View Dynamic Glass
Mobile App Experience and Visual Design
View came to our experience design team at New Deal Design with an exciting challenge—help create a functional sample of their technology which can be used for sales and define a mobile app which allows people to control the product from their phones. Our goal was to create something as simple as a light switch but as functional as a Philips Hue.
View's core technology is an architectural product and system for dynamic window tinting. The system uses a series of sensors on the roof of a building synced with zones of specialized windows. Tinting levels automatically respond to the orientation of the building and location of the sun.
Once the View Dynamic Glass system is installed into a building, it can be controlled through a mobile app. Although the system automatically tints to create desirable interior conditions it was important for View that the occupants of the building retain control. Our final solution provided unique experiences for different types of people. Building managers have total control and define the experience of building tenants. They can monitor the present and future behavior of the glass across zones and manage specific user permissions. Building tenants can only control and schedule tinting levels of their designated zones. Most importantly this accommodates a range of scales as the View control app is used in different types of buildings.
App Architecture and Wireframes
Our team used an Invision to prototype, iterate, and refine the app architecture, outline app features, and specify user types—before setting out on a final visual design.
Sign In and Welcome Tips
Since the View App is a companion app to a specific hardware system, the app requires an account to use. Once signed in, first-time users are greeted with brief tips on the core features of the app.
Tint Controller
The tint controller is the main feature of the app and acts as an on demand controller for the tint level. Tint zones and time durations can be selected. Once a desired tint level is confirmed the controller becomes locked while the tint change is in progress.
Live View
Included in View’s building hardware system is a sun level recognition system. These sensors detect and predict the sun’s location and offer an automatic tint schedule that corresponds. User’s can monitor and edit this automatic program.
Tint Schedule and Scenes
Scheduling future tint programs can be done in the app by selecting times, tint levels, and desired zones (groups of windows). Scenes are presets that can be created. For instance if building managers want to turn all tint levels on or off at a given time of day.
Tinting Zones
Tinting zones and zone groups give building managers a way to manage their view glass how they see fit. This feature was created to give the building managers of a 40 story building the same level of control as a 4 story building.
Design Intent Documentation
The final design was documented for an engineering team at View to execute. Although this project was completed in 2015, as of June 2020 a version of this same app can still be found on the iOS app store.
To demonstrate the functionality of View's fundamental product we helped conceptualize a demo unit which uses a physical dial and simplified mobile app to tint a small piece of View's Dynamic Glass.
