DEEP DIVE Leslie’s | At-home water testing

FROM DISCOVERY TO DELIVERY

CHALLENGE

Translating Pro Tech into everyday solutions

Leslie’s aimed to expand into new markets—B2B, retail, and direct-to-consumer—requiring market insights and design expertise to translate professional-grade technology into a user-friendly flagship at-home water testing product.

DISCOVER

PHASE

From guesswork to mastery

Uncovered key knowledge gaps and user frustrations in pool ownership and water testing through qualitative digital ethnography, delivering rapid insights into user behaviors.

Accelerated ethnographic insights through digital diaries and 1:1 interviews

Developed 3 Behavioral Archetypes to understand diverse user needs

Identified 4 market entry points redefining at-home water testing as pool ownership evolves

Synthesized takeaways into Guiding Principles to inform device and UX design

DEFINE

PHASE

Crafting memorable brand moments

Built the foundation of an Experiential Brand Language (XBL) that fuses brand values with seamless user interactions. Defined key signature moments that bring the brand to life across physical and digital touchpoints, creating a multi-sensory experience that feels engaging and intuitive.

Defined core beliefs and visual expressions integrating stakeholder and consumer inputs

Optimized user journey mapping current and future state journeys

Developed Experiential Brand Language (XBL) ensuring every interaction embodies the brand and strengthens user connection

Identified four key moments for sensory touchpoints throughout the physical device journey

Co-creating a clear North Star

Stakeholder goals, brand values, and user needs were distilled into a unifying principle—making at-home testing accurate, effortless, and empowering. This North Star provided alignment, ensuring consistency in decisions and a focused path forward.

A physical task, digital results

Guided by the North Star, physical, digital, and hybrid touchpoints were refined to simplify interactions, reduce errors, and enhance key moments through multi-sensory design.

Mapped the user journey to pinpoint critical interactions enhancing physical, digital, and hybrid experiences across touchpoints

Signaled readiness with light and sound feedback confirming the device is active and ready

Instructions for using a testing device, including opening the lid and placing the disk, pressing the button to start, and testing in progress, with diagrams of the test and reading disk.

Crafted signature moments for ease intuitive physical interactions with LED animation for a confident test start

Seamless device-to-app experience pulsing LED confirms data transfer, guiding users to treatment options

A user interface screen showing steps to get health results, including receiving a test score on a mobile device and getting a prescription plus purchase options with a reminder for disk removal.

LED-guided reset disk removal enables maintenance, while the app guides pool balancing

Diagram showing three steps for a process: first, removing a disk and cleaning the device; second, disk removal with an LED warning; third, completing prescription tasks, with icons for each step. Color-coded legend indicates physical, digital, and hybrid actions.

DESIGN

PHASE

Crafting a unique personality

By exploring component configurations and architectural layouts, the design phase translated brand values into distinctive form expressions, setting a new standard in at-home testing with an intuitive, engaging, and boldly unique personality.

Exploration of component configurations to establish a foundation for distinct form gestures

Explored component configurations to establish a foundation for distinct form gestures

Distinctive product personalities and intuitive interactions to set new category standards were developed

Defined distinctive product personalities and intuitive interactions to set new category standards

DELIVER

PHASE

Mastering the details

A future-proof, intuitive product emerged by balancing design ambition with technical realities. Close collaboration and early engineering integration streamlined production, eliminating last-minute changes. Rapid prototyping and user testing sharpened every touchpoint—from wave form to lighting cues—ensuring a seamless, engaging experience.

Optimized every touchpoint— through a holistic end-to-end approach to usability and functionality

Designed for confidence and ease— grounded form, functional contours, and restrained branding

Wave contour guides opening— contoured lid ensures a secure, reassuring grip, improving ergonomics

Enhanced usability and integrated accessories— integrated cover reduces steps, and IR sensors prevent testing without a disk

Streamlined with a single-button start to reduce device-app switching

Status light animations signal states— spinning for water distribution, blinking to prompt disk removal

Top view of a black Amazon Echo device with four small indicator lights and a circular black button in the center.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

“The AccuBlue Home device has transformed how I maintain my pool. The precision and ease of use are unmatched, and having customized treatment plans at my fingertips is incredibly helpful.”

-John D. (Subscription owner)

CONCLUSION

By anchoring decisions in real user insights, aligning brand principles, and prioritizing sustainability from day one, Leslie’s delivered a stand-out hardware solution. This holistic approach enabled faster market entry and higher consumer satisfaction—all at a reduced cost and carbon footprint.

In 2022, I directed an 8-week sprint culminating in a breakthrough product design—complete 3D CAD, UI/UX flows, CMF specs, cost tradeoff assessments, and a finalized component layout—enabling a 12-week engineering phase with zero design changes