking site but also one that was accessible using search engines. check it out here www.smarter.am
Designing the A5 brochure
Putting the brochure together was one of many of the most important tasks I had to do at Smarter.These were to be presented to potential clients and investors. The brochure contains information not only about the products but what benefits they gave for having one and all their unique features which gave the consumer every reason to have one in their home.
Creating the training cards
The purpose of the training cards was to provide to the staff at the retailers for their training of theSmarter products. In order to sell the product, the seller would have to have an idea of how the products worked and why someone would benefit from purchasing one.
Lightbox Designs
The lightbox artwork created using Adobe Illustrator was produced for IFA which is the world's leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances and its event is being held in Berlin. The team are flying out to represent Smarter products and my job was to produce lightboxes to show off our appliances for the home.
POS: IFA
The Point of Sale artwork which was used at the event in Germany, IFA or Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin is one of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany. Each product has its own colour to represent itself and in this case, the iKettle is sky blue. ThePOS features the main functions of the kettle also the integration capabilities and used with the Smarter app available with iOS or Android.
Product package design
Having never created designs for packaging before this was a unique opportunity to learn and develop my skills in this area and one I thoroughly enjoyed. A lot more goes into designing a package for a product it's not only getting the quality right for the potential consumer but having all the information correct also.
