This project was developed at the Apple Developer Academy by a team of five students, with the challenge of building a product from end to end. Our goal was to create a solution that combined comfort, modernity, and accessibility in the field of home automation for Brazilian households.
We designed aether to deliver the best balance of cost efficiency, intuitive usability, and seamless integration, making smart home technology more approachable and practical for everyday use.
Jan, 2020
COMPANY
Apple developer Academy
Methodology
At the Apple Developer Academy, we worked with the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) framework, an approach that combines learning with solving real-world problems. The framework is structured into three phases: Engage, Investigate, and Act.
Each phase prepares the team for the next step, while offering opportunities to apply different design and research methodologies. This structure helped us stay focused, test ideas iteratively, and move from problem to solution in a clear, systematic way.
Phase 1: Engage
In the first phase, we moved from an abstract big idea to a concrete and actionable challenge. To get there, we held brainstorming sessions, shared ideas, and voted as a team.
After several discussions, everyone gravitated toward the theme of home automation, which we decided to move forward with as the foundation for our project.
Big Idea – Home automation
Essential Question – How can we popularize automation systems in Brazil?
Challenge – Provide an accessible home automation system
As we refined our brainstorm, we realized that while home automation is common in some countries, it’s still not widely adopted in Brazil. This insight led us to focus our challenge on accessibility — turning our essential question into an actionable goal: make home automation available and affordable for Brazilian households.
Phase 2: Investigate
In the investigation phase, we generated questions to guide our learning and uncover barriers to adopting home automation. To do this, we combined benchmarking, online research, focus groups, and surveys.
Benchmark
We contacted service providers and found that prices could reach as high as R$1000 per lamp, making home automation prohibitively expensive.
Focus group
Participants expressed interest in home automation but believed it was costly and difficult to install.
Survey
Around 50% of respondents said that labor and installation requirements discouraged them from pursuing these products.
Phase 2: Act
In the Act phase, we moved from insights to implementation, developing an evidence-based solution. The idea we found most suitable was:
Propose an app that works with a lamp adaptor to automate house lights.
We began by defining the core features using a value proposition canvas, then designed the user flow, and finally developed the UI through iterative studies.
After completing the UI study, I began developing the design system and mapping out the full user flow journey within the app. In parallel, we built the lamp adaptor prototype using a 3D printer and an ESP32 microcontroller for the hardware component.
To validate the first version of the user flow, we ran a usability test with 15 participants, 5 of whom had prior experience installing lamp adaptors. The feedback revealed opportunities to improve copywriting and user interactions. Based on these insights, we made adjustments that enhanced clarity and created a smoother experience.
Final solution
The first version of the app’s interface presented a clean, well-structured layout designed to ensure readability and ease of use. A special focus was placed on refining the onboarding flow, so users could install and set up the lamp adaptor without difficulty.
Beta testers
To validate the first version of our product, we delivered six adaptors to beta testers. Each participant received the hardware at home, downloaded the app, and went through the full installation process. They then used the system over several weeks, giving us real-world insights into usability and performance.
"I already had a really great experience with your digital product, but I loved how the accessory was delivered!The logo in the adapter… the card with the QR code! It shows that you’ve put effort to create a great experience"
"I just loved the care you’ve put on everything! It’s all really well done!”
"You guys managed to reproduce very well the feeling of opening a smart light from a consolidated brand.”
Learnings
This project was one of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve had, blending technology, design, and business. It was my first time working on an app connected to hardware, which taught me a great deal about service design and how to integrate technologies beyond mobile.
NEXT PROJECT
Sometimes I like to play around doing UI Challenges. It's a fun way for me to work on my visual skills and creativity.
