Nest Thermostat Redesign
Student Project
Google Nest Thermostat Redesign for Office
Overview
In a team project at SCAD, we discovered that traditional smart thermostats frequently led to disputes in shared office spaces, negatively impacting comfort and morale. To solve this, we redesigned the Nest thermostat experience with a friendly, office-focused aesthetic. We introduced a system that calculated the average of everyone’s preferred temperatures—what we called the “halfway happy” office temperature.
This approach fostered comfort and mutual understanding, improved morale through teamwork, and helped employees feel more positive and connected to their workspace and colleagues.
Methods
Gantt Chart, Kanban Chart, A/B Testing, Usability Testing
Meet the Team
Team of 6
My Role
Project Manager, UX Designer
Tool
Figma, Figjam, Zoom
Duration
10 Weeks, 2024 Sep.- Nov.
My Responsibility
Organized and facilitated weekly team meetings; created and maintained Kanban and Gantt charts to track project roadmap and deliverables.
Coordinated handoff between the thermostat hardware team and the mobile team to ensure alignment and smooth integration.
Designed user flows and developed 50+ interactive prototypes in Figma; created and executed A/B testing frameworks to evaluate usability and interaction patterns, refining designs through 5 iterative cycles.
Designed the project’s magazine and lookbook, crafting a cohesive visual narrative that reflected the cheerful, office-focused aesthetic.
Key Takeaways
Experience rarely satisfies everyone 100%. Instead, a fair and transparent system that makes people feel heard and included could help users find what they are looking for.
In-time design documentation, including design status, comments, and the rationale behind the changes, is helpful for design handoffs between 2 different teams.
At a Glance
Context
Goals
The goal emphasizes a friendly, user-centered design, aiming to transform the thermostat from a functional tool into a positive part of the working experience, creating a lasting connection between the office and employees.
Constraints
Explore
Visual style exploration
Collected and analyzed 100+ visual references to identify themes of cheerfulness and friendliness. From this research, I distilled key elements, including color palettes, shapes, layouts, and patterns, into a visual guideline that aligned with themes.
Ideate
Main functions
Device
Focuses on temperature control and scheduling, enabling quick adjustments, overrides, and on-device access to key features.
Mobile
Emphasizes feedback and room selection, allowing users to share preferences, browse rooms, and track team energy savings.
Prototype & Testing
User Flow
Device
Mobile
Testing
27
Participants
50+
Feedback
The team used task analysis and A/B Testing to conduct user testing. The screening criteria for the participants are that they need to be within the 20-45 age range and have work experience.
In the A/B test, 70% of participants preferred Option B, citing its alignment with the room info page and the addition of the arc design, which was perceived as friendly and visually appealing. Participants felt the arc added a playful, inviting touch to the interface.
Only 20% chose Option A, while 10% indicated that a preview and confirmation step was unnecessary.
Iteration
Deliver
Mobile
Device
