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Case Study • 13 mins read • 2023

UX Research

UX & UI Design

Usability Testing

An app that amplifies productivity and simplifies habit-building using gamification & AI

Habitude

Duration

03 Months

Tools

Figma, Miro, Trello, Adobe Creative suit

Industry

Health & Wellness, Lifestyle

Team

UX designer & researcher(me), Academic professionals

Overview (TL;DR)

In an age of information overload and constant distractions, Habitude is a thoughtfully crafted mobile app designed to help users build lasting habits and boost productivity by combining behavioural science, AI-driven insights, micro-learnings and gamification. This case study walks through the full design journey—from uncovering user struggles to crafting a human-centred solution that empowers users to build sustainable habits, gain clarity, and unlock their full potential — Tune into your true power

About The project

What is Habitude?

Developed as part of my Master’s coursework at Kingston University, Habitude was born from a simple observation:

In today’s relentless digital landscape, people struggle to form and sustain the very habits that could help them thrive. Rather than yet another reminder tool, Habitude aims to be a companion that makes habit-building intuitive, rewarding, and grounded in real behavioural principles.

Drawing on insights from psychology, micro-learning, AI-driven recommendations, and gamification, the app offers practical strategies and gentle nudges to help users turn good intentions into lasting routines.

Design process

To tackle the challenge of sustainable habit formation, I anchored the project in the five stages of Stanford’s Design Thinking: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. This structured yet flexible approach guided every decision—from understanding users’ motivational roadblocks to fine-tuning the app’s micro-learning modules—ultimately ensuring that Habitude not only looks good but truly works for the people it’s built to serve.

Stage 1: Empathise

Understanding user needs & behaviours

To design something truly useful, I needed to deeply understand what made habit-building hard in the real world. This stage was all about uncovering the "why behind the struggle" through qualitative and secondary research.

🔍 User Insight

Identifying emotional blockers like motivation dips, distraction, and overwhelm.

🎯 Behavioural Roots

Exploring psychology of habits—what drives repetition, rewards, and long-term change.

📊 Market Gaps

Analysing similar apps to spot UX blind spots, friction points, and underserved needs.

Initial Research

Understanding the Market

Before diving into user research, I conducted secondary research to grasp the broader market landscape and pinpoint key challenges. This analysis validated the demand for human-centred approach that goes beyond just tracking progress, aiming to support users in building lasting habits.

The UK mental health app market reached $294M in 2024, growing at 16% CAGR, driven by rising anxiety and demand for digital well-being.

61%

UK adults use digital tools to track health—indicating strong adoption of wellness and self-quantification tech.

Repeat a chosen behaviour in the same context until it becomes automatic

- Behavioural science advises:

highlighting the power of consistent, contextual repetition.

A 2024 systematic review found top habit-forming strategies include self-monitoring, goal-setting, reminder cues - often through feedback, auto-tracking, and rewards.

55%

Professionals report rising work intensity; 61% feel daily exhaustion, signalling demand for productivity and well-being tool.

38% of UK adults

Especially Gen Z and millennials, begin the year with a digital detox—seeking more mindful screen time and mental balance.

Digital distractions

Cost the UK economy £20B/year, with 83% of office workers admitting to frequent interruptions—amplifying the need for focus-friendly design.

It takes 21 days for the brain to start adapting to a new habit—making it a crucial behavioural milestone.

Primary Research & Synthesis

To uncover deeper behavioural insights, I conducted a series of 1:1 user interviews and a focus group session with individuals actively working to improve their routines. Participants consistently reported struggles with staying consistent, a lack of personalised guidance, and waning motivation after initial enthusiasm. Many felt overwhelmed by traditional productivity advice or unsure where to begin, revealing a clear knowledge gap in effective habit-building techniques.

To make sense of these findings, I synthesised the qualitative data using an affinity diagram. By grouping related insights into categories such as "motivation," "goal-setting," "user experience," and "engagement," I was able to visually organize the data, identify recurring patterns, and clarify the most pressing user needs. Notably, there was a strong desire for solutions that offered bite-sized, digestible guidance-an insight that directly inspired the integration of micro-learning into the app.

This research-driven approach ensured that Habitude’s design would be adaptive, engaging, and non-intimidating, effectively addressing user pain points and supporting successful habit formation.

Identifying Gaps in the Market

Competitive Analysis

While the habit and wellness app market is saturated with a wide range of tools, I selected Habitica, Coach.me, and Headspace for competitive analysis based on recurring mentions during user interviews. These apps represent the most commonly used or referenced platforms by our target users, offering valuable insight into current expectations, gaps, and opportunities for innovation.

Habitica

uses gamification effectively but lacks structured learning, progress feedback, and emotional support, often overwhelming users with tasks rather than building sustainable habits.

Coach.me

offers coaching and tracking but feels minimal and lacks engaging design or AI-based nudges—limiting daily user motivation and stickiness.

Headspace

is strong on mindfulness and content, but it’s not built for habit-building or productivity. Its focus is narrow, missing broader personal growth workflows.

