CONSUMER IOT
SMART LIGHTING
Mobile App
Bringing professional-grade connected lighting to the consumer market.
ROLE
Lead / Principal Experience Designer
PLATFORM
iOS / Android
PLATFORM
Mobile + Desktop
SCOPE
Research → Delivery
TEAM SIZE
15 Cross-functional
01
PROJECT OVERVIEW
FROM ENTERPRISE BACKBONE TO Consumer Living Room
The strategic opportunity, adapt the enterprise technical depth for the consumer smart home market and compete directly with other established smart home markets.
The challenge was twofold. The existing B2B UX assumed expertise, tolerated complexity, and optimized for configuration depth over daily usability. Meanwhile, the consumer smart home space was crowded with frictionless, polished experiences. We couldn't simply port a enterprise app, the product philosophy needed a complete rethink.
My mandate: lead end-to-end UX from market research and competitive analysis through IA, interaction design, and large-group stakeholder presentations with a cross-functional team of 15+.
MY ROLE
- End-to-end UX ownership, research through delivery
- Consumer market research & competitive analysis
- Information architecture & interaction design
- Design system definition & visual language
- Stakeholder presentations (25+ attendees per milestone)
- Cross-functional collaboration with Eng, PM & Architecture
DIRECT TEAM
- Engineering Manager / Director — 4
- Engineering Product Owner — 2
- Product Manager — 2
- Solution Architecture — 2
- Software Developers — 3
10-20X
Average daily opens a lighting control appBENCHMARK | SMART HOME RESEARCH
$48B
Global smart home lighting market by 2027MARKET SIZING | BUSINESS RATIONAL
3
Competing platforms benchmarked in depth (Lutron, Hue, Google)
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS SCOPE
02
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
UNDERSTANDING THE Consumer Mindset
Enterprise users tolerate friction. Consumer users abandon it. Before designing a single screen, the team needed to understand what the smart
home customer actually valued, where the current market was leaving needs unmet. Research ran in parallel with competitive analysis to
move quickly without losing depth.
PHASE 01Ecosystem Audit
Mapped Lutron, Hue, Google Home & Amazon Alexa across setup, daily use, and advanced config
PHASE 02Mental Model Mapping
Identified that consumers think in rooms & moods, not devices & topology
PHASE 03B2B Gap Analysis
Documented which Enterprise features were assets vs. needed reinvention for non technical audiences
PHASE 04Stakeholder Alignment
25+ person milestone presentations to align Eng, PM, and Executive on design direction
PHASE 05Design Principles
Defined three anchors:
- Instant Feedback
- Progressive Disclosure
- Non-Technical Language
Consumer lighting users interact with their app 10–20 times per day. Every extra tap is not an inconvenience, it's attrition. The daily control experience had to reach near-zero friction, even if that meant hiding 80% of the system's capability behind progressive
disclosure.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS
A structured analysis across five primary competitors revealed a clear white space: no platform combined professional-grade mesh reliability with consumer-grade simplicity. Lutron led on reliability but was expensive and closed. Philips Hue led on onboarding delight but had a shallow feature ceiling. This APP could own the premium intersection.
03
DESIGN LANGUAGE
A VISUAL SYSTEM BUILT FOR
Low-Light Use
The color system wasn't aesthetic-first, it was functionally driven. Lighting apps are used at night, in dim rooms, often on the way to bed. Every decision was evaluated against low-light legibility, touch-target contrast, and the need to communicate system state at a glance without reading.
TWO-TONE BACKGROUND STRATEGY
A key architectural decision: dark purple (#3D415E) for all control and action screens; light grey for all settings and configuration screens. This gave users immediate spatial orientation, they always knew whether they were in daily-use mode or configuration mode,
without reading a single label.
Smart home apps are disproportionately used after sunset, while dimming lights for a movie, setting up a sleep schedule, or troubleshooting a fixture. A dark-first theme reduces eye strain in these contexts, reduces screen-bleed into a darkened room, and naturally makes the warm amber glow of active light indicators pop as meaningful status signals.
Active lights appear as warm amber dots. Inactive lights are grey. Off states show a muted power indicator. Status was designed to be readable in peripheral vision, no label required.
Text Dark
#1C1B1F
CTA / Links
#1C819D
Control BG
#3D415E
Secondary Header
#B03060
Settings BG
#E8E8E8
Active State
#F0B040
Found Devices
#48F877
Error / Alarm
#CB0000
NAVIGATION ARCHITECTURE
The persistent bottom navigation, Light Control, Scenes, Activities, Areas, was visible at all times. No back stacks, no hamburger menus. Consumer research showed that smart home apps are disproportionately used one-handed, in low-light environments, often mid-task. Navigation needed to be positionally predictable and always-visible.
4
Persistent nav items, always visible, no back stack
1
Tap to reach any area's full zone control from home screen
Typography followed a strict three-level hierarchy: Area names (primary, white, medium weight), zone names (secondary), and status data (dim %, zone count) in a muted supporting tone. Every row communicated three pieces of information simultaneously without visual clutter.
04
FEATURE DECISION DEEP DIVES
KEY Design Decisions
THE DAILY CONTROL SCREEN
Light Control is opened 10–20 times per day. The design mandate was speed and muscle memory, everything needed should be reachable in one tap. Everything configuration-related should be hidden until explicitly sought.
1
Tap to expand any area and see all zones
Accordion model vs. 2–3 tap drill-down
2X
Control surface vs. prior design, toggle at every level
Area level + Zone level
Decision: Accordion vs. Drill-Down Navigation
Early prototypes used a drill-down pattern (tap area → new screen). User testing showed disorientation, users lost context of what other areas were doing. The accordion keeps the whole home visible at all times, making state comparison trivial and eliminating back-navigation entirely.
