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Quick summary

• Role: Lead Product Designer
• Level: Senior / Staff Product Designer
• Company: Independent Project
• Duration: 2024
• Tools: Figma, Prototyping, Interaction Design, User Research
• Platform: iOS & Android </aside>

Context & Challenge

Building and maintaining habits is a challenge for most users. Many start with motivation but struggle to remain consistent, and existing habit tracking apps often make the problem worse by being visually overwhelming, rigid, or impersonal.

The goal of Habits App was to create a platform that supports users in building lasting habits by providing clear guidance, motivating feedback, and flexible tracking options.

As the Product Designer, I focused on designing an experience that helps users:

1. Build habits consistently, even when motivation is low.
2. Receive supportive feedback without feeling stressed or judged.
3. Track habits in a way that is flexible for different routines and lifestyles.

The main questions that guided my design process were:

• How can we create habit flows that are quick and simple to start but flexible enough for a variety of routines?
• How can visual feedback and notifications encourage users instead of demotivating them?
• Which micro-interactions and layouts will reinforce engagement without creating friction?

Discovery & Research

I approached research in three key phases to fully understand user needs and behaviors.

1. User Research: I conducted interviews and surveys with over 20 participants to learn about their routines, motivations, and frustrations with existing habit tracking apps. The insights revealed that users value quick habit setup, flexibility in tracking, and positive reinforcement, and they are easily discouraged by rigid or overly gamified interfaces.

2. Competitive Analysis: I analyzed apps such as Habitica, Streaks, and Productive. While these apps had interesting features, they often failed to provide clear, motivating guidance. Onboarding was cumbersome, notifications were generic, and the visual hierarchy was confusing.

3. Behavioral Research: I reviewed psychology studies on habit formation, triggers, and reinforcement. I learned that small wins, consistency, and subtle positive reinforcement are critical for sustaining habits.

Through this research, it became clear that success would not come from flashy visuals or gamification alone. Every design decision needed to support real user behavior, reduce friction, and maintain motivation.