Daniel Burwen

Sony LifeSpace 4K

Onboarding a $50,000 ultra short throw projector

Role

Creative Direction,
IXD, UI/UX

Client

Sony

Product

LifeSpace UX 4K projector

Year

2015

Scope

Demo experience, tablet UI, UX wireframes

The LifeSpace UX 4K is an ultra short throw projector that sits just inches from the wall and fills it with a 4K image, no screen or ceiling mount required.

Overview

Sony’s ultra short throw 4K projector was a category-defining device, but its retail demo didn’t reflect that. I designed a custom immersive experience around the device itself, turning its quirks into part of the story.

Problem

A $50,000 projector paired with a cheap media box, a clunky interface, and a startup delay created a poor first impression of a premium device.

Solution

A rich custom immersive experience built around the device, leveraging its design limitations rather than working around them.

The LifeSpace demo experience

The Insight

The flaw became the feature.

An awkward power-on delay, reframed as an anticipation-building moment with sound, reactive lighting, and custom animation.

Experience curve from the original UX document

From the original UX document: the old experience crashed at the exact moment it should have peaked. The new flow keeps building until 4K content fills the wall.

UX Wireframes

Every beat mapped before a pixel was built.

A curated walk through the process: flows, timing, and annotated wireframes.

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Visual Design

An interface built to be read from the couch.

A tablet-driven interface replaced the clunky original, putting a browsable library of 4K content on the wall.

Thumbnails

A browsable library of 4K clips, laid out on the wall and driven from the tablet.

Main Play Space

Selecting a clip takes over the wall with a cinematic, full-screen preview.

UI Elements

A custom icon set for playback, volume, brightness, and power.

Style Guide

Type, gradients, and bright accents tuned to read crisply when projected.

LifeSpace at home

Outcome

The demo went from undercutting a $50,000 device to matching its premium positioning, turning its biggest weakness into its most memorable moment.

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