Decision: On/Off Toggle at Every Level
The most frequent action — turning a room off — must never require opening a detail screen. Both area-level and zone-level rows carry an on/off toggle and dim indicator. This doubled the control surface but reduced the task to a single tap for ~90% of daily interactions.
Light Control
Accordion areas/zones, slider detail, and full color/white temperature picker (COLOR · WHITE · PRESETS)
Three color pathways for three user types: Full RGB picker · Swatch grid · White temperature (1800K–6000K)
MAKING NETWORK TOPOLOGY HUMAN
One of the most technically complex challenges: how do you expose BLE mesh subnet configuration, normally a networking task, to homeowners with no knowledge of BLE topology?
Core insight: users don't need to understand the technology if they can read the map. The node visualization used color semantics that required zero explanation: black = active repeater, white = stable relay, red = reliability problem.
Example
247 Devices and 66 Repeaters22 Groups or Subnets are created
0
User decisions required in final Auto Select model
Down from manual node by-node selection
22
Subnets auto-created in 247- device reference install
66 repeaters, 0 manual config
FOUR PROPOSAL ITERATION
Proposal
Approach
Decision
Result
P1 - Node Map
Live mesh viz, drag- to-repeater
High — manual node selection
DROPPEDToo intimidating
P2 - Clusters
Proximity-based device grouping
Medium — group-level decisions
DROPPEDStill Exposed Topology
P3 - Virtual Groups
User-defined criteria groups
Medium — still per- device
DROPPEDIncreasing Commissioning Time
P4 - Auto Select
System chooses optimal repeaters
Zero — one confirm tap
SHIPPED Engineering Validated
Proposal 1 - Node Map
Identify and resolve 3 low-reliability nodes (highlighted in red) by dragging devices onto the central Gateway to promote them to repeaters
Proposal 2 - Clusters
Organize devices into clusters based on their proximity to the hub and to each other, creating a hierarchical structure that simplifies network management and improves reliability.
Proposal 3 - Virtual Groups
Creating virtual device groups based on user-defined criteria, such as location, function, or usage patterns, enabling customized control and monitoring.
Proposal 4 - Auto Select
Eliminate the user from making a decision, have AI configure the strongest network.
NFC Commissioning
NFC / QR flow: Scan → Device Found (model + firmware confirmation) → Name & Assign → Device ADDED confirmation
COMMISSION BEFORE INSTALLATION
NFC tags on devices allowed users to configure them before the electrician physically installed anything, scan a device still in its box, assign it to a room, name it. A complete logical map of the home before a single fixture is mounted.
3
Steps to commission any device (Scan → Confirm → Done)
vs. multi-step manual entry
Pre-
Install commissioning, novel in consumer lighting space
Competitive differentiator
Three commissioning paths served different installer scenarios: Scan for Devices (BLE auto-discovery), Add Manually (serial number from packaging), QR Code / NFC Tap (pre-installation). Each path converged to the same Rename → Assign → Confirm flow, minimizing
training overhead for mixed installer teams.
Decision: Device Naming Inside Commissioning
Naming was embedded in setup (not deferred to settings) because post-setup renaming rates were extremely low in comparable products. If users didn't name during commissioning, they never would, leaving them with "IRIS Color Bulb 1" forever. Forcing the moment increased permanent naming adoption significantly.
Designed for Property Managers and Power Users
A differentiating capability unavailable in basic consumer competitors: multiple properties from a single account. Vacation homes, rental properties, and secondary residences, each with distinct settings, schedules, and user permissions.
3
Home size templates: Small
(≤100), Medium (100–200), Large (≤500 devices)
PRO
Temporary installer role with
configurable auto-expiration
B2B pattern transferred to
B2C
THREE USER ROLES
01
Home Owner — Full admin, all settings
Complete access to device management, user management, schedules, and system configuration.
02
User — Lighting control only, no settings
Family members, guests, can control lights and run scenes but cannot change any configuration.
03
Home Owner — Full admin, all settings
Electrician or commissioning agent. Account deactivates automatically when work is complete. No manual revocation required. The key B2B to-B2C transfer insight from commercial deployments.
Manage Homes
Manage Homes: property list → size template picker (Small/Medium/Large) → home configuration → invite code to join
Manage Users
User list (15 shown) → Add User → Role selection (HomeOwner / User / PRO) → Custom role builder with permissions matrix
Activities
Schedule builder → Area selector → Custom timing + Circadian Rhythm (Automatic GPS / Manual phases with color swatches)
Scheduling That Knows When the Sun Sets
Activities differentiated the app most sharply from basic competitors. Rather than simple on/off timers, the system supported a full circadian rhythm engine — automatically adjusting color
temperature and brightness based on time of day and actual sunrise/sunset data for the user's geographic location.
2
Circadian modes: GPS Automatic + Manual Phase Builder
Novice and power user paths
5
Predefined life phases: Wake, Day, Relax, Dinner, Sleep
Emotional language, not Kelvin values
Decision: Offset Controls for Sunrise/Sunset
Users wanted lights that came on before the sun fully rose, waking up to brightening light, not darkness then sudden brightness. The offset control (−30 min, −15 min, etc.) solved this in user-language terms without exposing absolute times that would need seasonal adjustment.
Decision: Color Swatches as Phase Identifiers
Scheduling phases were anchored by warm color swatches, not temperature values. The "Relax" phase at 17:30 was set by choosing a warm amber swatch, not entering 2700K. Emotional language replaced technical specification, lowering the cognitive bar for feature adoption.
05
OUTCOMES AND MEASURED IMPACT
TRANSLATING B2B DEPTH
Consumer Confidence
The project produced a consumer product capable of competing directly against established apps, while preserving the technical depth that made enterprise valuable in commercial environments.
