glühen
PROJECT: GLÜHEN
ROLE: UX/UI/MR/VISUALS
DURATION: 3 MONTHS
glühen
PROJECT: GLÜHEN
ROLE: UX/UI/MR/VISUALS
DURATION: 3 MONTHS
glühen
PROJECT: GLÜHEN
ROLE: UX/UI/MR/VISUALS
DURATION: 3 MONTHS
.01
Overview
Glühen is a speculative UX case study that explores how
mixed reality (MR) can improve smart lighting control.
Instead of relying on phones or cluttered apps, the
concept reimagines lighting interfaces as intuitive,
gesture-based experiences users can interact with
directly through an MR headset. This project began as
an experimental prompt to push the boundaries of early-
stage interaction design in immersive spaces.
Objective
Could we make controlling lights as seamless as
flipping a switch—without touching anything at all?
Glühen explores how to reduce friction in smart
lighting through spatial design and natural gestures,
offering an alternative to today's text-heavy apps.
.01
objective
Overview
Overview
With a world heading toward Mixed reality, how could we
Glühen is a speculative UX case study that explores how mixed
reality (MR) can improve smart lighting control. Instead of relying
on phones or cluttered apps, the concept reimagines lighting
interfaces as intuitive, gesture-based experiences users can
interact with directly through an MR headset. This project began as
an experimental prompt to push the boundaries of early-stage
interaction design in immersive spaces.
Glühen is a speculative UX case study that
explores how mixed reality (MR) can improve
smart lighting control. Instead of relying
on phones or cluttered apps, the concept
reimagines lighting interfaces as intuitive,
gesture-based experiences users can interact
with directly through an MR headset. This
project began as an experimental prompt to
push the boundaries of early-stage
interaction design in immersive spaces.
Objective
Could we make controlling lights as seamless as flipping a
switch—without touching anything at all? Glühen explores how to
reduce friction in smart lighting through spatial design and
natural gestures, offering an alternative to today's text-heavy
apps.
Could we make controlling lights as seamless
as flipping a switch—without touching
anything at all? Glühen explores how to
reduce friction in smart lighting through
spatial design and natural gestures,
offering an alternative to today's text-
heavy apps.
.02
Key Insights
• Smart lighting apps often pull focus from the moment, requiring users to look down and fumble through cluttered screens.
• Smart lighting apps often pull focus from the moment, requiring users
to look down and fumble through cluttered screens.
• Users struggle to identify which control maps to which light, especially in larger rooms or shared environments.
• Users struggle to identify which control maps to which light, especially
in larger rooms or shared environments.
• MR enables direct manipulation of lights in their actual spatial context, reducing cognitive load and guesswork.
• MR enables direct manipulation of lights in their actual spatial context,
reducing cognitive load and guesswork.
.02
pain points
Key Insights
Key Insights
Heres whats annoying… Hosting a party and staring at your phone to
• Smart lighting apps often pull focus from the moment, requiring users
to look down and fumble through cluttered screens.
adjusting the smart lighting. I want To dim the lights and set the mood,
• Users struggle to identify which control maps to which light, especially
in larger rooms or shared environments.
but im staring at the phone screen for about 15 minutes navigating which
• MR enables direct manipulation of lights in their actual spatial context,
reducing cognitive load and guesswork.
• Smart lighting apps often pull focus from the moment, requiring users to look down and fumble through cluttered screens.
• Users struggle to identify which control maps to which light, especially in larger rooms or shared environments.
• MR enables direct manipulation of lights in their actual spatial context, reducing cognitive load and guesswork.
.03
Design Approach
• Used hand tracking to simulate an MR interface that appears over the user’s non-dominant hand, providing quick access to controls.
• Developed user flows for selecting lights, adjusting brightness and color, and saving custom scenes.
• Prioritized simplicity and intuitive gestures—tap, pinch, and hover—over menus or settings trees.
.04
Prototype
The high-fidelity prototype was built using Bezi and visualized on an Oculus headset. It walks through:
• Entering the MR environment
• Selecting a light using a visual anchor
• Adjusting brightness with a pinch-and-slide gesture
• Activating a saved scene from a control dock on the hand
• Entering the MR environment
• Selecting a light using a visual anchor
• Adjusting brightness with a pinch-and-slide gesture
• Activating a saved scene from a control dock on the hand
TAP TO VIEW
affinity map / user personas
TAP TO VIEW
affinity map /
user personas
.03
problem /
solution statement
Design Approach
Design
Approach
interfaces and unclear light mapping. Users struggle to identify which
• Used hand tracking to simulate an MR interface that appears over the user’s non-dominant hand, providing quick access to controls.
• Developed user flows for selecting lights, adjusting brightness and color, and saving custom scenes.
• Prioritized simplicity and intuitive gestures—tap, pinch, and hover—over menus or settings trees.
• Used hand tracking to simulate an MR interface that appears over the user’s non-dominant hand, providing quick access to controls..
• Developed user flows for selecting lights, adjusting brightness and color, and saving custom scenes.
• Prioritized simplicity and intuitive gestures—tap, pinch, and hover—over menus or settings trees.
TAP TO VIEW
visualization
.04
.04
interactive prototype
Prototype
Prototype
The high-fidelity prototype was built using Bezi and visualized on an Oculus headset. It walks through:
• Entering the MR environment
• Selecting a light using a visual anchor
• Adjusting brightness with a pinch-and-slide gesture
• Activating a saved scene from a control dock on the hand
The prototype also emphasizes the benefits of body-based UI. Users
The high-fidelity prototype was built using Bezi and visualized on an Oculus headset. It walks through:
• Entering the MR environment
• Selecting a light using a visual anchor
• Adjusting brightness with a pinch-and-slide gesture
• Activating a saved scene from a control dock on the hand
access a control menu through gestures, seamlessly engaging with
interactable lights mapped to their physical environment. This dynamic
interface streamlines the lighting control experience, making it more
immersive, efficient, and engaging.
.05
Reflection
Unlike client work, Glühen wasn’t created to
ship—it was an exercise in imagining what a
better future could feel like. The project
helped me sharpen my early-stage UX skills,
from prototyping in immersive tools to
articulating abstract interaction patterns.
While there were no formal results, the goal
was exploration. I left the project with a
stronger sense of how to simplify complex
systems through spatial thinking.
.05
Reflection
Unlike client work, Glühen wasn’t created to ship—it was an exercise
in imagining what a better future could feel like. The project helped
me sharpen my early-stage UX skills, from prototyping in immersive
tools to articulating abstract interaction patterns. While there were
no formal results, the goal was exploration. I left the project with a
stronger sense of how to simplify complex systems through spatial
thinking.
.05
Reflection
Unlike client work, Glühen wasn’t created to ship—it was an exercise in imagining what a better future
could feel like. The project helped me sharpen my early-stage UX skills, from prototyping in immersive
tools to articulating abstract interaction patterns. While there were no formal results, the goal was
exploration. I left the project with a stronger sense of how to simplify complex systems through
spatial thinking.
could feel like. The project helped me sharpen my early-stage UX skills, from prototyping in immersive
tools to articulating abstract interaction patterns. While there were no formal results, the goal was
exploration. I left the project with a stronger sense of how to simplify complex systems through
spatial thinking.
