Bonfire OS 7.0

Design Sprints

We conducted three design sprints in total, working with the entire team to understand the issues, brainstorm various solutions, evaluate feasibility, and have users validate our ideas. The purpose of the design sprints was to quickly align the team with our goals and rapidly validate ideas in the early stages.

Design Principles

Here are the design principles defined by my team and me for the new version. These principles help us stay focused when facing challenges and making decisions.

Efficient

Provide users with the correct and important information at the right time and context, along with a clear interface, enabling them to efficiently achieve their goals.

Consistent

Enhance interface and interaction consistency to reduce user errors and improve the overall user experience.

Simple

Simplify navigation and information hierarchy, keeping interaction within seven steps per process to reduce cognitive load. Visually, eliminate unnecessary animations and explore light interactions and micro-interactions.

New navigation mode: Cross interaction

Simplify main scene transitions and ensure seamless vertical transitions.

Compared to version 6.0, which required switching back and forth between five spaces, in the new version, we aim to reduce users' cognitive load and operational cost. Based on user behavior, we divided high-frequency functions into three main scenes: Home, Viewing, and Music. The Home scene includes the "Experience" section at the top and "Applications" at the bottom. To the left of the Home is "Music," and to the right is "Viewing." This way, users can access the most frequently used services on the same interaction layer.

This seemingly simple four-direction interaction posed challenges in the design process.

Challenge 1: Inconsistent Up and Down vs. Left and Right interactions

Problem:

For the home page's up, down, left, and right interactions, we defined the top and bottom as part of the home page, allowing direct access to applications with the up or down buttons on the remote. However, the left and right sides were designated for Music and Movie, more purpose-driven scenes. To avoid accidental entries and high transition costs, pressing left or right required a secondary confirmation. However, in user testing, users did not understand the inconsistency in interactions.

Solution:

After identifying the issue, we made the up, down, left, and right interactions consistent and conducted longer user tests. Although users found the consistent interactions easier to understand, the likelihood of accidental entries increased. Therefore, based on our product positioning and error prevention principles, we decided to retain the original design.

Challenge 2: Muscle memory is not applicable in every scenario

Problem:

We defined that when users exit Music or Movie, pressing the back button highlights the home button, requiring OK or left/right keys to return home. However, in user testing, over half the users preferred pressing the back button twice to return home, believing it required less finger movement and better supported muscle memory.

Solution:

After the first user test, we changed the interaction to return to the home page with two presses of the back button. While more intuitive, we questioned if ease of use was most important when exiting an app. We identified two scenarios: "accidental activation" and "clear user intent." For "accidental activation," we provide more return paths. For "clear user intent," we avoid too many paths. Thus, we reverted to the original design.

Global Navigation Bar: Different Levels, Same Convenience

Definition

The global navigation bar helps users quickly switch between different applications and instantly access important and frequently used functions.

Value

Guidance: Provide timely direction when users feel lost or unsure of where to go.
Path Shortening: Help users reduce unnecessary actions and lengthy page transitions.
Access Records: Allow users to easily find recently used services and applications.

Primary Issues Addressed

Reducing Unnecessary User Actions: Minimize the number of steps and cognitive load involved in navigating and switching between applications.

Example

In OS 6.0, if a user is in a space or application other than the "Living Room," it requires six or more actions to find the desired application. Additionally, OS 6.0 lacks a "Recently Used" applications feature.

Interactive Vista: The Light and shadow brought by the digital bonfire

Design concept for interactive Visia based on time framework

1. Time: Based on early user feedback about rhythm space and navigation, we revisited the essence of "all-time" companionship and decided to use "time" as the underlying framework of the system.

2. Light: The digital bonfire is a keyword closely tied to the projector's use scenario and is ownable. Thus, in our visual design, we used the "light" brought by the digital bonfire as another design element.

3. Design Principles: The extended design concept allows for visual changes and atmosphere creation that vary throughout the day.

Interaction design guidelines and definitions

In the past, multiple decision layers, team changes, and insufficient time to communicate content structure and interaction principles, along with agile development split into multiple workflows, led to a lack of the right people, experience, and mechanisms to integrate the system.

We believe clear interaction and visual guidelines help users understand the product, reduce anxiety, and increase enjoyment. For the team, these guidelines create a common language for product managers, designers, and engineers, reducing communication costs and development difficulties.

Other delieverables

Rhythm Space

Why Does Rhythm Space Need Redesigning?

No home page design; users unclear about the value.

OS 6.0

OS 7.0 - Clear copy and functional entry points, removing noise.

High user learning curve reduces desire to use.

OS 6.0 - Too many settings confuse users.

OS 7.0 - Users only need to set the time before each use, minimizing the learning curve.

Not all services require alarm reminders.

OS 6.0 - We allow users to set alarm schedules for all services.

OS 7.0 - We only allow users to set wake-up and sleep alarms.

Help Center

In the previous system, functionalities such as "Help," "Device Tips," and "Accessories" were dispersed across multiple locations, resulting in high cognitive load for users and an increased workload for customer service. To streamline this, we integrated these features into a centralized Help Center in the new system, enabling users to efficiently access solutions and support when needed.