UX QUALITY & VALIDATION
4→1
Mesh configuration proposals reduced to a single zero-decision Auto Select model, complexity eliminated, not simplified
~70%
Daily lighting control tasks reachable in a single tap, up from 3+ taps in initial prototype
0
Manual mesh configuration decisions required by end user in final Auto Select model
500+
Maximum device scale per property, surpassing every primary consumer competitor
3
User roles designed covering the full spectrum from daily resident control to professional installation
25+
Stakeholder milestone presentations aligning Engineering, Product, and Executive leadership
DESIGN DELIVERABLES
Customer AI Architecture
Areas / Zones / Devices / Accessories hierarchy maps to how users think about their homes, not how lighting hardware is organized. Zero technical terminology exposed at the top level.
BLE Topology Abstraction
Mesh networking, subnet configuration, and repeater node management rendered fully invisible to consumers, while remaining accessible to PRO installers who need precise control.
Circadian Differentiation
GPS-based circadian engine with emotional language scheduling positioned this app significantly above basic on/off timer competitors in the premium smart home segment.
NFC Pre-Install Innovation
Pre-installation commissioning via NFC/QR reduced on-site setup time and enabled a configure-then-install workflow novel in the consumer lighting space at time of release.
Design System Foundation
Two-tone color strategy, motion semantics, and a component library established a coherent visual system for future feature development and platform scaling.
Multi-Home Market Segment
Property manager and vacation home capability, not addressed by any primary competitor, opened a premium market segment beyond the single-residence consumer.
06
REFLECTION
WHAT THIS PROJECT TAUGHT ME
Six durable insights that shaped how I approach consumer IoT and complex system design going forward.
Insight 01
Engineering confidence unlocks better UX
The shift to the final Auto Select model only became possible when engineering confirmed system confidence in choosing optimal repeater nodes. The best UX decision, remove the decision entirely, required trusting engineering data. Cross-functional candor produced the best outcome, not good design alone.
Insight 02
B2B to B2C is translation, not simplification
The initial instinct was to simplify the enterprise experience. The better frame: translate. The same underlying capabilities (subnet management, role-based access, multi-site control) needed expression in consumer language and mental models. The PRO role and multi-home features came directly from B2B and became differentiators in B2C.
Insight 03
DAILY-USE SCREENS DESERVE 80% OF DESIGN EFFORT
Light Control, opened 10–20 times per day, received the most iteration, user testing, and engineering negotiation. The accordion model, dual-level controls, and status indicators all resulted from multiple feedback rounds. Daily ritual screens matter far more than configuration screens.
Insight 04
Large stakeholder presentations sharpen thinking
Designing for milestone presentations to 25+ stakeholders forced articulation and rationale documentation that made the work stronger. When you have to explain why an accordion beats a drill-down to a room full of engineers, you either sharpen your argument or change your design.
Insight 05
Color semantics as primary communication
Encoding warm amber as "active" and cool grey as "inactive", without labels, was validated by users who navigated correctly on first use. When color semantics are consistent and intuitive, text labels become optional rather than load-bearing. This is the highest form of status design.
Insight 06
Emotional language beats technical specifications
Scheduling features landed better when named Wake-Up, Relax, Dinner, Sleep than when labeled by Kelvin temperature. The circadian engine was technically sophisticated; the UI had to make it feel like curating a mood, not programming a system. Emotional interface on a technical substrate is the core craft challenge of consumer IoT design.
ROBERT BABIARZ
EXPERIENCE DESIGN LEADER
HOME/BIO
WORK
PATENTS
OUTCOMES
REFLECTION
CONSUMER IOT
SMART LIGHTING
Mobile App
Bringing professional-grade connected lighting to the consumer market.
ROLE
Lead / Principal Experience Designer
PLATFORM
iOS / Android
PLATFORM
Mobile + Desktop
SCOPE
Research → Delivery
TEAM SIZE
15 Cross-functional
01
PROJECT OVERVIEW
FROM ENTERPRISE BACKBONE TO
Consumer Living Room
The strategic opportunity, adapt the enterprise technical depth for the consumer smart home market and compete directly with other established smart home markets.
The challenge was twofold. The existing B2B UX assumed expertise, tolerated complexity, and optimized for configuration depth over daily usability. Meanwhile, the consumer smart home space was crowded with frictionless, polished experiences. We couldn't simply port a enterprise app, the product philosophy needed a complete rethink.
My mandate: lead end-to-end UX from market research and competitive analysis through IA, interaction design, and large-group stakeholder presentations with a cross-functional team of 15+.
MY ROLE
- End-to-end UX ownership, research through delivery
- Consumer market research & competitive analysis
- Information architecture & interaction design
- Design system definition & visual language
- Stakeholder presentations (25+ attendees per milestone)
- Cross-functional collaboration with Eng, PM & Architecture
DIRECT TEAM
- Engineering Manager / Director — 4
- Engineering Product Owner — 2
- Product Manager — 2
- Solution Architecture — 2
- Software Developers — 3
10-20X
Average daily opens a lighting control appBENCHMARK | SMART HOME RESEARCH
$48B
Global smart home lighting market by 2027MARKET SIZING | BUSINESS RATIONAL
3
Competing platforms benchmarked in depth (Lutron, Hue, Google)
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS SCOPE
02
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
UNDERSTANDING THE Consumer Mindset
Enterprise users tolerate friction. Consumer users abandon it. Before designing a single screen, the team needed to understand what the smart home customer actually valued, where the current market was leaving needs unmet. Research ran in parallel with competitive analysis to move quickly without losing depth.
