AN EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT HABIT TRACKER

BLOOMIE

BLOOMIE

LIVE APP ↗

WATCH WALKTHROUGH

Streak counters punish you for being human. Bloomie replaces the number with a living creature one that wilts, forgives and grows back with you.

Streak counters punish you for being human. Bloomie replaces the number with a living creature one that wilts, forgives and grows back with you.

ROLE · Product Designer - UX/UI, vibecoding, UX Research

ROLE · Product Designer, UX/UI, vibecoding,

user research

TIMELINE · 6 weeks · concept to hi-fi

STACK · Figma · Figma Make · Claude Design

·Procreate · Lovable

  • EMOTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ✻ NO SHAME STREAKS ✻ AI MENTOR ✻ LIVING COMPANION ✻ RESILIENCE OVER PERFECTION ✻ HAND-DRAWN SYSTEM

01 — THE PROBLEM

HABIT APPS ARE GREAT AT COUNTING,

HABIT APPS ARE GREAT AT COUNTING,

TERRIBLE AT

FORGIVING.

01 Missing one day resets the counter to zero.

02 Aggressive reminders read as nagging, not care.

03 After a lapse, people never re-open the app.

RESEARCH INSIGHT

Users are far more likely to return when failure is framed as a shared emotional experience with a character instead of a data failure.

Users are far more likely to return when failure is framed as a shared emotional experience with a character instead of a data failure.

8 qualitative interviews · 3 competitive teardowns · journey mapping

GROUNDED IN

TAMAGOTCHI, 1996

TAMAGOTCHI, 1996

Care loops outlive motivation: people return for the creature, not for their own scorecard. Bloomie borrows the dependency, drops the punishment (nothing ever dies).

Care loops outlive motivation: people return for the creature, not for their own scorecard. Bloomie borrows the dependency, drops the punishment (nothing ever dies).

Care loops outlive motivation: people return for the creature, not for their own scorecard. Bloomie borrows the dependency, drops the punishment (nothing ever dies).

ATOMIC HABITS

ATOMIC HABITS

Identity-based habits plus the never miss twice rule. The wilt state is that rule made visible, one slip is a mood, two is your plant friend asking for help.

Identity-based habits plus the never miss twice rule. The wilt state is that rule made visible, one slip is a mood, two is your plant friend asking for help.

02 — THE CORE MECHANIC

DRAG THE CARE LEVEL.

DRAG THE CARE LEVEL.

DRAG THE CARE LEVEL.

One state machine drives illustration, copy tone, colour and the mentor’s voice. This is the whole product in one control.

One state machine drives illustration, copy tone, colour and the mentor’s voice. This is the whole product in one control.

One state machine drives illustration, copy tone, colour and the mentor’s voice. This is the whole product in one control.

Small sprout character
Hopeful

“Small wins help me trust that I can keep going.”

Early reinforcement celebrates consistency over perfection, helping fragile motivation turn into a believable routine.

4
Growth States
0
Shame Triggers
1
Shared Emotion

03 — THE EMOTIONAL ARC

FOUR PHASES, ONE RELATIONSHIP.

FOUR PHASES, ONE RELATIONSHIP.

FOUR PHASES, ONE RELATIONSHIP.

  • 01 EXCITED · CURIOUS

    HONEYMOON

    HONEYMOON

    Onboarding is a ritual, not a form. Pick a soul, name it, plant the first seed.

  • 02 ACCOMPLISHED · FLAT

    ROUTINE

    ROUTINE

    Biological accountability kicks in: the sprout visibly grows its first leaves.

  • 03 GUILT · STREAK ANXIETY

    THE LAPSE

    THE LAPSE

    The plant wilts instead of the streak breaking. Failure becomes a shared moment.

  • 04 RELIEVED · RE-MOTIVATED

    RECOVERY

    RECOVERY

    Bloomie starts the conversation about the slip-up — the mentor offers a 2-minute rescue.

04 — THE FLOWS

26 HI-FI SCREENS ACROSS THREE PHASES.

26 HI-FI SCREENS ACROSS THREE PHASES.

26 HI-FI SCREENS ACROSS THREE PHASES.

Onboarding and monetisation, the daily loop, and the emotional UX layer wilt state, mentor chat, evolution moments and accessibility preferences.

Onboarding and monetisation, the daily loop, and the emotional UX layer wilt state, mentor chat, evolution moments and accessibility preferences.

