Author: Henry Xian

This week was a really foundational one for the new smart glasses companion app project. It kicked off with a great meeting on Monday with my Mentor and colleagues from the UI Design department. We reviewed several proposals for the app’s core structure, and I’m thrilled that my proposed design solution was selected as the foundational framework for the project!

Following that decision, I spent the bulk of the week diving deep into developing the core Product Requirements Document (PRD). This mainly involved defining the top-level information architecture. We’ve settled on a clean, user-centric bottom tab bar that splits the app into three distinct zones: an AI-driven hub for intelligent feeds, a dedicated device control center for real-time management, and a discovery section for user onboarding and support.

I also got to detail the functionality for key modules, like an interactive 3D model for device status, and refine some complex interaction patterns, like a “split-button” control center for dual-function controls (a quick toggle vs. a deep-dive into settings). A lot of thought also went into mapping out all the critical user states, like what the user sees when the device is connected, offline, or being set up for the first time.

It was definitely a week of heavy documentation and architectural thinking. The immediate next step is to consolidate this PRD and get all the materials ready for the big design and technical review next week. Feeling good about the solid base we’ve built.

This week, I focused on a deep, iterative refinement of a complex user-facing workflow. I translated high-level flowcharts into a detailed Product Requirements Document, meticulously mapping out the entire onboarding and setup process.

A key learning was adapting the product logic to balance user experience with hardware constraints, particularly in managing device discovery and error handling. I learned to anticipate complex edge cases, such as handling pre-owned items or regional mismatches. This involved moving from an initial concept to a robust, secure, and user-centric flow, and ensuring all supporting documentation reflected these critical changes.

This past week, I reckon I’ve spent more time in a furnace than at my desk.

We’re building the companion app for a new piece of smart hardware from the ground up. It’s the kind of exciting, blank-canvas project you dream about. But the real challenge, the thing that’s been properly keeping me up at night, hasn’t been the work itself. It’s been a fundamental clash of ideas, a collision of professional philosophies that has tested me, stretched me, and ultimately, reshaped how I see my own role.

Act I: A Tale of Two Languages

It all started with what felt like a constant communication breakdown with my mentor. He’s a seasoned pro, sharp as a tack, who cut his teeth at one of the big mobile phone giants. And I’m the new kid, admittedly a bit of a purist, obsessed with a seamless, almost invisible user experience.

We were talking past each other. It was like we were speaking two entirely different languages.

He’d speak in the clean, crisp lines of system architecture, arguing for splitting the settings menu based on back-end logic. I’d push back, speaking in the messy, intuitive language of the user’s soul, insisting that to a person, ‘my account’ and ‘my device’ are one and the same. He’d suggest a pairing process that was functional and logical: “let the user pick their model from a list.” I’d counter that the experience had to be magical: “the app must find the device for you, the user shouldn’t have to think at all.”

Honestly, it was maddening. I started to feel this immense resistance against every idea I cared about. The anxiety was creeping in, and I found myself thinking, “Maybe starting my own company would be less hassle than this…”

Act II: The Ceasefire and the Breakthrough

After a few nights of staring at the ceiling, I decided I couldn’t carry on like that. I took a deep breath, gathered my thoughts, and laid my cards on the table with my mentor. I told him how I was feeling, that it felt like our rhythms were completely out of sync.

His reply was, frankly, a gift.

He told me he understood, but then he reframed the entire situation. This “friction,” he explained, wasn’t a bug in our communication; it was a feature of the job. “Every new concept,” he said, “is meant to be challenged. That’s how it gets better. It’s not a mistake, it’s just the daily grind of product thinking.”

A lightbulb went on. He wasn’t my adversary; he was my sparring partner. This wasn’t a conflict, but a necessary, creative tension. He was building the solid, reliable skeleton, and my job was to give it a living, breathing soul.

Act III: Forging the Spec

Armed with this new perspective, we dived into the product spec for the pairing process. It was no longer a tug-of-war; it was a dance.

We started with ‘The Why’, hammering out the user problems we were trying to solve. We moved to ‘The Goal’, giving ourselves clear, measurable targets. By the time we got to ‘The How’, our two perspectives were weaving together. His logic ensured every edge case was covered, whilst my focus on the user’s feeling shaped the flow into something seamless and reassuring. The final document was something neither of us could have created alone.

Act IV: The Reality Check

Reality, however, has a funny way of gate-crashing a good party. Later in the week, I happened to see the salary bands for senior colleagues. And, well, I was floored. Utterly poleaxed. The gap between my intern wage and their professional salary was vast. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.

But once the sting subsided, I realised I wasn’t looking at an insult. I was looking at a treasure map. It was a clear, tangible marker of the value I was working towards. It put all those tough conversations about ROI with my mentor into sharp focus. His pragmatism wasn’t about stifling creativity; it was about the responsibility that comes with that level of ownership and reward. He was teaching me how to justify my ‘vision’ in the language of the business.

In Closing: Enjoying the Heat

This week was knackering. Properly draining. But it was also bloody brilliant.

I’ve learned that the real craft of product design isn’t just about having good ideas; it’s about the resilience and wisdom to navigate the forces that push against them. My current role isn’t just a job; it’s a high-fidelity start-up simulator, with the safety net engaged.

I may have a long way to go, but for the first time, I can clearly see the path. I’m being forged, right here in the furnace. And you know what? I think I’m starting to enjoy the heat.

This week I focused on the app’s content layout. I met with my mentor to debate structure and user flow. We moved from an initial single-page approach to a split between AI features and device settings, which I proposed for clarity and scalability. I introduced “active components” to surface ongoing tasks, and outlined an auto-pin behaviour so activities stay visible without noise. I aligned the plan with my +1, clarified the scope of the AI module, and mapped how options should present on the “Today’s AI” page. Next week: high-fidelity mocks and a usability check.

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