PHASE 01Ecosystem Audit
Mapped Lutron, Hue, Google Home & Amazon Alexa across setup, daily use, and advanced config
PHASE 02Mental Model Mapping
Identified that consumers think in rooms & moods, not devices & topology
PHASE 03B2B Gap Analysis
Documented which Enterprise features were assets vs. needed reinvention for non technical audiences
PHASE 04Stakeholder Alignment
25+ person milestone presentations to align Eng, PM, and Executive on design direction
PHASE 05Design Principles
Defined three anchors:
Instant Feedback, Progressive Disclosure, Non-Technical Language
Consumer lighting users interact with their app 10–20 times per day. Every extra tap is not an inconvenience, it's attrition. The daily control experience had to reach near-zero friction, even if that meant hiding 80% of the system's capability behind progressive disclosure.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS
A structured analysis across five primary competitors revealed a clear white space: no platform combined professional-grade mesh reliability with consumer-grade simplicity. Lutron led on reliability but was expensive and closed. Philips Hue led on onboarding delight but had a shallow feature ceiling. This APP could own the premium intersection.
03
DESIGN LANGUAGE
A VISUAL SYSTEM BUILT FOR Low-Light Use
The color system wasn't aesthetic-first, it was functionally driven. Lighting apps are used at night, in dim rooms, often on the way to bed. Every decision was evaluated against low-light legibility, touch-target contrast, and the need to communicate system state at a glance without reading.
TWO-TONE BACKGROUND STRATEGY
A key architectural decision: dark purple (#3D415E) for all control and action screens; light grey for all settings and configuration screens. This gave users immediate spatial orientation, they always knew whether they were in daily-use mode or configuration mode, without reading a single label.
Smart home apps are disproportionately used after sunset, while dimming lights for a movie, setting up a sleep schedule, or troubleshooting a fixture. A dark-first theme reduces eye strain in these contexts, reduces screen-bleed into a darkened room, and naturally makes the warm amber glow of active light indicators pop as meaningful status signals.
Active lights appear as warm amber dots. Inactive lights are grey. Off states show a muted power indicator. Status was designed to be readable in peripheral vision, no label required.
Text Dark
#1C1B1F
CTA / Links
#1C819D
Control BG
#3D415E
Secondary Header
#B03060
Settings BG
#E8E8E8
Active State
#F0B040
Found Devices
#48F877
Error / Alarm
#CB0000
NAVIGATION ARCHITECTURE
The persistent bottom navigation, Light Control, Scenes, Activities, Areas, was visible at all times. No back stacks, no hamburger menus. Consumer research showed that smart home apps are disproportionately used one-handed, in low-light environments, often mid-task. Navigation needed to be positionally predictable and always-visible.
4
Persistent nav items, always visible, no back stack
1
Tap to reach any area's full zone control from home screen
Typography followed a strict three-level hierarchy: Area names (primary, white, medium weight), zone names (secondary), and status data (dim %, zone count) in a muted supporting tone. Every row communicated three pieces of information simultaneously without visual clutter.
04
FEATURE DECISION DEEP DIVES
KEY Design Decisions
THE DAILY CONTROL SCREEN
Light Control is opened 10–20 times per day. The design mandate was speed and muscle memory, everything needed should be reachable in one tap. Everything configuration-related should be hidden until explicitly sought.
1
Tap to expand any area and see all zones
Accordion model vs. 2–3 tap drill-down
2X
Control surface vs. prior design, toggle at every level
Area level + Zone level
Decision: Accordion vs. Drill-Down Navigation
Early prototypes used a drill-down pattern (tap area → new screen). User testing showed disorientation, users lost context of what other areas were doing. The accordion keeps the whole home visible at all times, making state comparison trivial and eliminating back-navigation entirely.
Decision: On/Off Toggle at Every Level
The most frequent action, turning a room off, must never require opening a detail screen. Both area-level and zone-level rows carry an on/off toggle and dim indicator. This doubled the control surface but reduced the task to a single tap for ~90% of daily interactions.
Light Control
Accordion areas/zones, slider detail, and full color/white temperature picker (COLOR · WHITE · PRESETS)
Three color pathways for three user types: Full RGB picker · Swatch grid · White temperature (1800K–6000K)
MAKING NETWORK TOPOLOGY HUMAN
One of the most technically complex challenges: how do you expose BLE mesh subnet configuration, normally a networking task, to homeowners with no knowledge of BLE topology?
Core insight: users don't need to understand the technology if they can read the map. The node visualization used color semantics that required zero explanation: black = active repeater, white = stable relay, red = reliability problem.
Example
247 Devices and 66 Repeaters22 Groups or Subnets are created
0
User decisions required in final Auto Select model
Down from manual node by-node selection
22
Subnets auto-created in 247- device reference install
66 repeaters, 0 manual config
FOUR PROPOSAL ITERATION
Proposal
Approach
User Decision Load
Result
P1 - Node Map
Live mesh viz, drag- to-repeater
High — manual node selection
DROPPEDToo intimidating
P2 - Clusters
Proximity-based device grouping
Medium — group-level decisions
DROPPEDStill Exposed Topology
P3 - Virtual Groups
User-defined criteria groups
Medium — still per- device
DROPPEDIncreasing Commissioning Time
P4 - Auto Select
System chooses optimal repeaters
Zero — one confirm tap
SHIPPED ✓Engineering Validated
Proposal 1 - Node Map
Identify and resolve 3 low-reliability nodes (highlighted in red) by dragging devices onto the central Gateway to promote them to repeaters
Proposal 2 - Clusters
Organize devices into clusters based on their proximity to the hub and to each other, creating a hierarchical structure that simplifies network management and improves reliability.
Proposal 3 - Virtual Groups
Creating virtual device groups based on user-defined criteria, such as location, function, or usage patterns, enabling customized control and monitoring.
Proposal 4 - Auto Select
Eliminate the user from making a decision, have AI configure the strongest network.
