Unified Command
Combined 3+ device systems into one room-based dashboard to reduce cognitive load.
01
Product Design - 2025
Omvia
Omvia is a human-centric smart home ecosystem designed to reduce app fatigue by bringing different devices into one intuitive interface. The goal was to create a Soft Tech visual identity and a high-fidelity responsive prototype that focuses on peace of mind instead of technical complexity.
- Role
- UX + UI Design, Visual Design, User Flow, Branding, Research, Prototyping + Testing
- Tools
- Figma, FigJam, Basecamp, Maze
- Timeframe
- Sep - Dec 2025
- Year
- 2025
Project Overview
Omvia turns smart home technology into a quiet, supportive partner by replacing scattered controls with one clear, human-centered interface.
Proactive Wellness
Designed Morning Wellness Checks to give caregivers remote confidence.
Frictionless Access
Clear, easy-to-use, and inclusive for every family member.
Visual Identity
Created a cohesive system using glassmorphism and soft geometry to reduce digital noise.
The Challenge
Smart home systems often create digital noise instead of convenience, overwhelming users with complexity.
App Fragmentation
Managing 5+ apps causes constant context-switching stress.
Safety Anxiety
Lack of clear updates reduces remote confidence.
Invasive Monitoring
Caregivers struggle to balance care with privacy and dignity.
High Cognitive Load
Complex setups and jargon exclude non-tech users.
Objective / Goal
Build a Soft Tech ecosystem that focuses on emotional safety and frictionless daily routines, turning smart home tech into a quiet, supportive partner.
Unified Command
One room-based dashboard to eliminate app fatigue.Remote Confidence
Real-time, glanceable updates for peace of mind.Proactive Wellness
Non-intrusive checks to support caregivers.Universal Usability
High-contrast, one-handed interface for all users.
Creative Brief
The strategy for Omvia was to shift the smart home from a technical gadget to a supportive household partner, focusing on human emotion over hardware features.
Brand Personality & Voice
Calm, reliable, and anticipatory. Omvia uses clear, human language like “The house is secured” instead of cold system codes.
Soft Tech Aesthetic
A bright, airy, and inclusive visual style moves the app away from harsh, security-focused interfaces and toward emotional comfort.
Lifestyle over Logistics
Omvia focuses on real-life routines like School Morning instead of making users manage individual device controls.
Home Circle Logic
A permission-based system ensures each user only sees what is relevant to them, reducing clutter and protecting privacy.
Design Process
01 Empathize02 Define03 Ideate04 Prototype05 Test
Empathize
I analyzed leading smart home platforms to understand where they fail the human experience. The comparison helped reveal a gap between technical capability and everyday emotional reassurance.
Google Home
Strengths
- Offers strong ecosystem integration across multiple devices.
- Supports a wide range of smart home products, making setup flexible and scalable.
Weaknesses
- Fragmented UX with deeply nested menus increases app fatigue, forcing users to dig through multiple layers to complete simple actions.
- Leads to constant context switching and high cognitive load, making everyday use feel inefficient and mentally demanding.
Samsung SmartThings
Strengths
- Provides powerful automation capabilities for advanced users.
- Enables deeper control and customization of smart home systems.
Weaknesses
- Complex, technical interface creates a steep learning curve, making it difficult for non-tech users to adopt and use confidently.
- Lacks real-time, human-centered reassurance features, limiting its ability to provide quick, clear updates that support everyday peace of mind.
The Market Gap
Most competitors focus on technical control and hardware, but overlook emotional reassurance and ease of use.
Key Questions
- How can we unify devices into a one-handed interface and reduce app fatigue for busy parents managing daily routines?
- What visual cues and real-time updates help travelers and homeowners feel secure while away?
- How can wellness checks support caregivers without feeling intrusive?
Strategic Research
Lifestyle Logic vs. Technical Toggles
The Observation: Most apps focus on devices, but busy parents think in terms of routines like bedtime or school mornings, not individual controls.
The Design Implication: Shift to a lifestyle-focused dashboard using Routines and Scenes to simplify daily management and reduce friction.
