As smart home living continues to evolve, the international home electronics giant LG sought to elevate the digital integration of their appliances. Between 2022 and 2023, Daylight partnered with them multiple times to improve their mobile app’s engagement and user experience. Beyond that, we also innovated physical and digital feature concepts for their new line of upgradeable appliances.
Working as a consultant, one of the joys was having returning business, as it spoke to the success of previous projects. As a cornerstone member, I served as the lead designer while occasionally taking on the project manager role when needed.
Lead UX Designer, Project Manager
LG Electronics
May, 2022 - July, 2023
In one of the early projects, the team was tasked with identifying the UX gaps within our client's mobile app and surfacing unique feature values to improve app retention. The app is a smart home application that allows users to connect to and interact with their home appliances. From analyzing the app's analytics and interviewing appliance owners, we learned that while people initially downloaded the app, they found it neither useful nor easy to use. Many didn't see the value and preferred to simply interact with the physical appliances alone. To address the problem, our team proposed a few redesigns and feature concepts to enhance communication between the app and its users.
“I have no understanding at all of what’s on my phone and what’s over there [on the digital washer display]” — Anonymous appliance owner
I originally joined as an individual contributor but eventually assumed an additional role as a project manager due to shifting resources. While being a full participant in ideation and design execution, I also managed the project timeline, conducted user interviews, and led client communications.
I recognized early on that collaboration with the client and mapping out the full experience were essential. By doing so, we gained a clear understanding of the app’s architecture and available features. This allowed us to generate ideas that could seamlessly integrate into the existing ecosystem.
Original flow map on the app navigation.
By speaking with real appliance owners and understanding our client’s app, we delivered a set of feature concepts tailored to individual home appliances. For example, in the case of a washer, we learned that the app offers many downloadable cycles (e.g., Overnight Wash) that could support users’ laundry needs. However, the app’s user experience made accessing these potentially helpful features daunting and often too cumbersome to explore.
We gathered feedback from our initial testing session with home appliance owners.
To improve affordance, I revamped the device page to feature a simulated dial experience that mirrors the physical device's control. I also simplified the cycle list by prioritizing popular cycles and recommending options based on user routines.
Revamped the device page to surface favourite and popular cycles for download. Used a “More” button for progressive reveal to prevent information overload.
In addition to progressive reveal, we use notifications to show the most relevant cycles based on the user’s routine.
Another major insight we gained was that users had trouble understanding the benefits available exclusively through the mobile app. For instance, an owner with multiple products from the client mentioned, “I have the oven, but I don’t use the app because who needs an app for an oven?” Part of the issue was the lack of an onboarding experience. Therefore, we proposed introducing a series of device-specific onboarding screens when a new device is connected to the app.
Once the device is connected to the owner’s phone, the app will initiate an onboarding experience showcasing all the exclusive benefits of using the app.
To evaluate the proposed UI, I conducted 1-on-1 user testing sessions with appliance owners. We observed participants completing simple tasks, such as selecting a specific wash cycle, and then asked about their preferences and thoughts between the original UI and the newly designed one.
User feedback on new proposed UI.
To ensure feasibility, we incorporated these new designs into a flow map to demonstrate how users would access and navigate them. Additionally, we included feedback collected from our ad-hoc user tests.
Created a flow map to showcase how the proposed design fits into the existing architecture.
Besides the examples above, we developed many other concepts for various appliances. The project led to an improved app experience and increased user retention rates. For Daylight, the successful delivery of the project served as a strong reference, leading to several follow-up business opportunities with the client.
After the initial project success, our client approached us to evaluate their in-app feature update experience in preparation for a new line of upgradable appliances, specifically targeting the NA market. The goal was to ensure customers understood how to install firmware, download upgrades, and access new features for their appliances. Although the project had a shorter timeline, its significance was immense, providing valuable insights into our client’s app and home appliances and connecting us to another major project in the future.
For this project, our team chose to employ third-party platforms such as UserTesting. We devised a research plan to recruit relevant participants and asked them to perform several tasks using the prototypes we created.
To evaluate users’ experience, we used the client’s UI and built a set of prototypes ourselves for testing.
We analyze the user feedback by identifying recurring comments.
Upon conducting the test and analyzing recurring patterns, we learned that while the idea of upgrading an existing product has become well established (e.g., Tesla), upgrading home appliances remains a foreign concept. Therefore, we made several UX updates—most notably to copywriting and UI—to improve clarity and enhance the overall experience. With this project, along with other positive outcomes with the client, we were able to expand our partnership and collaborate on larger, more complex projects.
Based on the testing results, we proposed a set of UX updates to improve the app’s integration with the upcoming series of upgradable appliances.
Partnering again with Daylight, the client sought to add more features feasible for their upgradable appliances. To generate applicable ideas, our team employed hybrid research methods, including card sorting, Zoom interviews, and in-home visits. In addition, we visited our client’s experimental lab to understand the technical limitations and their ongoing explorations.
After the research trip, we conducted multiple synthesis and ideation sessions with the client’s working team. We developed more than 20 concepts grounded in research. For each concept, we provided relevant user insights, accompanied by animated prototypes (where applicable) and detailed UX specifications. Our goal was to ensure the concepts were not only integratable with the existing physical and digital experiences but also genuinely desirable and helpful to appliance owners.
Based on the insights, we sketched out different concepts before narrowing them down and further refining them with the clients.
Building on the research we conducted, we developed and delivered more than 20 features that were subsequently added to the client’s product pipeline.
A sample deliverable featuring UX details and an interactive prototype.
Even though these are separate projects and confidential, I believe their success is actually determined by similar metrics. While I did not have access to our client's measurement of impact, below are some key metrics I consider essential for evaluating their successes:
Through these projects, I learned that cross-platform consistency is crucial when designing for multiple platforms (e.g., mobile, appliance UI, etc.). Regardless of where and how users engage with the products, they expect seamless interactions. To ensure this, we worked closely with the client’s development team to understand software and hardware limitations—what sensors these appliances have, what usage data we could leverage, and how the app communicates with the appliances. By combining this knowledge with insights from user research, ideas for improvement naturally emerge.
Looking back, one thing I would do differently is further diversify participant profiles in our user research. While we delivered strong findings and results, I found it challenging to uncover unique insights by primarily speaking with typical home appliance owners who perform routine household chores. Expanding the participant pool could have helped us identify more edge use cases. For example, a single person living alone in a mansion may approach chores entirely differently from a family of six in a small apartment. The more diverse the participants, the greater the potential for generating innovative ideas. This is essential because clients—often highly experienced in their respective domains—turn to us specifically for out-of-the-box thinking.