NFC Commissioning
NFC / QR flow: Scan → Device Found (model + firmware confirmation) → Name & Assign → Device ADDED confirmation
COMMISSION BEFORE INSTALLATION
NFC tags on devices allowed users to configure them before the electrician physically installed anything, scan a device still in its box, assign it to a room, name it. A complete logical map of the home before a single fixture is mounted.
3
Steps to commission any device (Scan → Confirm → Done)
vs. multi-step manual entry
Pre-
Install commissioning, novel in consumer lighting space
Competitive differentiator
Three commissioning paths served different installer scenarios: Scan for Devices (BLE auto-discovery), Add Manually (serial number from packaging), QR Code / NFC Tap (pre-installation). Each path converged to the same Rename → Assign → Confirm flow, minimizing training overhead for mixed installer teams.
Decision: Device Naming Inside Commissioning
Naming was embedded in setup (not deferred to settings) because post-setup renaming rates were extremely low in comparable products. If users didn't name during commissioning, they never would, leaving them with "IRIS Color Bulb 1" forever. Forcing the moment increased permanent naming adoption significantly.
Designed for Property Managers and Power Users
A differentiating capability unavailable in basic consumer competitors: multiple properties from a single account. Vacation homes, rental properties, and secondary residences, each with distinct settings, schedules, and user permissions.
3
Home size templates: Small
(≤100), Medium (100–200), Large (≤500 devices)
PRO
Temporary installer role with
configurable auto-expiration
B2B pattern transferred to
B2C
THREE USER ROLES
01
Home Owner — Full admin, all settings
Complete access to device management, user management, schedules, and system configuration.
02
User — Lighting control only, no settings
Family members, guests, can control lights and run scenes but cannot change any configuration.
03
Home Owner — Full admin, all settings
Electrician or commissioning agent. Account deactivates automatically when work is complete. No manual revocation required. The key B2B to-B2C transfer insight from commercial deployments.
Manage Homes
Manage Homes: property list → size template picker (Small/Medium/Large) → home configuration → invite code to join
Manage Users
User list (15 shown) → Add User → Role selection (HomeOwner / User / PRO) → Custom role builder with permissions matrix
Activities
Schedule builder → Area selector → Custom timing + Circadian Rhythm (Automatic GPS / Manual phases with color swatches)
Scheduling That Knows When the Sun Sets
Activities differentiated the app most sharply from basic competitors. Rather than simple on/off timers, the system supported a full circadian rhythm engine, automatically adjusting color temperature and brightness based on time of day and actual sunrise/sunset data for the user's geographic location.
2
Circadian modes: GPS Automatic + Manual Phase Builder
Novice and power user paths
5
Predefined life phases: Wake, Day, Relax, Dinner, Sleep
Emotional language, not Kelvin values
Decision: Offset Controls for Sunrise/Sunset
Users wanted lights that came on before the sun fully rose, waking up to brightening light, not darkness then sudden brightness. The offset control (−30 min, −15 min, etc.) solved this in user-language terms without exposing absolute times that would need seasonal adjustment.
Decision: Color Swatches as Phase Identifiers
Scheduling phases were anchored by warm color swatches, not temperature values. The "Relax" phase at 17:30 was set by choosing a warm amber swatch, not entering 2700K. Emotional language replaced technical specification, lowering the cognitive bar for feature adoption.
05
OUTCOMES AND MEASURED IMPACT
TRANSLATING B2B DEPTH
Consumer Confidence
The project produced a consumer product capable of competing directly against established apps, while preserving the technical depth that made enterprise valuable in commercial environments.
UX QUALITY & VALIDATION
4→1
Mesh configuration proposals reduced to a single zero-decision Auto Select model, complexity eliminated, not simplified
~70%
Daily lighting control tasks reachable in a single tap, up from 3+ taps in initial prototype
0
Manual mesh configuration decisions required by end user in final Auto Select model
500+
Maximum device scale per property, surpassing every primary consumer competitor
3
User roles designed covering the full spectrum from daily resident control to professional installation
25+
Stakeholder milestone presentations aligning Engineering, Product, and Executive leadership
DESIGN DELIVERABLES
Customer AI Architecture
Areas / Zones / Devices / Accessories hierarchy maps to how users think about their homes, not how lighting hardware is organized. Zero technical terminology exposed at the top level.
BLE Topology Abstraction
Mesh networking, subnet configuration, and repeater node management rendered fully invisible to consumers, while remaining accessible to PRO installers who need precise control.
Circadian Differentiation
GPS-based circadian engine with emotional language scheduling positioned this app significantly above basic on/off timer competitors in the premium smart home segment.
NFC Pre-Install Innovation
Pre-installation commissioning via NFC/QR reduced on-site setup time and enabled a configure-then-install workflow novel in the consumer lighting space at time of release.
Design System Foundation
Two-tone color strategy, motion semantics, and a component library established a coherent visual system for future feature development and platform scaling.
Multi-Home Market Segment
Property manager and vacation home capability, not addressed by any primary competitor, opened a premium market segment beyond the single-residence consumer.
06
REFLECTION
WHAT THIS PROJECT TAUGHT ME
Six durable insights that shaped how I approach consumer IoT and complex system design going forward.
Insight 01
Engineering confidence unlocks better UX
The shift to the final Auto Select model only became possible when engineering confirmed system confidence in choosing optimal repeater nodes. The best UX decision, remove the decision entirely, required trusting engineering data. Cross-functional candor produced the best outcome, not good design alone.
Insight 02
B2B to B2C is translation, not simplification
The initial instinct was to simplify the enterprise experience. The better frame: translate. The same underlying capabilities (subnet management, role-based access, multi-site control) needed expression in consumer language and mental models. The PRO role and multi-home features came directly from B2B and became differentiators in B2C.
