1. An app to control your “Made for Homekit” smart fan
2. Assignment
Problem
Many people have ceiling fans. Most ceiling fans are under utilized for optimal comfort and energy efficiency. They
typically have fixed speed intervals and are inconvenient to control and automate.
Task
Design a solution that enhances the experience of the home ceiling fan and focuses on personal comfort.
Scope
Research home automation and technology needs for creating a smart fan that integrates with HomeKit. Use Apple’s
preliminary User Experience Guidelines for HomeKit and WWDC presentations to inform design decisions. Present app
tasks with corresponding user flows and high fidelity screens that demonstrate each task being completed.
Background
John Hunter and son James C. Hunter invented the very first water-powered, belt-driven ceiling fan with whirling blades
in 1886. Hunter Fan & Motor Company was established 1896. They develop the Turek Electric Motor and introduced a
new ceiling fan that runs on alternating current. Over the years, Hunter has maintained a culture driven by design and
technology. They believe you shouldn’t have to work up a sweat trying to make yourself comfortable. They strive to
make Hunter ceiling fans effortless in every capacity—from how you install a fan to how you interact with it on a daily
basis. Today, Hunter continues to combine 19th century craftsmanship with innovative design and technology to create
ceiling fans of unmatched quality, style and whisper-quiet performance. Their ongoing goal is to make fans that are as
tough on the inside as they are beautiful on the outside.
3. I studied Apple’s User Interface Guidlines for HomeKit, which gave me insight in to various requirements I would need to establish.
Research
4. Research
I did a deep dive into home automation. I researched potential hardware, such as radiant temperature sensors, that could be used to
enhance the focus on comfort. I also found several insightful research studies one of which was the Standards of Human Comfort. The
study was conducted at the University of Texas at Austin by the school of architecture. The study gave me an indepth look at the factors
that influence human comfort some being physical and some being psycological. A key finding in this study later influenced my color
choices for UI.
“The Role of Color. As
a further complication,
temperature is not
completely determined by
our sense of touch. The
presence of particular
colors found in a space can
influence our perceptions
of temperature as well
as climatic qualities.
Experiments reveal that
rooms painted in hues
between blue or green can
feel colder than rooms with
red or orange walls by as
much as 7°F (3°C).”
5. Research
I disected the official Apple Homekit demo app and tested the Homekit Accessory Simulator app that Apple released for developers. This
gave me insight into how accessories are detected and configured. It also gave me details about the device types supported by HomeKit
and their respective services.
I
6. Research
Once I felt informed on the system requirements of HomeKit, I started defining all the tasks a user could want to accomplish with the app.
7. Strategy
Insights
Homekit is in beta. Most users will not have a “Home” set up yet. The task of creating a home, rooms, zones and adding
devices needs to be as simple and concise as possible.
Users will want to use the home automation integration with Siri. The ability to add devices to a Scene, update a Scene and
remove a Scene will be crtical for the in app experience.
After conducting reseach, I answer the following basic questions and use them as a guiding light through out a project.
Product Objectives - What do we want to get out of this product?
A brand utility that enhances the user expericnce of a smart ceiling fan.
User Persona - Who are the users we want to reach?
Home automation enthusiasts
User Needs - What do our users want to get out of this product?
• I want to set up my Home for automation
• I want to use Siri to control my ceiling fans
8. Scope
Design Direction
The app navigation facilitates accessing devices quickly. A user needs to quickly filter fans by a room or zone if they have
several ceiling fans configured.
Color choices are white and shades of blue in order to convey the perception of comfort.
Device controls are playful with subtle audio feedback when controlling the device in realtime. Animations are spring
driven with a moderate tension and friction that are quick but not jarring.
9. The next few pages are a progression of sketches on my white board for the Home Setup user flow. I start by crudely
laying out my user flow, visualizing content and making quick changes while I interate until I feel I have a solid concept.
Sketches - Home Setup
12. Launch App
Launch
Welcome
Name Home Add Home Success Add Rooms Add Rooms Success
Back Skip
Add Zones Success
Back Skip
Add Zones Rooms
Room 1
Room 2
Room 3
Room 4
Cancel Done
Assign Zones
Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
Done
Add Home
Cancel
Home Setup Complete
Back Exit
1 User can choose to add Rooms. A default room is created by the system which
has the same name as the home. Home Setup is complete if the user skips
adding Rooms.
1 2
2 User can choose to add Zones. Home Setup is complete if they skip adding
Zones. Zones are optional in HomeKit, so default zone is created by the system.
Fans - Empty
Homes Add
Fans
Homes Add
Fan A
Fan B
Fan C
Fan D
Skip Done
A user with no
home setup
A user with an
existing home
timer
timer
No Fans Setup
3 Users will be directed to the Empty Fans view If no fans have been added to
the home. Messaging there will direct users to add a fan.
3
Fan Controls
Exit
Fan
Add Add a Fan
Add a Fan
Tour
Walkthrough
Take Tour
back back
Select Zone
Cancel Save
Skip
Add Add a Fan
User Flow - Home Setup
This is a detailed user flow that I create once my sketches have started to take shape. It helps to design
the full end to end experince and uncover potential problem areas.
19. Sketches - Fan Controls
The next few pages are a progression of sketches on my white board for the Fan Controls and Scenes user flow. I start by crudely
laying out my user flow, visualizing content and making quick changes while I interate until I feel I have a solid concept.
22. User Flow - Fan Controls
Fans
Homes Add
Fan A
Fan B
Fan C
Fan D
Fan - Dimmer
40
Done Add
drag
Fan - Controls
52
Done Add
dimmer
Fan - Action Sheet
52
Done Add
Add to Scene
Fans
Cancel Add
Get Up
Leave
Return
Go to Bed
Add to New Scene
Fan A - Controls
52
Done Add
Add
Cancel
“Added to Scene”
Notification
Add
Cancel
Fan Settings
Done Edit
Fan Settings Edit
Done
Settings
Edit
Delete
Delete Scene
Done
Delete
Cancel
tap
Saved Scene
Adjust Scene
52
Cancel Save
tap
Save
Cancel
This user flow focuses on the following:
• Accessing Fan Controls and making adjustments
• Adding a fan to Scene.
• Adding a fan to New Scene
• Editing a fan assigned to a Scene
• Removing a fan from a Scene
