Hey @jhrucker. I love this idea! I’m actually a startup advisor based in Boulder, CO, so feel free to reach out if you want some more advice. I help founders navigate the process of product development and give strategic technical advice.
I agree with @sunny that the low and high forecasted temperatures could be on one gauge, and for me, I’d love to see current windspeed. It would also be really nice to have a gauge that goes between sunny -> cloudy -> rain for maybe the next ~6 hours. That’s more actionable than pure “chance of precipitation.” You say that you want the device to answer the user’s questions… so the first part is, what are the users’ questions? How do those questions change throughout the day? How do those questions change based on where they live (i.e. here in Boulder, I’d want to see if it will freeze overnight, how windy it is, or is there an afternoon thunderstorm approaching)?
I think overall your design is too busy. This type of device is going to be attractive to the higher end of the market (i.e. more money). The lower-end buyers are fine putting a digital panel on their wall. Simplicity and a quality design are going to be keys to your success. Both “check data connection” and “renew subscription” are things that can easily be handled by push notifications on an app or emails. Same with the “snapshot” paragraph, and your logo needs to go. Take a look at higher end industrial designs of similar products; the Awair Element (previous version in wood) comes to mind. You also have a great opportunity to blend old with new here because of the history of meteorological gauges.
If you’re serious about selling this as a commercial project, I’d try to find a designer who has experience modernizing historical designs. And I’d also advise you to take a few steps back. Who is your ideal customer? How much are they willing to pay for this kind of product? What data or answers are important to them? Ask these questions of at least 50 qualified people first, then go out and do some marketing. Make sure your click through rates & ROI are high enough to justify the expense of building it. I can share customer discovery interview templates and go no-go decision point practices with you if you’d like.
For me… I’ve been looking for something like this for a while. I’ve thought about building one too! I’d want it to have a modern, clean design. I’d probably pay at least $100 for one if it was thoughtfully designed and made of high quality materials that would look great in my home. Maybe more. As shown here, I’d probably pay $15 for it.
I realize that all of the above is mostly unsolicited advice and may seem rather harsh. But I think this is a great idea, and I’ve seen way too many products and founders fail because they built a solution for which there wasn’t a problem. If you really dig into what your customers want and follow that, you’re going to sell a lot of these!