Insight 03
DAILY-USE SCREENS DESERVE 80% OF DESIGN EFFORT
Light Control, opened 10–20 times per day, received the most iteration, user testing, and engineering negotiation. The accordion model, dual-level controls, and status indicators all resulted from multiple feedback rounds. Daily ritual screens matter far more than configuration screens.
Insight 04
Large stakeholder presentations sharpen thinking
Designing for milestone presentations to 25+ stakeholders forced articulation and rationale documentation that made the work stronger. When you have to explain why an accordion beats a drill-down to a room full of engineers, you either sharpen your argument or change your design.
Insight 05
Color semantics as primary communication
Encoding warm amber as "active" and cool grey as "inactive", without labels, was validated by users who navigated correctly on first use. When color semantics are consistent and intuitive, text labels become optional rather than load-bearing. This is the highest form of status design.
Insight 06
Emotional language beats technical specifications
Scheduling features landed better when named Wake-Up, Relax, Dinner, Sleep than when labeled by Kelvin temperature. The circadian engine was technically sophisticated; the UI had to make it feel like curating a mood, not programming a system. Emotional interface on a technical substrate is the core craft challenge of consumer IoT design.
ROBERT BABIARZ
EXPERIENCE DESIGN LEADER
HOME/BIO
WORK
PATENTS
OUTCOMES
REFLECTION
CONSUMER IOT
SMART LIGHTING
Mobile App
Bringing professional-grade connected lighting to the consumer market.
ROLE
Lead / Principal Experience Designer
PLATFORM
iOS / Android
PLATFORM
Mobile + Desktop
SCOPE
Research → Delivery
TEAM SIZE
15 Cross-functional
01
PROJECT OVERVIEW
FROM ENTERPRISE BACKBONE TO Consumer Living Room
The strategic opportunity, adapt the enterprise technical depth for the consumer smart home market and compete directly with other established smart home markets.
The challenge was twofold. The existing B2B UX assumed expertise, tolerated complexity, and optimized for configuration depth over daily usability. Meanwhile, the consumer smart home space was crowded with frictionless, polished experiences. We couldn't simply port a enterprise app, the product philosophy needed a complete rethink.
My mandate: lead end-to-end UX from market research and competitive analysis through IA, interaction design, and large-group stakeholder presentations with a cross-functional team of 15+.
MY ROLE
- End-to-end UX ownership, research through delivery
- Consumer market research & competitive analysis
- Information architecture & interaction design
- Design system definition & visual language
- Stakeholder presentations (25+ attendees per milestone)
- Cross-functional collaboration with Eng, PM & Architecture
DIRECT TEAM
- Engineering Manager / Director — 4
- Engineering Product Owner — 2
- Product Manager — 2
- Solution Architecture — 2
- Software Developers — 3
10-20X
Average daily opens a lighting control appBENCHMARK | SMART HOME RESEARCH
$48B
Global smart home lighting market by 2027MARKET SIZING | BUSINESS RATIONAL
3
Competing platforms benchmarked in depth (Lutron, Hue, Google)
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS SCOPE
02
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
UNDERSTANDING THE Consumer Mindset
Enterprise users tolerate friction. Consumer users abandon it. Before designing a single screen, the team needed to understand what the smart
home customer actually valued, where the current market was leaving needs unmet. Research ran in parallel with competitive analysis to
move quickly without losing depth.
PHASE 01Ecosystem Audit
Mapped Lutron, Hue, Google Home & Amazon Alexa across setup, daily use, and advanced config
PHASE 02Mental Model Mapping
Identified that consumers think in rooms & moods, not devices & topology
PHASE 03B2B Gap Analysis
Documented which Enterprise features were assets vs. needed reinvention for non technical audiences
PHASE 04Stakeholder Alignment
25+ person milestone presentations to align Eng, PM, and Executive on design direction
PHASE 05Design Principles
Defined three anchors:
- Instant Feedback
- Progressive Disclosure
- Non-Technical Language
Consumer lighting users interact with their app 10–20 times per day. Every extra tap is not an inconvenience, it's attrition. The daily control experience had to reach near-zero friction, even if that meant hiding 80% of the system's capability behind progressive disclosure.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS
A structured analysis across five primary competitors revealed a clear white space: no platform combined professional-grade mesh reliability
with consumer-grade simplicity. Lutron led on reliability but was expensive and closed. Philips Hue led on onboarding delight but had a shallow
feature ceiling. This APP could own the premium intersection.
Platform
Setup Ease
Mesh
Stability
Circadian /
Automation
Multi-Home
PRO Installer
Role
Open
Protocol
Price
Point
Lutron Caséta
◐ Moderate
✓ Excellent
◐ Basic
✗
✓
✗ Proprietary
Premium
Philips Hue
✓ Excellent
◐ Good
✓ Good
✗
✗
◐ Zigbee
Mid-High
Google Home
✓ Excellent
✗ Unreliable
◐ Basic
◐ Limited
✗
✓ Matter
Low
Amazon Alexa
✓ Good
✗ Variable
◐ Basic
◐ Limited
✗
✓ Matter
Low
Control4
✗ Complex
✓ Excellent
✓ Advanced
✓
✓
✗ Proprietary
Very High
WaveLinx App
This Work
✓ Designed
For
✓ Auto Mesh
✓ Full Circadian
✓ Multi-
Home
✓ PRO Role
✓ BLE + NFC
Premium
03
DESIGN LANGUAGE
A VISUAL SYSTEM BUILT FOR Low-Light Use
The color system wasn't aesthetic-first, it was functionally driven. Lighting apps are used at night, in dim rooms, often on the way to bed. Every
decision was evaluated against low-light legibility, touch-target contrast, and the need to communicate system state at a glance without reading.
