What happens when a device outlives its own software?
A sous vide app as a proof of concept for restoring unsupported hardware
Category
Consumer SaaS
Dates
June 2025 - Aug. 2025
Role
With a focus on restoring unsupported smart devices, I designed the end-to-end MVP of a sous vide cooking app — covering everything from device connectivity flows to control UI, and shaping sustainability principles into a functional product concept.
UI/UX
Design system
Visual design
Copy writing
1. Context
Software obsolescence, and it turns functional hardware into e-waste.
Back Market has built its brand on one clear idea: perfectly good hardware shouldn't become waste. Their refurbished device marketplace fights hardware obsolescence every day. But there's a second, quieter form of obsolescence that nobody was really addressing — software.
A smart sous vide cooker from 2019 still heats water fine. The motor works, the Bluetooth chip works. The app that controls it, however, has been abandoned — pulled from the store, no longer maintained. The device still functions, but without software support, it's effectively unusable. This is software obsolescence, and it's turning working hardware into e-waste at scale.
2. The Brief
A working proof of concept, demoed live at a Paris tech media forum.
Back Market wanted to go beyond their existing trade-in device service and take a public stance on software obsolescence. To make that position tangible, they needed a proof of concept — a working app that could restore an unsupported smart device and be demoed live at a major tech media forum in Paris.
I designed the end-to-end MVP, covering device connectivity flows, the cooking control interface, and the overall product narrative. The goal was to shape a sustainability argument into something people could hold and interact with.
3. Why Sous Vide?
Choosing the right device to prove the concept.
Not every abandoned smart device makes a viable proof of concept. The Anova sous vide cooker was selected for three reasons.
1. Feasibility
The device communicates over Bluetooth Low Energy with a relatively straightforward command set. A small engineering team could build a functional connection without reverse-engineering a proprietary cloud system.
2. Clarity of use case.
Sous vide cooking follows a contained, linear workflow — set a temperature, set a timer, monitor. Simple enough to build as an MVP, rich enough to feel like a real product.
3. Fit narrative
A kitchen appliance is familiar and relatable, which grounded the software obsolescence argument in something domestic and everyday. This matched the tone Back Market wanted for a public-facing audience of press and industry attendees.
Design decision 1
Finding the right entry point within the existing Back Market app.
This feature needed to live inside the existing Back Market app, not as a standalone product. Back Market's app is a marketplace — people come there to buy and sell devices. Placing a sous vide controller in that context required careful integration to avoid friction.
I studied the existing information architecture and identified the "Your Devices" section as the natural home. When a user registers a refurbished smart device, this is where it lives. Adding a "Restore this device" action here extends the existing mental model: you bought it here, you manage it here, you can revive it here.
This approach also avoided creating a separate app or navigation branch, which would have fragmented the experience and undermined the core message — that restoring software is simply another part of Back Market's offering.
Design decision 2
Conceptualizing a control interface for slow, precise cooking.
Sous vide cooking is about precise water temperature over time. The design challenge was giving users clear, useful feedback for a process that is inherently slow and low-intervention.
I used a water evaporation animation as the central visual element of the cooking controls. As the timer counts down and the cook progresses, the animation reinforces what's physically happening with the device. It provides a sense of progress without requiring users to interpret abstract data points.
The control screens follow a clear hierarchy. Temperature is the dominant element — large and central. Timer sits as the secondary element. Status changes (heating, maintaining, complete) are communicated through color shifts: warm tones during active cooking, green on completion.
Design decision 3
Making the obsolescence narrative tangible through UX writing and visual design.
The app wasn't only a cooking tool. It was also an argument — every touchpoint needed to reinforce the idea that this device was abandoned and has been brought back.
On the UX writing side, the onboarding flow contextualizes the moment of connection. Headers and microcopy acknowledge the device's history, framing the pairing process as restoration rather than standard setup. The language positions the user as participating in something with purpose.
On the visual design side, the treatment borrows from Back Market's brand identity but introduces softer, more organic elements that signal renewal. The aesthetic sits between a modern tech product and something more considered — trustworthy enough to feel functional, warm enough to feel intentional.
This layer was especially important because the primary audience at the forum was press and industry, not end users. The UX needed to communicate the story on its own, even during a quick booth walkthrough.
