Sharp Smart TV
A Smarter and Smoother Viewing Experience
Sharp SmartCentral 4.0 is an advanced user interface designed for Sharp's AQUOS 4K TV line. This line integrates seamlessly with smartphones and tablets, providing users with a unified experience for discovering and accessing content from various sources, both online and offline. The design emphasizes minimalism and user-friendliness, ensuring that users can navigate and enjoy their media without interruption.
Project Snapshot
Challenge
Design a seamless, intuitive UI for a diverse user base, balancing advanced features and simplicity
Goal
Create a visually appealing, minimal, and user-friendly smart TV platform that increases engagement and satisfaction.
Result
SmartCentral 4.0 delivered a 20% increase in user interaction and a 15% rise in content consumption, positioning Sharp as a strong smart TV competitor.
My Role
As the UX/UI designer for Sharp SmartCentral 4.0, I work along side the design team through a comprehensive research and design process. My responsibilities included conducting user research, creating wireframes, developing mood boards, and ensuring the final design met both user needs and business goals. We collaborated closely with Sharp team to align the design with Sharp's vision and technical capabilities.
Challenge
The core challenge was designing an interface that catered to both basic and advanced users, supporting a wide array of content sources and device integrations. The solution needed to remain visually minimal and intuitive, overcoming the complexity and clutter typical of smart TV platforms.
Business Goals
Increase user engagement and content consumption on Sharp’s AQUOS 4K TVs
Differentiate Sharp’s smart TV experience through intuitive design and seamless device integration
How Might We
Deliver a frictionless entertainment experience that adapts to varying user expertise?
Integrate mobile and tablet controls for seamless cross-device interaction?
Present a wealth of content in a way that feels simple, inviting, and easy to navigate?
Research
Our research began with a thorough competitor analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing smart TV interfaces. We examined user feedback on previous Sharp Smart TV models and analyzed market trends to pinpoint opportunities for improvement. This research phase included defining user personas and mapping out their needs and behaviors, which informed our design direction
Competitor Analysis
We benchmarked Sony, Samsung, LG, and Sharp’s previous year platforms:
Sony: Focused on content integration with a “content buffet” approach and a one-flick interface for quick access, but suffered from a cluttered layout and heavy emphasis on Sony content.
Samsung : Offered a robust, familiar platform with many features and a new remote, but users found it overwhelming, with some features feeling geeky and underutilized.
LG: Revamped their UI for fast switching and a marketable aesthetic; users appreciated the simplicity, but TV channel functionality lagged and the focus was mostly on apps.
Sharp (previous year): Prioritized pure access to all content with a stripped-back aesthetic and simple navigation, but users noted slow load times and a lack of organization within content categories.
Pain Points
Overly complex or cluttered interfaces that overwhelm users.
Difficulty in discovering and accessing content from multiple sources
Inconsistent or unintuitive navigation, especially with remote controls
Lack of personalization and adaptability for different user skill levels
Ideate
With these insights, we brainstormed ways to keep the interface clean and focused, while making sure every type of user could find what they needed. We defined user experience tiers for basic, intermediate, and advanced users, ensuring a wholesome journey whether you’re using the TV or the mobile app.
Moodboards
User Experience Distribution
For Sharp SmartCentral 4.0, we set out to create a wholesome experience that adapts to users of all technical backgrounds, from basic to advanced. The platform was thoughtfully designed to cater to three main user groups:
Basic Users: Those who want simple, straightforward access to TV and streaming. The design ensures they can find and enjoy their favorite shows without confusion or frustration.
Intermediate Users: Comfortable with apps and some customization. Their experience is enriched without overwhelming them, striking a balance between simplicity and flexibility.
Advanced Users: Tech-savvy viewers who want richer features and deeper control. They can customize their profiles, manage multiple streams, and take full advantage of SmartCentral’s robust capabilities.
By mapping and designing for these distinct user types, we ensured SmartCentral 4.0 delivers a seamless and enjoyable experience, whether accessed through the TV or companion mobile app. This approach helped increase user engagement and satisfaction across the board
Wireframes
Hundreds of wireframes were created to map out logical, uncluttered user journeys. We focused on clear visual hierarchy, ensuring key actions were always accessible and the interface remained clean, even when displaying multiple content streams.
Solution
The final design delivered a minimal, content-focused UI that made it easy to browse, search, and watch from any device. Visual hierarchy was a key focus, ensuring that important elements were easily accessible without cluttering the screen.
Discover Experience
Out of the Box Experience
Implementation and Rollout
We worked closely with Sharp’s engineering to iterating on prototypes and refining the interface through user testing. We also ensured smooth integration between the TV interface and mobile companion app by maintaining consistency and reliability across devices.
Outcome
The final design of SmartCentral 4.0 was well-received, significantly enhancing the user experience for Sharp's AQUOS 4K TV line. The platform's ability to display up to four streams simultaneously and its intuitive control via a tablet app were particularly praised. According to user feedback and market analysis, SmartCentral 4.0 improved user satisfaction and engagement, positioning Sharp as a strong competitor in the smart TV market.
20%
Increase in User Interaction
15%
Rise in Content Consumption
What I Learned
As a UX/UI Designer working on this project, I learned the importance of balancing simplicity with advanced functionality to cater to diverse user needs. The project reinforced the value of thorough user research and iterative design processes in creating an intuitive and seamless experience across multiple devices. Additionally, I gained valuable insights into designing for emerging technologies like smart TVs, which require careful consideration of both traditional UI principles and innovative interaction methods