TWO-TONE BACKGROUND STRATEGY
A key architectural decision: dark purple (#3D415E) for all control
and action screens; light grey for all settings and configuration
screens. This gave users immediate spatial orientation, they always
knew whether they were in daily-use mode or configuration mode,
without reading a single label.
Smart home apps are disproportionately used after sunset, while dimming lights for a movie, setting up a sleep schedule, or troubleshooting a fixture. A dark-first theme reduces eye strain in these contexts, reduces screen-bleed into a darkened room, and naturally makes the warm amber glow of active light indicators pop as meaningful status signals.
Active lights appear as warm amber dots. Inactive lights are grey. Off
states show a muted power indicator. Status was designed to be
readable in peripheral vision, no label required.
Text Dark
#1C1B1F
CTA / Links
#1C819D
Control BG
#3D415E
Secondary Header
#B03060
Settings BG
#E8E8E8
Active State
#F0B040
Found Devices
#48F877
Error / Alarm
#CB0000
NAVIGATION ARCHITECTURE
The persistent bottom navigation, Light Control, Scenes, Activities,
Areas, was visible at all times. No back stacks, no hamburger
menus. Consumer research showed that smart home apps are
disproportionately used one-handed, in low-light environments,
often mid-task. Navigation needed to be positionally predictable and
always-visible.
4
Persistent nav items, always visible, no back stack
1
Tap to reach any area's full zone control from home screen
Typography followed a strict three-level hierarchy: Area names
(primary, white, medium weight), zone names (secondary), and status
data (dim %, zone count) in a muted supporting tone. Every row
communicated three pieces of information simultaneously without
visual clutter.
04
FEATURE DECISION DEEP DIVES
KEY Design Decisions
THE DAILY CONTROL SCREEN
Light Control is opened 10–20 times per day. The design mandate was speed and muscle memory, everything needed should be reachable in one tap. Everything configuration-related should be hidden until explicitly sought.
1
Tap to expand any area and see all zones
Accordion model vs. 2–3 tap drill-down
2X
Control surface vs. prior design, toggle at every level
Area level + Zone level
Decision: Accordion vs. Drill-Down Navigation
Early prototypes used a drill-down pattern (tap area → new screen). User testing showed disorientation, users lost context of what other areas were doing. The accordion keeps the whole home visible at all times, making state comparison trivial and eliminating back-navigation entirely.
Decision: On/Off Toggle at Every Level
The most frequent action, turning a room off, must never require opening a detail screen. Both area-level and zone-level rows carry an on/off toggle and dim indicator. This doubled the control surface but reduced the task to a single tap for ~90% of daily interactions.
Light Control
Accordion areas/zones, slider detail, and full color/white temperature picker (COLOR · WHITE · PRESETS)
Three color pathways for three user types: Full RGB picker · Swatch grid · White temperature (1800K–6000K)
MAKING NETWORK TOPOLOGY HUMAN
One of the most technically complex challenges: how do you expose BLE mesh subnet configuration, normally a networking task, to homeowners with no knowledge of BLE topology?
Core insight: users don't need to understand the technology if they can read the map. The node visualization used color semantics that required zero explanation: black = active repeater, white = stable relay, red = reliability problem.
Example
247 Devices and 66 Repeaters22 Groups or Subnets are created
0
User decisions required in final Auto Select model
Down from manual node by-node selection
22
Subnets auto-created in 247- device reference install
66 repeaters, 0 manual config
FOUR PROPOSAL ITERATION
Proposal
Approach
User Decision Load
Result
P1 - Node Map
Live mesh viz, drag- to-repeater
High — manual node selection
DROPPEDToo intimidating
P2 - Clusters
Proximity-based device grouping
Medium — group-level decisions
DROPPEDStill Exposed Topology
P3 - Virtual Groups
User-defined criteria groups
Medium — still per-device
DROPPEDIncreasing Commissioning Time
P4 - Auto Select
System chooses optimal repeaters
Zero — one confirm tap
SHIPPED ✓Engineering Validated
Proposal 1 - Node Map
Identify and resolve 3 low-reliability nodes (highlighted in red) by dragging devices onto the central Gateway to promote them to repeaters
Proposal 2 - Clusters
Organize devices into clusters based on their proximity to the hub and to each other, creating a hierarchical structure that simplifies network management and improves reliability.
Proposal 3 - Virtual Groups
Creating virtual device groups based on user-defined criteria, such as location, function, or usage patterns, enabling customized control and monitoring.
Proposal 4 - Auto Select
Eliminate the user from making a decision, have AI configure the strongest network.
NFC Commissioning
NFC / QR flow: Scan → Device Found (model + firmware
confirmation) → Name & Assign → Device ADDED confirmation
COMMISSION BEFORE INSTALLATION
NFC tags on devices allowed users to configure them before the
electrician physically installed anything, scan a device still in its
box, assign it to a room, name it. A complete logical map of the home
before a single fixture is mounted.
3
Steps to commission any device (Scan → Confirm → Done)
vs. multi-step manual entry
Pre-
Install commissioning, novel in consumer lighting space
Competitive differentiator
Three commissioning paths served different installer scenarios: Scan
for Devices (BLE auto-discovery), Add Manually (serial number from
packaging), QR Code / NFC Tap (pre-installation). Each path
converged to the same Rename → Assign → Confirm flow, minimizing
training overhead for mixed installer teams.
Decision: Device Naming Inside Commissioning
Naming was embedded in setup (not deferred to settings) because post-setup renaming rates were extremely low in comparable products. If users didn't name during commissioning, they never would, leaving them with "IRIS Color Bulb 1" forever. Forcing the moment increased permanent naming adoption significantly.
Designed for Property Managers and Power Users
A differentiating capability unavailable in basic consumer
competitors: multiple properties from a single account. Vacation
homes, rental properties, and secondary residences, each with
distinct settings, schedules, and user permissions.
