A gamified productivity companion that cultivates balance, wellness, and focus through growth and play.
“MOONBUD” transforms productivity into a shared growth experience with a companion that blossoms through your focus and well-being. Redesigned from an early prototype, it blends gamification and self-care into a balanced, emotionally engaging workflow.
MOONBUD (2025)
MOONBUD started as an earlier prototype focused on gamified productivity and motion design in early 2023. After revisiting the project with a deeper design process — from new research to refined goals — I redefined the concept to emphasize balance, companionship, and emotional engagement.
ROLE - UI/UX Designer/Researcher
SCOPE -Original concept exploration / Product Design / Research / App UIUX
PROJECT OVERVIEW
DURATION
3 Months
TOOLS
Figma, AfterEffect, Photoshop
PROJECT TIMELINE
Project Planning
-
Identifying the problem
-
Concept ideation
Research
-
Survey User Research
-
Persona
-
Market Research
Information Architecture
-
Userflow
-
System flow
-
Wireframing
High-Fidelity Design
Usability Testing & Iteration
01 PRODUCT OVERVIEW
MOONBUD began as an early prototype exploring gamified productivity and motion design. After revisiting the project with deeper research and refined goals, I redefined the concept to emphasize balance, companionship, and emotional engagement.
EARLY PROTOTYPE
MOONBUD reframes productivity through a growth metaphor: users nurture a flower-inspired “Bud-dy” whose appearance evolves with tasks, habits, and wellness moments—turning effort into visible, meaningful progress.
By tightly linking user effort to visible growth, MOONBUD creates a companion that thrives because of the user, building a sense of connection, accountability, and joy in everyday productivity.
02 PROBLEM & BACKGROUND CONTEXT
Staying productive outside structured environments—like classes or work—is a common challenge. While many productivity apps use themes or gamification to boost engagement, long-term use often drops once initial novelty fades. Without emotional reward or a sense of progression, users quickly lose motivation.This led me to explore what truly sustains engagement over time, by designing a more holistic solution centered on connection and emotional resonance rather than pure efficiency.
QUESTION
How might we design a productivity system that preserves focus while offering enough delight and interaction to sustain long-term engagement?
03 DESIGN PILLARS - APPROACHING THE SOLUTIONS
04 RESEARCH 1
I conducted a short survey to understand how people use productivity apps—focusing on usage patterns, motivation, and reasons for drop-off. These insights helped identify key pain points and guided Moonbud’s design direction. These findings were synthesized into design principles that informed MOONBUD's core interaction and growth system.
SURVEY INSIGHTS
Survey Focus Areas: App usage · Frequency & consistency · Motivation · Churn reasons
What Users Primarily Use Productivity Apps For?
Why Users Stop Using These Apps?
From the survey, three core barriers to long-term use of productivity apps emerged:
Too time-consuming : Effort outweighs perceived value.
Not rewarding : Progress often felt abstract or disconnected from personal satisfaction.
Low motivation : Without engaging feedback, staying consistent became difficult.
What Motivates Users to Keep Using Them?
When asked what would encourage/motivate them to return, participants highlighted:
Personalization : Tools that adapt to their needs and routines.
Engagement : Features that make daily use feel playful and less like a chore.
Companion interaction : A responsive, relatable element that adds emotional connection.
PERSONA
04 RESEARCH 2
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 1
To ground MOONBUD in real-world context, I mapped existing productivity and wellness apps across four dimensions: productivity, wellness, gamification, and utility. This comparison highlights the gaps Moonbud aims to address and clarifies the space it occupies within the ecosystem.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 2
***Primary mechanisms used to sustain user motivation over time.***
STRENGTH
WEAKNESS
Engagement Strategy
05 WIREFRAMES
06 FINAL DESIGN
ONBOARDING
PERSONALIZATION
MANAGEMENT
FOCUS & GROWTH
07 KEY DESIGN FEATURES
BUD PROFILE & STATS + VISUAL GROWTH SYSTEM
A dedicated space to track your Bud’s visual and functional growth. User actions—tasks, habits, and steps—directly shape the Bud’s form, color, and energy, creating a meaningful companion loop that makes progress unmistakably visible.
Select a MoonBud to Grow Choose which Bud will receive XP from your daily actions.
INSIGHT & HISTORY
-
XP & level progress
-
Recent actions contributing to growth
-
Action → growth history
Real-World Inputs
(Step → XP)
CALENDAR + TASKS (HABIT + TASK TRACKING)
A unified calendar where users can create tasks, set habit routines, and schedule focus sessions. Moonbud keeps task management lightweight and intuitive, reducing complexity while supporting long-term consistency.
FOCUS MODE — ROOTED, PRUNED, BREEZE
MOONBUD offers 3 focus modes designed to match different levels of attention and energy. Users can choose how deeply they want to focus, and their Bud mirrors that state—creating a calm, supportive space that feels personal rather than rigid.
Pruned Mode allows users to customize which apps are blocked during focus sessions, reducing distractions in a flexible, user-controlled way.
Together, these modes prevent focus sessions from feeling repetitive, allowing users to shift their working style without breaking consistency.
SOCIAL GARDEN — ENCOURAGEMENT & SHARED GROWTH
Designed to increase accountability and emotional connection without introducing pressure or comparison.
A gentle social space where users can view each other’s Bud growth, send boosts, and feel connected without pressure or comparison.
You will be able to:
-
View friends’ Buds and growth progress
-
See friends wandering through your garden
-
Send boosts (e.g., watering a Bud)
-
Exchange gifts and encouragement
