Problem statement
Home Assistant has a high perceived barrier to entry. We have a goal of making Home Assistant more approachable by reducing early use friction and shifting the perception away from being a technical product.
Part of this perception is driven by how the product looks and feels. The current UI does not align with the brand and experience presented in marketing, creating a disconnect that reinforces the perception of a technical product.
This inconsistency is caused by the absence of a defined visual design direction for Open Home Foundation products. Visual decisions today are driven by existing frameworks and personal choices rather than a shared standard.
As a result, the product lacks visual coherence, and contributors do not have clear guidance on how the product should look.
Scope & Boundaries
In scope
- Color palette
- Typography
- Imagery and iconography direction
- Shapes and forms (for example border radius, elevation, density)
- Layout and spacing rules
Out of scope
- Frontend implementation or refactoring
- Product redesign
- Text writing guidelines or terminology
- Full design system website
- UI pattern or component library
Foreseen solution
This bet follows a two-step approach.
1. Define visual direction
- Create a moodboard based on the existing brand identity
- Explore a small number of visual directions if needed
- Align on a single, clear direction
2. Translate into visual foundations
- Define color roles and palette
- Define typography system and hierarchy
- Define rules for shapes, density, and visual style
- Define layout and spacing principles
Deliverables
- Moodboard capturing the visual direction
- Visual direction document
- Defined color and typography systems with usage examples
- 3–5 UI mockups showing the direction applied (before/after where useful)
Community signals
- Designers are interested in contributing but lack clear visual direction
- UI contributions vary in visual style and quality
- Repeated discussions about colors, spacing, and styling without shared standards
- Feedback pointing out mismatch between marketing and product visuals
Risks & open questions
- Risk of being too abstract and not actionable
- Open question how this evolves into a broader system later
Appetite
No response
Execution issues
No response
Decision log
Problem statement
Home Assistant has a high perceived barrier to entry. We have a goal of making Home Assistant more approachable by reducing early use friction and shifting the perception away from being a technical product.
Part of this perception is driven by how the product looks and feels. The current UI does not align with the brand and experience presented in marketing, creating a disconnect that reinforces the perception of a technical product.
This inconsistency is caused by the absence of a defined visual design direction for Open Home Foundation products. Visual decisions today are driven by existing frameworks and personal choices rather than a shared standard.
As a result, the product lacks visual coherence, and contributors do not have clear guidance on how the product should look.
Scope & Boundaries
In scope
Out of scope
Foreseen solution
This bet follows a two-step approach.
1. Define visual direction
2. Translate into visual foundations
Deliverables
Community signals
Risks & open questions
Appetite
No response
Execution issues
No response
Decision log