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
Role UX/UI Designer
Timeline 9 Months
Users Smart TV Viewers
Scope TV interface, mobile companion app, user research, wireframes, visual design
Outcome +20% interaction, +15% content consumption
Scale America Consumer Rollout
Initial Findings
When I first reviewed Sharp’s SmartCentral interface, I noticed a familiar issue in smart TV design: too much content competing for attention and not enough clarity. Viewers had to dig through crowded menus to find what they wanted, and the experience felt disconnected across TV, mobile, and tablet.
Sharp wanted more than a visual refresh. They needed an interface that encouraged people to watch more, explore more, and return often. The challenge was to create something effortless for casual viewers while still offering customization and control for advanced streamers.
What We Had to Solve
The brief sounded simple but carried complexity in practice: design a seamless entertainment experience that worked naturally across multiple devices. The solution needed to make browsing and watching intuitive, present a wide range of content without overwhelming users, and maintain a consistent design system from TV to mobile.
How Might We
Deliver a frictionless entertainment experience that adapts to varying user expertise?
Make browsing, searching, and watching content feel effortless across devices?
Present a wealth of content in a way that feels simple, inviting, and easy to navigate?
How We Tackled It
Understanding the Smart TV Landscape
We studied platforms from Sony, Samsung, LG, and Sharp’s previous models. This revealed strengths and pitfalls in their design approaches, helping us find gaps we could improve.
Designing for Different User Types
We mapped out UX tiers for basic, intermediate, and advanced users. Each group got tailored UI cues, from simplified navigation to profile-level customizations. This approach helped us serve diverse needs without one-size-fits-all compromises.
Exploring the Right Visual Voice
We developed three distinct mood boards to explore personality, tone, and motion: "Conservative" focused on clarity and load time, "Under the Hood" prioritized typography and flow, and "Cinematic" added depth with transparency and focus. The chosen direction offered immersive visuals while staying lightweight and approachable.
Crafting Modular Wireframes
We created hundreds of wireframes to build clean, repeatable user journeys. Each interaction emphasized clarity, easy access to content, and minimal cognitive load. Whether watching TV or browsing the app, users always knew what to do next.
Building for Cross-Device Continuity
We designed mobile and tablet experiences to mirror the TV UI in tone and logic. This gave users fluid control across devices, especially when browsing, casting, or switching content. A unified interaction model made the ecosystem feel seamless.
The Outcome
The redesign launched as SmartCentral 4.0 and delivered measurable impact. User interaction rose by 20 percent, and content consumption increased by 15 percent. Most importantly, we built a platform that adapted to different types of viewers, from grandparents seeking simplicity to advanced users managing multiple content sources.
20%
Boost in User Interaction
15%
More ncrease in Content Consumption
A Platform
That Adapted to Everyone
Discover Experience
Out of the Box Experience
What I Learned
Simplicity is Powerful
This project taught me that stripping away clutter doesn't mean removing functionality, it means surfacing the right elements at the right time. Creating space in the UI gave users confidence and control, no matter their comfort level with technology.
Smart Doesn’t Mean Complicated
Working on SmartCentral reinforced the idea that even the most powerful features need to feel simple. Good design helps users feel in control, not overwhelmed.
Balancing UX for All Skill Levels
From grandparents to power streamers, every user deserved an elegant, accessible experience. Designing for varying expertise helped build a product that truly welcomed everyone.
