Finding productivity in relaxing, personal spaces.
THE PROBLEM
'Burnout' is defined as an increased mental distance from one’s job, feelings of energy depletion and negativism by the World Health Organization, and it affects almost half of the working population.
In interviews, people expressed headache with an overwhelming number of things to write down and remember where it was written, resulting in a loss of organization and motivation.
*Quotes from user interviews.
(verb) to remain for a time, or to keep the attention directed.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
THE CURRENT MARKET
People need a better way to organize and stay motivated, not just another tool in their workflow.
A comparison of productivity apps shows a gap in tools that are powerful enough to handle heavy workloads, but not very intuitive or easy to learn.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
My goal was to create an easy and emotionally rewarding way to juggle multiple responsibilities and increase motivation.
I asked 20+ participants to walk me through their task organization. I wanted to understand how people organize tasks and find motivation.
Key questions:
What does being productive mean to you and how do you stay productive?
How do you juggle multiple priorities?
What keeps you motivated to complete tasks?
If you could have one magical tool today to help your productivity, what would it be and why?
*Quotes from user interviews.
With gathered insights, I developed 3 problem categories, 3 user personas, and 5 insights to help guide feature building and prioritization.
THE SOLUTION
Ultimately, I designed…
a smart productivity app that automatically sorts and creates items, and is customizable to increase motivation and overall happiness.
TESTING & ITERATION
Testing my design revealed frustrating moments and shaped the information architecture of mental clarity.
(a) A clear task management system.
I designed a filter system to help users organize and differentiate tasks to do, tasks they are doing, and tasks they are done.
HOVER OVER CIRCLES TO SEE INSIGHTS.
(b) An engaging and personalized onboarding experience.
This 3-step onboarding experience is focused on allowing users to understand DWELL's application by directly interact with it.
STEP 1
STEP 2
STEP 3
HIGH-FIDELITY ONBOARDING USER FLOW
ONBOARDING USER FLOW
LO-FI FIGMA WIREFRAMES
DESIGN SYSTEM
Simple and clean design clears the mind.
I decided on a clean, lightweight design to reduce clutter. A simple sans serif typeface for clarity, and a light and dark mode offering personalization.
FINAL PRODUCT
Within 8 weeks, Dwell was born.
Built with 5 main features and user tested live through 1:1 video calls, two more rounds of feedback led to this final iteration.
NEXT STEPS
What's next with DWELL?
Based on user feedback, these are features I would prioritize in order of importance and impact.
TAKEAWAYS
What I learned…
(1) Productivity isn't doing more, it's doing what matters.
I didn't want to create just another reminder app, I wanted to spark motivation and design emotional interaction. I talked with chronic multitaskers and job jugglers, which helped me tap into the unconscious part of their brains that reveal how and why they might feel productive or not.
(2) Simplicity is strategic.
Users don't need more tools; they need better ones. Simplicity doesn't mean less features—it just means removing unnecessary friction and making powerful tools effortless. A great productivity app should remove stress, not add to it. Designing simplicity is an act of care.
(3) Research challenged my assumptions, not just validated ideas.
Early in the design process, I wanted to add tons of features, but it's easy to fall in love with an idea and have confirmation biases. But the most valuable insights come from being proven wrong. Great design isn't about defending ideas—it's about evolving them! Every user insight should be a chance to refine, simplify, and rethink the experience for the better. 🌈
OTHER PROJECTS
MOTUS
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP • MOBILE APP • PRODUCT DESIGN
OVERVIEW
3 SIDE HUSTLES, PART-TIME SCHOOL, AND PASSION PROJECTS? DWELL MAKES IT EASY TO AUTOMATE, ORGANIZE, AND SCHEDULE YOUR WORK WHILE KEEPING YOU MOTIVATED AND RELAXED.
ROLE
PRODUCT DESIGNER
YEAR
2025
TOOLS
FIGMA, MIRO
DELIVERABLES
MOBILE APP PROTOTYPE, USER RESEARCH, TESTING & ITERATION
CONTENTS
THE PROBLEM
THE CURRENT MARKET
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
THE SOLUTION
TESTING & ITERATION
DESIGN SYSTEM
FINAL PRODUCT
NEXT STEPS
TAKEAWAYS
PRODUCTIVITY • MOBILE APP • UX/UI DESIGN