TL;DR

Control4 smart homes were configured entirely by dealers, leaving homeowners dependent for every change. As core designer on Connect & Assist, I designed the subscription experience end to end — onboarding, plan management, remote support — turning a dealer-only setup into a self-serve product homeowners actually understand. Some details are anonymized to protect confidential data.

• 100+ production screens shipped across two releases

• Self-serve subscription management with no dealer call required

• A cohesive visual identity adopted as the team’s creative anchor

The Problem

Every account change routed through a dealer, which frustrated homeowners and didn’t scale as a recurring-revenue business. The challenge: give homeowners direct control without undermining the dealer relationship Control4 is built on. Constraints included a locked hardware ecosystem, brand guidelines shared across Snap One, and release trains we couldn’t move.

My Role

I owned the homeowner-facing experience: onboarding, plan review, support flows, and the subscription tier’s visual identity. I contributed to — but didn’t own — dealer-side tooling and pricing. I was personally responsible for the decision to lead with plan value instead of feature lists, and I pushed back on burying remote support behind the dealer directory.

Research & Insights

Working with a UX writer, I ran homeowner interviews and support-ticket analysis. Key findings: homeowners didn’t know what their system could do; “call your dealer” felt like a dead end after hours; and trust in remote access hinged on visible control over permissions.

Exploration & Design Process

I explored a utility-style settings approach versus a premium, membership-style experience. The settings direction was faster to build but made the subscription feel like a bill. We chose the membership framing — a dark, premium visual language with clear plan value — and iterated weekly with engineering on feasibility across the device fleet.

Validation & Testing

UserTesting sessions with homeowners across age groups validated onboarding and plan review. I was wrong about the permissions model: my first design front-loaded every option, and testers froze. We moved to progressive disclosure — sensible defaults with an audit trail — and comprehension scores recovered.

Final Solution & Impact

Connect & Assist shipped as a self-serve subscription homeowners can set up in minutes, with remote support that no longer requires a phone call. Collaborators described the work as “a cohesive visual identity,” and the system I built became the reference point for subsequent product design across the team.

Reflection & Credits

I’d bring dealers into testing earlier next time — their buy-in shaped adoption as much as the homeowner UX. Credit to the Snap One design org, our UX writer Aimee Keeble, engineering, and PM partners across two releases.