UX Design Challenge
The aim of this challenge was to find a mobile app interface, of my choice, designed to control another device, that I thought could use improvement, highlight those changes/opportunities to improve the app and provide a quick wire-frame to show suggested updates. In this case, I chose the Google Home App which was designed to control the entire Google Ecosystem of smart home devices.
Project Duration: 6 Days
PLEASE NOTE:
Because of the nature of this challenge and the limited time assigned to it, I considered myself as the only stakeholder for this project. Hence, all design changes proposed to the Google Home App is solely based on quick secondary research and personal judgement.
An UX Solution for personification of the
Google Home Ecosystem
What is the Google Home App?
The main hub, a suggestion screen, and a dashboard that connects the Google Ecosystem
The Google Home mobile application is the main hub that serves as a suggestion screen and dashboard for everything you can do with Google's ecosystem of smart devices and products. The app helps you set up and control all Chromecast devices, Google Home devices, and Google Assistant speakers. Plus, you can discover your favorite music, TV shows and videos to cast to your TVs and speakers.
What are it's shortcomings?
The Google Home has a basic set of skills and functions which cannot be expanded
Though the Google Home ecosystem is easy to set up with the mobile app, and is evidently faster, more responsive, and better at conversations and answering daily questions, it doesn't have the ability to expand it's skill-set and functions by adding plug-ins from an available pool of applications, like some of it's market competitors like Amazon's Echo dot.
How can it be improved?
Give it the ability to create different personas, traits, and learning different functions.
With the ability of personification, Google Home would have the capability to adapt to different locations inside a space and showcase different skill-set and functions with ease. Furthermore, it would also lead to a much more playful assistant capable of portraying different cultures, accents, moods, knowledge, and inevitably leading to delightful conversations!
Secondary Research
The Google Home app is simplistic, easy to set up, and seamless to use. Moreover, the design language is bright, bold, and playful just like Google's whole recent ecosystem of products in the market. The app is also a one-stop hub which allows you to play music, videos, and control smart home devices.
SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
The basic block diagram of the Google Home App is simple and can be drawn as shown below. The App connects all chromecast audio and video sources which is then selectively presented to the user through mainly 3 tabs - the Watch , Listen, and Discover, depending what devices are present or connected to the ecosystem at that point of time.
Design Direction
How to bring about a subtle improvisation to the Google Home app which can make a bold impact?
The Concept & Idea
RE-DESIGNED SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
This subtle yet bold change can be brought by adding a layer for analyzing Personality selections before the system presents the user with all the resources through the Listen / Watch / Browse or Discover tabs. Adding this extra lens for filtering and accessing data ensures the Google ecosystem to learn and showcase multiple traits and skills at different times and location.
The Design
THE INTERACTION FLOW-DIAGRAM
This subtle yet bold change can be brought by adding a layer for analyzing Personality selections before the system presents the user with all the resources through the Listen / Watch / Browse or Discover tabs. Adding this extra lens for filtering and accessing data ensures the Google ecosystem to learn and showcase multiple traits and skills at different times and location.
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Personality Tab under the Slide Menu
The Personality Tab can be found easily under the Slide Menu, which can be accessed from the Home Screen.
The Personality Tab opens another page which has all the preinstalled Personas inside the Google Home App, as well as the round 'Add Persona' button.