Chroma App

Asked to create NuTone’s forthcoming Chroma App. The challenge to create a vision and scope for NuTone’s forthcoming Chroma App that balances customer value perception, design and development effort, usability, and growth potential.

The Problem-Opportunity

Marketing research shows smart lighting to grow $20 billion by 2023, and customers are quickly adopting intelligent lights for the promise of connectivity in their smart homes. NuTone’s new connected product combined RGB lighting and ventilation to test this market.

Balanced Feature Set

The proposed MVP balanced the right amount of desirability and feasibility in the feature set for a first version companion app. The focus is on the value proposition with the most potential to “WOW” by creating custom colors and sequences while maintaining feasibility.

As a self-care spa person, I want to use “chromatherapy” to set a relaxing or energizing scene during my routines in the bath or shower.
— User Story

Prototype, Validate and Repeat

To validate our assumptions we quickly moved to concept wire-frames of the product map and architecture to show the system and constraints. Also, to further validate the critical user-flows with an interactive “click-thru” prototype testing it with users to find any usability issues.

UI/UX Best Practices

Established conventions already exist in lighting controls, the app follows these best UI practices. An opportunity to innovate, we learned in interviews, was to go beyond utility and focus on the emotional value of creating custom “Scenes” for routines and circadian rhythm.

Results

The achievement of getting this first version out quickly is to evaluate interest in the potential growth market. And more importantly, having a community of early adopters helps define what it is in learnings for the next versions. The app is currently available in app stores.

Product Team: Adrian Taylor Producer and Tiffany Bialostosky Manager