High-fidelity Bloomie product flow map
Low-fidelity Bloomie product flow map
LO-FI · EARLY FLOW
HI-FI · FINAL FLOW

05 — SEE IT MOVE

WALKTHROUGH & LIVE PROTOTYPE.

WALKTHROUGH & LIVE PROTOTYPE.

A 1:1 tour of the daily loop, wilt state and AI mentor plus a vibe-coded build you can actually open and explore.

TRY THE LIVE APP ↗

06 — SCREEN BY SCREEN

EVERY SCREEN SOLVES ONE SPECIFIC PROBLEM.

EVERY SCREEN SOLVES ONE SPECIFIC PROBLEM.

Six boards, three phases. Choose a board to see the problem, the decision, and what it unlocks.

Six boards, three phases. Choose a board to see the problem, the decision, and what it unlocks.

01 · Onboarding & Character Selection

02 · Naming and Paywall

03 · Checkout and Confirmation

04 · Dashboard & Habit Creation

05 · Check-in, Calendar, Garden

06 · Wilt, Mentor & Bloom

07 · SETTINGS & NAVIGATION

ONBOARDING· EMOTIONAL HOOK · SOUL SELECTION

PROBLEM

Standard trackers feel like cold chores and sterile streaks, causing fast drop-offs.

DESIGN DECISION

Anchor routines to empathy: introduce a companion that mirrors daily care and let users choose an archetype to adopt an identity.

WHAT IT BUYS

Immediate emotional resonance; habits shift from a chore into a shared bond.

06 — THE SYSTEM

HAND-DRAWN WARMTH ON A STRICT, OUTLINED GRID.

HAND-DRAWN WARMTH ON A STRICT, OUTLINED GRID.

BUTTER

chrome / navigation

BLUSH

wilt & empathy

SAGE

growth & success

ELECTRIC

primary action

INK

outline system

ICONS AS TEXTURE

180+ brutalist glyphs give every empty state and mood tag its own personality. Buttons map colour to emotional register: electric for commitment, blush for recovery, butter for low stakes.

09 — THE AI LAYER

A MENTOR THAT SPEAKS

A MENTOR THAT SPEAKS

TO SUPPORT,

NOT TO SHAME.

The AI is constrained by a persona spec: nature metaphors, no numbers, never a command. Every reply ends with an offer — the smallest possible next action.

The AI is constrained by a persona spec: nature metaphors, no numbers, never a command. Every reply ends with an offer — the smallest possible next action.

• TONE: GENTLE, SEASONAL, NON-JUDGEMENTAL

• BANNED: “STREAK”, “FAILED”, “YOU SHOULD”

• ALWAYS: ONE MICRO-COMMITMENT OFFER

Try a message →

Rosie

MENTOR CHAT · WILTED

RESET

I noticed our garden has been a bit quiet lately. Would a two-minute reset feel possible today?

I skipped yoga again

I feel like a failure

I’m too tired today

08 — OUTCOMES & EARLY VALIDATION

A REASON TO RETURN. NOT ANOTHER STREAK.

A REASON TO RETURN. NOT ANOTHER STREAK.

75%

75%

STILL LOGGING AFTER 3 WEEKS

8/12

8/12

RETURNED AFTER MISSING A DAY

€3–5

€3–5

WILLINGNESS TO PAY / MONTH

26

26

HI-FI SCREENS

2

2

FIDELITY ROUNDS (LO-FI → HI-FI)

4

4

EMOTIONAL STATES DESIGNED

01 — EARLY RETENTION

I shipped Bloomie as a working app and onboarded 12 early users from my personal network. After three weeks, 9 of 12 were still logging. This is an encouraging signal from a small early cohort, not evidence of retention at scale.

02 — RETURNING AFTER A MISS

Eight of the 12 early users returned after missing a day. The next step is to understand what brought them back and whether attachment to the plant consistently supports returning without adding guilt.

03 — PRICING SIGNAL

Early users indicated a willingness to pay €3–5 per month for a premium version with an AI mentor, evolution stages, and analytics. This is stated interest, not paid conversion; the next step is to test it with a real offer.

A TRACKER THAT GROWS WITH YOU.

A TRACKER THAT GROWS WITH YOU.

by Öykü Doğru.

MORE WORK ↗

REPLAY THE CASE STUDY