Summary
This concept focuses on smoothly integrating desired actions into daily routines. In contrast to traditional productivity tools with static reminders or to-do lists, it embraces the idea of procrastination as its core mechanism. By intentionally introducing randomness, it gently guides users towards neglected goals and ignites new inspiration.
Results
x1 Award
Gold Winner in Apps
Indigo Design Award
x2 Awards
Silver Winner in UX, Interface & Navigation
Indigo Design Award
I'm currently seeking a developer to bring this project to life. However, if I'm unable to find a collaborator, I plan to open-source the design for the community to adapt.
Our daily routines can trap us in a loop, leading us to unintentionally neglect our well-being, relationships, and personal desires. We put aside goals and ideas, waiting for a future that never arrives. Random Reminder is a gentle reminder to reconnect with these neglected aspects. It's not about the things we have to do, but about the things we would love to do.
We've all experienced the "Great idea! I should do something about it" feeling, only to be followed by... forgetfulness. Faced with urgent tasks, our less immediate desires often get pushed aside and languish indefinitely.
Personally, I encountered this issue while striving for work-life balance. I'd frequently come up with great ideas, but they'd slip my mind just as quickly.
Market Research
To gain a deeper understanding of the challenges, I thoroughly researched existing apps with similar features. I analyzed their positioning, user journeys, and how users interacted with the apps' interfaces and features. This research provided valuable insights into user needs and frustrations, which ultimately shaped the core principles behind the concept.
Derived Key Principles
Use cases. Real-world examples showcase how the concept solves user tasks, guiding development and initial user interactions.
Simplicity. The interface prioritizes essential functionalities, minimizing distractions and cognitive load.
Customization. The concept adapts to evolving needs over time, ensuring the app remains relevant and valuable for each user's unique journey.
Design
User Interivew
To avoid my own biases, I interviewed friends and family about their productivity hacks, using a set script for each chat. Their habits, tools, and even struggles painted a broader picture for me. While it's a small group, their answers helped me build a solution that might work for everyone, a solid first step to reach a wider audience.
Wireframes
Wireframes were the first step for me, acting as a basic plan that laid out the app's structure and organization. Even though these initial sketches weren't meant to be shown to users, they were essential for getting feedback and making sure the design stayed true to the idea of being simple. Since the main goal at this stage was to capture the core concept and its fun feel, I decided to hold off on doing extensive user testing at this point.
New Reminder
Reminder Creation
Reminders List
Selected Decisions
New Reminder Selection
Draft
This first iteration focused on presenting ready-made ideas to guide users towards specific use cases like self-care, relationships, and intimacy.
The complete list was shown to ease initial usage, with the option to choose random reminders if desired.
Next Iteration
The emphasis shifted to types of usage: selected ideas, hidden reminders, and custom reminders.
This caters to individual preferences and prevents users from exhausting the set of ideas too quickly. Instead of displaying all ideas at once, only a few were showcased, and randomness was highlighted by presenting two random ideas with the option to request more.
Last Iteration
Color and graphics were adjusted to reflect the concept's essence.
Monochromatic tones were replaced with bright colors to differentiate reminders and convey the inherent element of randomness. Emojis were used for greater contrast and flexibility in representing meaning.
New Reminder
Draft
Creating reminders initially involved multiple fields and settings on a single screen, leading to visual complexity.
To simplify settings like days and hours, they were expanded without requiring additional clicks. Navigation remained easily accessible at the bottom due to the straightforward screen hierarchy.
Next Iteration
The interface was visually streamlined, partially adhering to the "one screen – one action" principle for easier reminder creation.
Since reminder name and frequency are essential, they were prioritized in size. Other parameters were partially expanded for quicker setup and displaying potential options.
Last Iteration
Prototype testing revealed user confusion regarding hidden reminder timing after detailed customization. Switching between parameters was also inefficient, so a settings summary was added.
Color and graphics were introduced to enhance vibrancy. Randomness was maintained through assigning random emojis and colors to reminders, which users could customize if desired.
Hidden Reminder
Draft
At first, the hidden reminder worked similarly to Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. It would pick a random reminder out of all the ones I had entered.
Next Iteration
I added topic choices along with the random selection feature, but then some issues came up.
Users might have to wait a long time (maybe even months) for a reminder, and it wasn't clear if the reminders would be one-time or recurring.
Also, choosing a theme felt overwhelming because there were too many options, and users had to read descriptions before deciding.
Last Iteration
The final design makes everything clear: what the hidden reminder is for, how long you'll wait (always within a month), and how to choose a topic (spin the circle and see what you land on, or "Pick random").
The graphics use emojis like a ninja 🥷, disguised face 🥸, and a shushing face 🤫 to show it's all about keeping things secret. There's also a dice icon which reminds us of games where you don't know what will happen next.
Results
The video pitches an idea and demonstrates its potential by showing how it would work.
High-fidelity mockups
Besides the title and description, ideas may have a preset frequency.
For example, going on a date every day seems strange, while once a month or less is much more realistic.
In addition to the display frequency, you can add an end date, choose days and hours when the reminder can be shown. Additionally, you can change the emoji reflecting the reminder and its color. For color, a circle pattern is used, which is present when selecting a theme for a hidden reminder.
Hidden reminder, as described, remain hidden until it is displayed. After appearing, it behaves like a regular reminder that can be marked as done, postponed, edited, or deleted.
Store images
Using app stores images is an excellent way to illustrate how and why people might use the app. To focus on specific features initially, I'm emphasizing the reminder ideas and hidden reminder as the main functions. While users can create their own reminders, it may not be immediately apparent why they should download yet another reminder app.
The idea employs vibrant colors, dynamic typography and emojis to tell a story that makes a strong impression and easily leads users through the distinctive benefits of the app.
Outcome
Since this is a personal project without any development yet, I submitted the concept for design competitions to validate the idea and get feedback on the design. It's been well-received, winning a few awards so far, and there might be more to come.
Results
x1 Award
in Apps
x2 Awards
in UX, Interface & Navigation
