Hive case study
Hive is a leading UK smart home company, known for its connected devices and services that help users control heating, lighting, and appliances remotely. Part of the Centrica group, Hive has expanded across six countries and serves over one million users globally.
I was involved across the full product lifecycle — from initial stakeholder meetings through to user research, wireframes, and final UI design. Working closely with the Hive team, I helped ensure our solutions aligned with both business goals and user needs.
We ran regular user labs, created personas, and refined our designs based on real feedback. Cross-functional collaboration was key — I worked with stakeholders and teams to ensure design decisions stayed aligned with overall strategy.
Overview
Research
I was brought in to help redesign the Hive website, starting with an assessment of the current experience. I conducted a competitive analysis and collaborated on refining the site architecture, taking into account both user journeys and business needs.
I was involved across the full product lifecycle — from initial stakeholder meetings through to user research, wireframes, and final UI design. Working closely with the Hive team, I helped ensure our solutions aligned with both business goals and user needs.
We ran regular user labs, created personas, and refined our designs based on real feedback. Cross-functional collaboration was key — I worked with stakeholders and teams to ensure design decisions stayed aligned with overall strategy.
Wireframes
With the core journeys defined, I created mid-fidelity wireframes to map out onboarding, browsing plans, checkout, and account management. These wireframes helped us test structure and usability early, allowing for fast iteration and stakeholder feedback.
UI Design
As Hive expanded, maintaining flexibility became crucial. I proposed a modular design system that supported local pricing, content variation, and product differences across countries — all while preserving a unified experience.
This approach enabled the engineering team to build pages using reusable components, speeding up delivery and simplifying updates.
I led the design of Hivehome.com, working with a multidisciplinary team including a product designer, digital designer, UX researcher, and developers. I took part in regular stakeholder meetings with the Head of Web, Brand, and Marketing to align priorities and present progress.
Beyond hands-on design, I supported the handoff to engineering, collaborated with QA, and ensured that the final implementation matched the design intent.