Remote Confidence as a Stress Reducer
The Observation: Travelers and homeowners often feel safety anxiety because key information is buried and hard to access quickly.
The Design Implication: Introduce glanceable home status and clear Secure Home actions for fast, reliable reassurance on the go.
Passive Caregiving vs. Intrusive Surveillance
The Observation: Caregivers want to ensure safety but feel uncomfortable with constant monitoring that can feel intrusive.
The Design Implication: Use non-intrusive Wellness Checks to provide meaningful updates while maintaining privacy and dignity.
User Personas
To ensure the Omvia ecosystem supports both family needs and caregiver goals, three user personas were developed. Designing around these user types keeps the experience grounded in real behaviors, emotional needs, and accessibility requirements.
01
Nina & Raj
Busy household managers
“We just want to make sure everything’s running smoothly at home, even when we’re busy.”
Demographics
- Age
- 34 (Nina), 36 (Raj)
- Location
- Brampton, Ontario, Canada
- Work
- Nina - School Administrator, Raj - IT Consultant
- Family/Status
- Married with two young children ages 3 and 6
- Character
- Responsible, family-focused, time-conscious, eco-aware
About
Nina and Raj are a busy couple with many obligations, such as work, parenting, and household duties. Mornings are hectic, evenings are spent with the family, and they prefer simplicity and ease. They want to conserve energy, make their home safe and snug, but without needing to flip through a number of apps or worry that they will forget to shut things off.
Needs
- A simplified, centralized system to control home lighting, temperature, and appliances.
- Smart alerts or routines for when things are left on.
- Easy mobile access and voice commands to manage home settings hands-free.
Frustrations
- Juggling multiple apps for different smart devices.
- Forgetting to turn off lights or adjust temperature before bed or work.
- Energy bills are unpredictable and high during winter and summer.
Motivation
- To keep their household organized and energy-efficient.
- To reduce mental load and increase peace of mind.
- To save money while using modern home tech.
Accessibility
- Needs simple mobile UI, clear icons, voice control, and notifications.
02
David
Remote property manager
“I want my home to stay secure and energy-efficient, even when I’m far away.”
Demographics
- Age
- 40
- Location
- Downtown area in Ottawa
- Work
- Project Manager
- Family/Status
- Married
- Character
- Independent, organized, and security-conscious
About
David is a homeowner who rents out part of his property to long-term tenants. As a busy manager, he prefers a smart home system that allows him to manage the property remotely for adjusting temperature, checking security, or receiving alerts without needing to visit in person. This helps him stay in control while respecting his tenants’ privacy and avoiding unnecessary interruptions.
Needs
- Remotely monitor the property without physically visiting.
- Control temperature and lighting to reduce energy costs between tenants or when vacant.
- Respect tenant privacy while still maintaining property oversight.
- Receive real-time alerts for unusual activity issues.
Frustrations
- Needs to check the property in person for simple issues.
- Doesn’t want to bother tenants but still needs visibility into the home’s status.
- Hard to control unnecessary energy use when the unit is vacant.
- Lacks alerts for potential safety hazards or system failures.
- Manual control wastes time.
Motivation
- Manage his rental property efficiently without being on-site.
- Prevent energy waste and reduce utility costs during tenant transitions.
- Stay aware of safety or maintenance issues early to avoid bigger risks.
Accessibility
- David needs a simple, mobile-friendly system with clear alerts and easy controls, so he can manage his rental property remotely without dealing with complex settings.
03
Michael Thompson
Family caregiver
“I just want to make sure my dad is safe and comfortable, even when I’m not there.”
Demographics
- Age
- 45
- Location
- Mississauga, ON, Canada
- Work
- Part-time administrative assistant
- Family/Status
- Married, two teenagers, caring for 78-year-old father who lives alone nearby
- Character
- Compassionate, practical, organized, and tech-cautious
About
Michael balances his job, family life, and caregiving responsibilities. He visits his father frequently but relies on tech for updates and peace of mind when he can’t be there.
Needs
- Monitor his father’s home environment remotely, including temperature, lights, and movement.
