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 Home Assistant. Visual decisions today are driven by existing frameworks and personal choices rather than a shared standard.
As a result, Home Assistant lacks general visual coherence and contributors do not have clear guidance on how the product should look.
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
Scope & Boundaries
Based on the outcome of #124, we will create a visual design direction for Home Assistant.
In scope
- Moodboard
- Exploration of visual directions
Not in scope
- Frontend implementation or refactoring
- Product redesign
- Text writing guidelines or terminology
- Full design system website
- UI pattern or component library
- Other OHF products
- Translating the direction into defined foundations
Foreseen solution
- Create a moodboard
- Explore a small number of visual directions if needed
- Align on a single, clear direction
- Write a visual direction document
Risks & open questions
Appetite
Medium - 1 cycle
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 Home Assistant. Visual decisions today are driven by existing frameworks and personal choices rather than a shared standard.
As a result, Home Assistant lacks general visual coherence and contributors do not have clear guidance on how the product should look.
Community signals
Scope & Boundaries
Based on the outcome of #124, we will create a visual design direction for Home Assistant.
In scope
Not in scope
Foreseen solution
Risks & open questions
Appetite
Medium - 1 cycle
Execution issues
No response
Decision log