I was tasked with addressing a critical need for modern conference rooms: the lack of intuitive controls for complex systems like lighting, audiovisual (AV), and climate. The core challenge was to design a unified touch panel interface that could simplify these disparate controls to ensure a seamless user experience.

My goal was high: I needed the UX/UI to be so intuitive that it required minimum onboarding—even more so than typical smart home control panels. I aimed to make the experience as simple as using a rental car or a ticket machine at a train station, where users instinctively know exactly what to do upon viewing the interface.

The interface also had to accommodate a specific room setup: a table seating 12 people (each with an HDMI input and a microphone with a mute button), a local PA, a 75-inch display, and speakers situated around the room.

The solution I developed was a comprehensive, unified touch panel interface. This design was specifically tailored for the technical constraint of the Creston TS-1070 touch panel, operating at a 1920 x 1200 resolution.

I designed the system to include two user modes: Quick Mode and Advanced Mode, ensuring accessible touch targets and catering to varying user needs. My UI design philosophy focused rigorously on making the resulting interface clean, simple, and accessible, ultimately aiming for a truly intuitive experience.

Functionally, the interface of a Home Screen incorporates controls for the
- Quick Mode, where user can select presets,
- Advanced Mode, where they can access all Audio, Video, Lighting and Climate Controls, and
- general Settings, like Room Set Up or Presets setting.

This way, users are first presented with screens that are used more often, and can easily progress to more complex settings if needed. Disclosing information gradually in such way aligns with both Hick's Law and Miller's Law, and helps reduce the decision making time and users’ cognitive load.

My design process was structured into a few stages, beginning with the Research & Define stage, where I focused on understanding the brief and formulating early ideas. I analysed examples of similar UI, e.g. smart home controls, but also considered the challenges and differences between those and conference room control panels. The solution needed to be highly contextual, so I made it a priority to think about the space, visualising the specific conference room environment to gain inspiration and ensure better results. I also looked at the examples of touchscreens that users interact with without any prior onboarding.

This foundational work included defining the information architecture, establishing the design principles, and proactively identifying potential pain points (what could go wrong...) alongside brainstorming effective solutions, including accessibility (...and how to avoid it).

During the Ideation & Wireframing phase, I generated first drafts to get the creative process off the ground, thinking through drawing, and making visual notes to ensure I included all the required features. This was an iterative process involving wireframing by hand as well as designing in Figma.

My continuous development was guided by the principle to keep it clean, while looking for the right solution and deliver an intuitive experience.

The project concluded with the delivery of the final screen designs for the Home Page, Quick Mode, and Advanced Mode. A key deliverable was the interactive prototype, which demonstrated essential navigation, specifically the journey from the Home Page to the Quick Mode AV section, and into the Advanced Mode: Audio (and back).

The impact I was aiming for was a highly intuitive and accessible design, which would allow each user to navigate though settings seamlessly, without confusion or cognitive overload.