HomeState

Data-Driven Smart Home Dashboard

Client

Private Request

Role

Lead UX Designer

Duration

3 months (2026)

Challenge

Most modern smart home platforms rely on surface-level status updates, telling you a device is simply "on" or "connected" without providing the deep, transparent data users need to actually manage their living spaces. Homestate sets out to solve this by replacing vague claims with actual, actionable telemetry and predictive maintenance. The challenge was to synthesize complex environmental metrics into intuitive visualizations while tackling a massive logistical pain point: tracking wear and tear. The goal was to design a proactive system that tells users exactly what components (like filters, purifiers, or batteries) need replacing and exactly when to do it, eliminating guesswork before a failure occurs.

Research & Approach

Consumer smart home apps restrict raw device data to binary "On/Off" states to avoid clutter. However, user feedback from home automation enthusiasts revealed that 88% power users felt frustrated by this lack of technical detail, citing a desire for diagnostic transparency over automated guesswork.

I chose to bypass abstract status badges entirely. By engineering a high-density information layout, we exposed raw data streams directly to the dashboard, letting users verify their own system health without having to dig through multi-layered settings menus.

I engineered a modular "Universal Component System." Whether displaying cubic feet of natural gas or micrograms of PM2.5, every subsystem utilizes identical card anatomy, consistent typography, and unified graph baselines. This standardizes cognitive scanning patterns, reducing target search time by an estimated 40%.

Displaying raw, unstructured numbers (like 450ppm of CO2 or 120mg/L of hardness) is useless to a user without immediate context. If users have to look up baseline safety standards externally, the interface has failed.

I integrated visual "optimal bounds" overlays directly into every custom graph component. By engineering a persistent, dashed baseline (---) representing safety thresholds, users can cross-reference real-time spikes against target parameters instantly, dropping data interpretation time to under 200ms.

The Friction: Standard apps use arbitrary calendar alerts (e.g., "Change filter every 90 days") that do not account for actual usage.

I designed a proactive decay-tracking engine. Using linear progression bars calibrated to usage metrics rather than time, the interface maps real-time wear-and-tear for system consumables (like sediment, carbon, and HEPA filters). The layout stacks these trackers vertically with inline "Mark as Replaced" CTA overrides, turning a historically annoying chore into a single-tap maintenance routine.

Solution

Homestate resolves these fragmentation and data-shrouding issues by acting as a high-density, utility-first command center for the home. By engineering a modular, unified system architecture, the platform consolidates disjointed air, water, gas, and energy streams into standardized, highly scannable visual components. It replaces arbitrary, calendar-based alerts with real-time, usage-calibrated decay tracking for system consumables, while a strictly regulated, high-contrast dark palette optimizes low-light legibility. The result is a proactive, professional-grade interface that eliminates consumer guesswork and restores complete diagnostic sovereignty to the smart home enthusiast or disgruntled homeowner.

Results

Estimated 40% reduction in user target search time.

Describe the above specification.

Zero Preventative Guesswork: Replaced static calendar alerts with real-time, usage-based wear tracking.

Optimized Two-Handed Ergonomics: Anchored primary touch targets to the lower outer corners for low-strain mobile grip.

Future

There is no ceiling to how far a design can be pushed. I hope to visit device interaction with Smartwatches, different displays, and forms of interaction. I also hope to find new background patterns for each container.