Loewe os
How to improve the operating system of a television?
Challenge
Created in 1923, Loewe is well known for their premium home entertainment products with a minimalistic industrial design, all made-in Germany.
As part of a team involving Product Marketing, Customer Service, Engineering and Design, I am in charge of leading the design process.
From conceptualizing new features to the final release, I make sure that the softwares are ready on time for the 500 000 televisions on the market.
The design process
Ideas
Wether they come from user feedback or from the team itself, the ideas are discussed and prioritized during regular meetings. They can be about new features, redesigns, improvements, fixes... And are followed by creative sessions where we look for inspirations and competitors to draw the first concepts.
→ This step is like a funnel: looking for every possible paths and then narrow our searches to what really matters.
Wireframes
The wireframes explain the concept and the user stories to the team, to check that all the requirements are met. They also help me to make sure that all the Ux aspects are taken into accounts, without spending time on visual design.
→ This step is very important, especially to discuss the thinking behind the concept and technical feasibility with non-designers.
Visual Design
After the refinement of all detailed wireframes comes the researches for the user interface. It consists in making the screens more appealing by improving the user experience through illustrations, typography, space, layouts, color... Feedback loops within the team often happens to check whether the visuals match the requirements.
→ This step is the last one before delivering the styleguide with assets and components to the software team.
The result:
A sleek, minimalistic and no-frills user-centered interface.
Music Player
Play music on the TV and get the covers displayed in a beautiful way.
Live TV
A simple info bar that only shows what matters: the running content and the upcoming program.
Recommendations
Get recommendations based on your watching history and the programs or genres you are most interested in.
Quick Settings
Easy access to the most important settings directly in the home screen.
What did I learn ?
Improving the operating system requires to embrace the company's vision, learn how to popularize ideas and fight for them. Especially while leading the design process.
The complex architecture of the "Loewe os" means a complex implementation with constraints . Each new software being released every 3 to 4 months, a lot of feedback loops are necessary to meet the technical feasibilities and the deadlines.
Conclusion
My tasks included to deliver 4 major softwares updates downloaded on more than 500k devices, with a range of 9 different models. Designing a minimalistic yet relevant Ui and Ux is a real challenge.
Even with a limited set of knowledge about our users and the complexity of testing prototypes, we managed to overcome those issues. Gut feeling, intuition, experience and trust accross the whole team helped bringing the concepts forward.