- Get alerts for emergencies or changes in routine.
- Simplify daily household tasks to reduce his own stress.
Frustrations
- Too many apps and devices that don’t work together.
- His father finds most tech confusing.
- Constant worry when he can’t check in.
- Difficulties managing home needs across two households.
Motivation
- Ensuring his father’s safety and comfort.
- Maintaining balance between caregiving and family life.
- Using tech to save time and mental energy.
Accessibility
- Prefers large text, voice prompts, and visual cues for his dad’s sake too. Values reminders and alerts.
Connecting Users to Solutions
Each Omvia feature was shaped by a specific user need. This mapping shows how the personas directly informed the product decisions, turning everyday pain points into focused interface solutions.
PersonaNeed / Pain PointOmvia Solution
01
Nina
Parent
Manage a busy home without app-jumping.
Routines
Unified Lifestyle Dashboard with room-based routines.
Turns scattered device control into one calm household flow.
02
David
Traveller
Quick reassurance while away.
Remote Status
Glanceable Status Bar with clear remote confidence indicators.
Makes the home feel visible and controlled from a distance.
03
Michael
Caregiver
Ensure safety without being intrusive.
Wellness Checks
Wellness Check Triggers using passive, motion-based alerts.
Supports caregiving with reassurance, not surveillance.
Strategic Project Goals
A strong user experience sits at the intersection of human needs, business viability, and technical feasibility. Mapping these three pillars ensured every feature was practical, scalable, and focused on core market frictions.
Sitemap
To reduce app-jumping, I streamlined a fragmented system into a clear five-pillar structure. A flat navigation approach ensures key actions, from emergency alerts to security controls, are always within two taps.
Low-Fi Wireframes
The low-fidelity wireframes helped define Omvia’s structure before visual design was applied. At this stage, the focus was on layout, navigation, content hierarchy, and the core user flow.
Onboarding
02Home Dashboard
01Devices
03Routine Setup
Alert
Settings
These sketch directions were chosen because they focused on usability, clear navigation, and simple task completion. They covered the main experience areas: home control, device access, routine setup, alerts, and settings.
.What this stage helped define
Layout Exploration
Tested how key content, controls, and dashboard cards could be arranged so users can scan the app quickly.
Navigation Structure
The wireframes established the main app areas, making sure users could move between Home, Devices, Routines, Alerts, and Settings easily.
Flow Decisions
This clarified how users would move from setup to everyday control before the final visual style was added.
Branding
To replace gadget fatigue with a sense of calm, the visual system was designed to feel more like home decor than a technical interface.
Visual Language: Moodboard
Trust Blue
#2E48C8
Used for key actions and main UI elements.Calming Lavender
#D5C7F7
Supports a soft, relaxed interface.Soft Cyan
#65D1E4
Adds freshness and subtle highlights.Clean White
#FFFFFF
Keeps layouts clean and breathable.Alert Orange
#FFB937
Draws attention to critical states and actions.
Typography combines Timeburner for hierarchy, Inter for readability, and Helvetica for system clarity. Rounded corners and high-contrast pill buttons support one-handed usability and make navigation simple and accessible.
High-Fi Wireframes
The high-fidelity stage brought the finalized branding, soft visual direction, and core user flows into polished interface screens.
Sign In / Onboarding
The onboarding flow introduces Omvia, helps users define their smart-home needs, connects the home ecosystem, and ends with secure sign in.
Brand Entry
The first screen creates a calm brand introduction before asking users to take action.
Guided Setup
The onboarding screens explain the value of Omvia step by step instead of overwhelming users immediately.
Secure Access
The flow ends with login and Face ID access, helping users enter the app quickly and safely.
Brand Entry
Welcome
User Need
Setup
Sign In
Recommended Routine
The routine flow shows how users can move from a recommended routine into setup, customization, wellness triggers, and final activation.
Recommended Routine
Ready-made routines like Morning Rush and Leaving Home give users quick value by allowing multiple devices to work together with one tap.
Custom Routine Builder
Users can create routines based on time, motion, or voice so the system can adapt to their lifestyle.
