Scent Australia app
Redesigning User Experience for Bluetooth Diffusers
The Problem
Scent Australia, a popular retailer of premium fragrances, wanted to upgrade their app by adding new branding and user accounts for a more personalised shopping experience.

When I reviewed their app and the proposed changes, I felt the overall user experience was cumbersome and heavily influenced by technical IA, rather than focusing on what users actually needed.
When highlighting these issues to the business owners we discussed the impact it would make to their brand and users, they were keen to embrace a more user-centric approach, alleviating users frustrations and aligning with the brand’s premium ethos.
Main issues
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Difficult to set up with no user onboarding or helpful information
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Understanding whether the diffuser was on or off
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Lack of user feedback based on user interactions
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Lack of user-friendly language
My Role
Lead product designer in this project working closely with CEO of Scent Australia
Project Date
2024
Discovery & Research
With development already underway, I had to move quickly to uncover key insights and prioritize improvements.
Stakeholder Interviews
I began by interviewing key stakeholders, including the CEO, to understand their perspective on user needs and pain points. Although the app was designed with a vision of managing multiple diffusers across a home, the majority of the 10,000+ user base were single-diffuser owners. This misalignment highlighted the need to refocus the app's experience to better serve the primary user group.
The CEO also pointed out recurring negative feedback related to the scheduling feature, particularly around the setup process for automatic on/off times
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User interviews
Given time constraints, I supplemented stakeholder insights with informal interviews. I reached out to friends who use similar home devices like candles, diffusers, and smart systems (e.g., Siri and Google Home). These conversations helped me understand user habits and preferences.
I focused on these key questions:
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Home Setup: How do users typically arrange their home environment for fragrances?
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Lifestyle and Routine: How often are they at home, and how does this influence their usage?
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Control Preferences: Would they prefer a scheduled setup or real-time control via the app?
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Fragrance Preferences: How strong or subtle do they like their scents to be?
Additional findings
To further validate findings, I analysed app store reviews. While much of the feedback focused on technical issues, user frustration with the scheduling feature was a recurring theme. This reinforced the need to prioritise simplifying this functionality
Design Process
User flow
Based on my research, I identified that the app lacks guidance for new users during the initial setup process. To address this, I proposed introducing an onboarding flow to help users configure their devices seamlessly from the start.
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Additionally, I revised the navigational flow. Since most users only own a single diffuser, displaying a "Diffuser List" as the entry screen felt unnecessary. Instead, I prioritised the control screen for the user's primary diffuser, offering a more streamlined and intuitive experience.
Revised flow
Introducing schedules
In my research, I found users preferred a "set and forget" approach for their diffuser's schedule but still wanted the option to pause or adjust it. Drawing inspiration from devices like Google Home and Ecobee, I aimed to integrate routine-based systems to align with familiar patterns. This would create a seamless, intuitive experience, making the app feel natural and user-friendly while meeting their need for easy control.
Old design
Google Home
My goal was to simplify the setup by breaking the UI into manageable chunks. I explored two approaches: selecting settings by days of the week or by time periods (morning, afternoon, evening). After testing rough wireframes with friends, the time-period option was preferred. Once developed, I plan to gather more feedback and iterate, as this step is key to enhancing the overall user experience.
New design
Rethinking fragrance intensity
The app previously required users to specify exact run times for fragrance strength, which was overly complex and technically driven. How would users know the duration to achieve their desired fragrance intensity?
Recognising fragrance strength is subjective, I simplified the process by introducing a scale from weak to strong. This eliminated the need for technical inputs and provided clearer guidance. I worked closely with the business owner to define corresponding run times for each level on the scale, ensuring seamless development.
Old design
New design
Designs
Onboarding
Diffuser controls
Development
After stakeholder reviews, the designs were handed off to the development team. Key deliverables included:
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A detailed Figma file containing the new user flow, component library, designs and technical handover notes
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In addition a prototype to highlight interactions​​
Next Steps
User testing
Once development is finished, I plan to collaborate with the business owner to gather user insights through usability testing. Identifying any pain points and refine the designs for improved usability.
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Success metrics
We aim to measure success by:
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Task success rates for setting up and adjusting schedules.
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Improved App Store reviews and ratings.
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Future app improvements
Post-testing, we plan to focus on user accounts to align the app with shopping habits, encouraging connections between fragrance refills and app usage.