Google Nest

A concept project of Google

A concept project
of Google

Redesigning a single user thermostat for shared, multi user offices

Redesigning a single user thermostat for shared, multi user offices

User interaction design, Motion design, Design systems, Branding, Prototyping · 2024

01

Context

Shared officesThermostatClimate controlCollaboration

Nest was built for homes, where one person controls the thermostat.

Shared offices have shifting occupancy and conflicting comfort preferences, and Nest had no way to handle that. People stayed quiet rather than being “that person” who touched the dial, while the office swung from cold mornings to overheated evenings. This project redesigns the Nest Thermostat for shared workplaces, turning climate control into a smoother, friendlier, and more collaborative interaction.

02

My Role

UI Lead

UX Research and UX Writing on a 4 person team.

Across the project
UI Lead
UX Research
UX Writing
03

Timeline

10weeks
Problem

A single user device, forced into a multi user space

Nest assumes one household, one preference. In an office, that assumption breaks down into a silent tug of war over the thermostat, and nobody wants to be the one who moves it first.

Try turning the dial
Solution

Shift Nest from single user control to collaborative participation

3 decisions shaped it:

Understanding the stakeholders

Understanding the stakeholders

Three different people share one platform, learners trying to finish an exam, admins building and managing assessments, and customers accessing exam codes for their teams. One login screen served all three, and couldn’t tell them apart.

A normal Monday morning in the office

One office. Different comfort needs.

01
Too cold to focus
02
Too hot by afternoon
03
One setting, many needs
Scroll
Too cold to focus
Too hot by afternoon
One setting, many needs
User Research

Understanding the users

Source: Cornell University
0%
of office workers say temperature affects their productivity

The current Nest Thermostat was designed for homes, but offices have different needs, shared spaces, changing occupancy, and conflicting employee preferences

Cartoon of two office workers discussing the thermostat
Design Research

Visual and flow research grounded every design decision

0
Images gathered
The mood board kickstarted with developing an image bank
Images filtered
After consolidation and analysis using design directives
Top image references
Visual direction selection completed
Mobile and device screens iterated
Visual direction selection completed
Problem Statement
Howmightwecreateanexperiencethatenhancescomfortandproductivitywhilegivingemployeesthefreedomtoaddintheirpreferences
Comfort and productivity
Freedom to personalize

Flow #1

Joining a room

9:41

Hello, Kevin!

Welcome to Google Nest!

68
degrees
57
percent

My favorite rooms

Meeting Room 105
Conference Room 2
1

Scan to join. The QR code lives on the thermostat itself. Walk in, scan, done.

2

Join Room or Scan QR. Both sit on the home screen for anyone who opens the app first.

3

Favorite rooms stay pinned. The meeting someone joins every week doesn't need to be searched for again.

4

Under five seconds. Joining a room takes as long as it takes to notice the device is there.

Flow #2

Checking status and overriding

1

The dial still works. Anyone can turn it by hand, the way a Nest always has.

2

One new question. How long should this setting hold?

3

1 hour, 2 hours, until the next meeting. A quick end time replaces an indefinite override.

4

It resets itself. Nobody has to remember to turn it back.

Flow #3

Leaderboard

My Stats phone
Leaderboard phone
Standings list
1

Energy use becomes a score. Every room's savings turn into points.

2

Progress, not just a number. Rank, average time in a room, current streak.

3

Top three on a podium. Current standings, visible to the whole office.

4

A rank attached. Saving energy stops being abstract.

Design System
App Building Blocks
Device Building Blocks
App
Device
Choices and trade-offs
#1
#2
#3
Chose collaborative participation over single user control
The harder design problem, but a single user model would have just moved the thumb war from the thermostat to the app.
Nest app screens
Impact
0
0%32%
0%43%
Total tasks tested with users
Testers expected the device to behave more like a touchscreen app than it currently does
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Nest app and device
Reflection
What this UX project taught me
01
Comfort is a shared experience, not a setting
The whole redesign followed from treating temperature as a social problem, not a technical one
02
Testing changes what ships, not just what's preferred
The A/B result on scheduling and the device feedback on touchscreen expectations both directly shaped the final screens
03
A utilitarian tool can still feel human
Lighter colors and rounded corners weren't decoration
They were part of making a point of office tension feel less tense
Nest smart office
Nest
Thank you
That is Nest: a smart office designed around shared comfort. If it sparked something, I would love to talk.
Email meLinkedIn
Symbiote
Made in motion
01Symbiote· Blender 3D

I sculpt motion out of nothing.

  • 3D modeling
  • Particle simulation
  • Lighting
01 / 05

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