Hearth

Cross-Platform Design

Cross-Platform Design

UX Research

Mobile + TV

Prototyping

A smart home app where everyone in the household gets their own space, not just whoever set it up.

Right now, one person sets up the smart home and everyone else is locked out. Your mom wants to turn off a light but she'd need a full account to do that. You open the app and it's all your dad's routines. And nobody can see who's allowed to control what.

Hearth lets you invite household members with a link instead of a full account, gives everyone their own profile with personal routines and preferences, and makes permissions visible so people actually know what they can and can't control.

Methods

Research

Competitive Audit

Contextual Interviews

Insight Synthesis

Design

Frictionless Invite Flow

Profile Switching & My Comfort

Permission Management

Validation

Household Usability Testing

Onboarding Iteration

Permission Visibility Testing

©2026 | Kevin gao

huawengao@gmail.com

©2026 | Kevin gao

huawengao@gmail.com