Wellness Triggers
Simple safety checks can be added to routines, helping users support loved ones in a subtle and respectful way.
Easy Control
Routines can be turned on, edited, or removed instantly, keeping everything simple and easy to manage.
Routine Hub
Morning Rush
Routine Detail
Trigger
Actions
Devices
Wellness
Confirm
Active
Devices
The devices flow is organized around room-based control, giving users a fast way to view, manage, and secure connected devices.
Multi-View Navigation
Users can switch between visual scanning and faster list-based browsing.
Secure Home Switch
A single control lets users secure their entire home at once.
Room-Level Controls
Users can manage all devices in a room together instead of controlling each one separately.
Grid View
List View
Device Detail
Settings
The settings flow gives users clear control over account security, access permissions, voice assistants, and privacy.
Biometric Security
Face ID supports quick and secure access without adding extra steps.
Home Access Management
Users can control family, guest, and caregiver access from one place.
Voice Assistant Setup
The app supports simple voice assistant connection for everyday control.
Privacy & Security Hub
A dedicated area helps users manage activity, connections, and personal information.
Settings Home
Profile
Security
Access
Voice
Privacy
Alert
The alert flow helps users understand what is happening at home, judge urgency quickly, and respond without stress.
Wellness Alerts
Important updates are delivered calmly, without making the experience feel invasive.
Quick Actions
The alert detail screen gives users immediate next steps, such as calling a loved one.
Alert
Respond
Testing & Iteration
I used Maze to test whether Omvia reduced app fatigue and supported remote control. Twenty users completed three key tasks focused on finding devices, checking alerts, and activating routines.
Up from 65%
You’re at the airport and forgot to lock up. Find your devices and secure the home in under 5 seconds.
Up from 80%
You receive an alert about your parents’ morning activity. Check how urgent it is and make a quick call.
Up from 70%
It’s a busy morning. Go to routines and activate the Morning Rush routine in under 4 seconds.
Key Feedback
“I find it hard to manage my mom’s safety alerts. The text is difficult to read on the move, and since all alerts look kind of the same, I can’t quickly tell what’s urgent.”
“I finished setting up my devices and tapped Go to Home, but was taken to a login screen. It felt confusing.”
“The Secure Home button at the top feels a bit intimidating. I’m worried I might tap it by accident and shut everything down.”
Feedback was grouped into three design priorities:
01 Readability + Alert Priority02 Clearer Setup Progress03 Safer Secure Home Action
Design Changes From Testing
Issue 01
Alert priority and status text were hard to scan
Users needed clearer hierarchy when checking safety alerts and home status updates. I strengthened the text hierarchy, increased contrast, and introduced a color-based alert system. Softer tones were used for regular updates, while warmer tones helped high-priority alerts stand out faster.
01
01
02
02Issue 02
Setup completion was unclear
Users expected “Go to Home” to take them directly into the dashboard, but the setup process was not fully complete. I changed the CTA to “Complete Setup” so the action matched the user’s actual progress and reduced confusion.
03
03Issue 03
Secure Home needed clearer reassurance
Users felt unsure about the global Secure Home button because it looked like a major action that could be tapped accidentally. I moved the button to the bottom of the screen, added a reassuring caption, and introduced a confirmation message so users understood the action before it was completed.
04
04Conclusion / Future Impact
This project moves the smart home from basic control to everyday support. The next steps focus on making the system smarter, easier, and more connected to real life.
Smarter Automation
The app can learn daily habits and start suggesting actions automatically, like adjusting energy use or securing the home when needed.
Wearable Integration
Alerts can extend to smartwatches, using simple vibrations to confirm important updates like wellness checks.
AR Setup Support
Users can point their camera at a device to get a visual guide for setup, making the process easier for non-tech users.
Community Safety
A shared alert system can allow users to connect with trusted neighbors, creating a wider sense of safety and awareness.
“These strategic directions would solidify Omvia as a visionary leader in the multi-generational smart home industry, prioritizing human connection above all else.”View Prototype ↗
Omvia Case Study
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by Esther Odeyemi