3
Home size templates: Small
(≤100), Medium (100–200), Large (≤500 devices)
PRO
Temporary installer role with
configurable auto-expiration
B2B pattern transferred to
B2C
THREE USER ROLES
01
Home Owner — Full admin, all settings
Complete access to device management, user management, schedules, and system configuration.
02
User — Lighting control only, no settings
Family members, guests, can control lights and run scenes but cannot change any configuration.
03
Home Owner — Full admin, all settings
Electrician or commissioning agent. Account deactivates automatically when work is complete. No manual revocation required. The key B2B to-B2C transfer insight from commercial deployments.
Manage Homes
Manage Homes: property list → size template picker
(Small/Medium/Large) → home configuration → invite code to join
Manage Users
User list (15 shown) → Add User → Role selection (HomeOwner / User / PRO) → Custom role builder with permissions matrix
Activities
Schedule builder → Area selector → Custom timing + Circadian Rhythm (Automatic GPS / Manual phases with color swatches)
Scheduling That Knows When the Sun Sets
Activities differentiated the app most sharply from basic
competitors. Rather than simple on/off timers, the system supported
a full circadian rhythm engine, automatically adjusting color
temperature and brightness based on time of day and actual
sunrise/sunset data for the user's geographic location.
2
Circadian modes: GPS Automatic + Manual Phase Builder
Novice and power user paths
5
Predefined life phases: Wake, Day, Relax, Dinner, Sleep
Emotional language, not Kelvin values
Decision: Offset Controls for Sunrise/Sunset
Users wanted lights that came on before the sun fully rose, waking up to brightening light, not darkness then sudden brightness. The offset control (−30 min, −15 min, etc.) solved this in user-language terms without exposing absolute times that would need seasonal adjustment.
Decision: Color Swatches as Phase Identifiers
Scheduling phases were anchored by warm color swatches, not temperature values. The "Relax" phase at 17:30 was set by choosing a warm amber swatch, not entering 2700K. Emotional language replaced technical specification, lowering the cognitive bar for feature adoption.
05
OUTCOMES AND MEASURED IMPACT
TRANSLATING B2B DEPTH Consumer Confidence
The project produced a consumer product capable of competing directly against established apps, while preserving the technical depth that made enterprise valuable in commercial environments.
UX QUALITY & VALIDATION
4→1
Mesh configuration proposals reduced to a single zero-decision Auto Select model, complexity eliminated, not simplified
~70%
Daily lighting control tasks reachable in a single tap, up from 3+ taps in initial prototype
0
Manual mesh configuration decisions required by end user in final Auto Select model
500+
Maximum device scale per property, surpassing every primary consumer competitor
3
User roles designed covering the full spectrum from daily resident control to professional installation
25+
Stakeholder milestone presentations aligning Engineering, Product, and Executive leadership
DESIGN DELIVERABLES
Customer AI Architecture
Areas / Zones / Devices / Accessories hierarchy maps to how users think about their homes, not how lighting hardware is organized. Zero technical terminology exposed at the top level.
BLE Topology Abstraction
Mesh networking, subnet configuration, and repeater node management rendered fully invisible to consumers, while remaining accessible to PRO installers who need precise control.
Circadian Differentiation
GPS-based circadian engine with emotional-language scheduling positioned this app significantly above basic on/off timer competitors in the premium smart home segment.
NFC Pre-Install Innovation
Pre-installation commissioning via NFC/QR reduced on-site setup time and enabled a configure-then-install workflow novel in the consumer lighting space at time of release.
Design System Foundation
Two-tone color strategy, motion semantics, and a component library established a coherent visual system for future feature development and platform scaling.
Multi-Home Market Segment
Property manager and vacation home capability, not addressed by any primary competitor, opened a premium market segment beyond the single-residence consumer.
06
REFLECTION
WHAT THIS PROJECT TAUGHT ME
Six durable insights that shaped how I approach consumer IoT and complex system design going forward.
Insight 01
Engineering confidence unlocks better UX
The shift to the final Auto Select model only became possible when engineering confirmed system confidence in choosing optimal repeater nodes. The best UX decision, remove the decision entirely, required trusting engineering data. Cross-functional candor produced the best outcome, not good design alone.
Insight 02
B2B to B2C is translation, not simplification
The initial instinct was to simplify the enterprise experience. The better frame: translate. The same underlying capabilities (subnet management, role-based access, multi-site control) needed expression in consumer language and mental models. The PRO role and multi-home features came directly from B2B and became differentiators in B2C.
Insight 03
DAILY-USE SCREENS DESERVE 80% OF DESIGN EFFORT
Light Control, opened 10–20 times per day, received the most iteration, user testing, and engineering negotiation. The accordion model, dual-level controls, and status indicators all resulted from multiple feedback rounds. Daily ritual screens matter far more than configuration screens.
Insight 04
Large stakeholder presentations sharpen thinking
Designing for milestone presentations to 25+ stakeholders forced articulation and rationale documentation that made the work stronger. When you have to explain why an accordion beats a drill-down to a room full of engineers, you either sharpen your argument or change your design.
Insight 05
Color semantics as primary communication
Encoding warm amber as "active" and cool grey as "inactive", without labels, was validated by users who navigated correctly on first use. When color semantics are consistent and intuitive, text labels become optional rather than load-bearing. This is the highest form of status design.
Insight 06
Emotional language beats technical specifications
Scheduling features landed better when named Wake-Up, Relax, Dinner, Sleep than when labeled by Kelvin temperature. The circadian engine was technically sophisticated; the UI had to make it feel like curating a mood, not programming a system. Emotional interface on a technical substrate is the core craft challenge of consumer IoT design.