Stage 2: Define

Framing the Problem with Clarity

After gathering rich insights, this phase marked the shift from exploration to definition—translating research into actionable design inputs and completing the first half of the Double Diamond. The focus was on defining who we’re designing for and what they truly need.

Mapping the Mindset

Empathy Mapping

Defining Our Users

User Persona

Mapping the Habit Journey

User Journey Mapping

To ground the design in real behaviour, I created empathy maps based on early conversations with two key users—a university student and a working professional. Both expressed a common tension: the desire to grow versus the struggle to stay consistent. Despite using productivity tools, users often felt overwhelmed and unsupported—highlighting the need for a more emotionally intelligent solution that provides clarity, structure, and flexibility.

Define Stage: Result

Framing real user needs

With a clear understanding of user challenges and motivations, I translated insights into focused opportunity statements. By framing core problems through How Might We questions, I was able to bridge the gap between research and ideation—capturing user needs in a way that inspires action. These questions kept my solution-thinking grounded, purposeful, and user-centred.

HMW provide consistent motivation and encouragement through reminders, challenges, and rewards so users can maintain focus and productivity?

HMW create an intuitive system for users to track their habits and monitor progress so they can maintain consistency and achieve their goals?

HMW make learning about new skills and habits engaging and relevant for users so that they can integrate them into their daily routines and improve productivity?

HMW provide personalized guidance and a structured system for users to set and manage goals so they can form routines that align with their objectives?

Stage 3: Ideate

Turning Problems into Possibilities

Exploring Possibilities

Answering the HMWs

With clearly defined problems, I moved into brainstorming solutions. I began by answering How Might We questions using rapid idea generation techniques. To push beyond obvious solutions, I used what-if scenarios—imagining how tech giants like Google, Facebook, or Snapchat might approach the same problems.
This exercise led to a broad spectrum of ideas, captured as sticky notes—some ambitious, some experimental—all focused on boosting motivation, progress visibility, and consistency.

Prioritising Ideas

Finalising Features

To narrow down the best ideas, I conducted NUF Testing—scoring each idea based on how New, Useful, and Feasible it was. For feasibility checks, I created rough sketches to test concept viability.

Ideas that scored above the threshold (20) were selected and transformed into clear user stories—establishing a strong foundation for the product’s core features.

The Solution

Habitude App

Habitude is a simple, intuitive app crafted to help users build better habits with clarity and ease. It addresses everyday struggles like low motivation, lack of structure, and habit fatigue through guided routines, visual progress tracking, helpful tools, and a soothing, personalised experience. Designed to reduce overwhelm and spark consistency, Habitude makes self-growth feel natural—not forced. Helping you build intentional habits to tune into your true power.

Habitude AI

Guidance Starts with Awareness

Many users struggle to improve simply because they don’t know what to improve or how to begin. This insight led to Habitude AI—a simple, prompt-based assistant that turns vague goals into clear, actionable routines.

Rooted in the principle of choice architecture and BJ Fogg’s behaviour model, the AI reduces decision fatigue and increases motivation by offering guided next steps. Whether it’s “I want to feel more confident” or “sleep better”, users get personalised, science-backed routines instantly—lowering the barrier to change.

A clear path with just one prompt.

The starting point

Home page design

The Habitude Home screen acts as a personalised launchpad—featuring today’s tasks, recommended learnings, pinned tools, and curated habit suggestions. It’s designed to give users a bit of everything, helping them ease into action without hunting through menus.

UX Strategy:

Personalisation: Content adapts based on user goals and past behaviour.

Progressive Disclosure: Keeps focus on key actions while leaving room to explore.

In early feedback, 70% of users preferred this homepage layout over more generic dashboards, citing ease of navigation and daily clarity as key benefits.

First Impressions Matter

Onboarding with Ease

Over 80% of users drop off within the first 3 days of using habit apps—often due to overwhelming onboarding. With Habitude, I designed a quick, intuitive flow that asks just what’s needed—your interests, struggles, and goals. It builds clarity and confidence from the start, helping users ease in with purpose, not pressure.

Habit-Building Essentials

Tools That Keep You on Track

Habitude’s Tools feature includes a Focus Timer with a strict mode and a Music player designed to support habit-building by minimising distractions and enhancing concentration.
  These small but powerful tools help users maintain focus and develop consistent routines, making habit-building feel more manageable and effective.

UX Strategy:

Environmental Design: Encourages users to create distraction-free zones by requiring the phone to be flipped face-down during focus sessions.

Nudge Theory: The strict mode gently enforces discipline by stopping the timer if the phone is lifted and not flipped back within 5 seconds.

Connected for Convenience

Smartwatch Integration

Habitude extends its habit-building support beyond the phone by seamlessly connecting with your smartwatch. This integration lets users control tools like the timer and music directly from their wrist, offering effortless access without disrupting flow. Plus, daily activity and habit data sync in real-time, giving users a holistic view of their progress across devices.

UX Strategy:

Seamless Interaction: Reduces friction by enabling quick, glanceable control.

Contextual Awareness: Uses real-time data to personalise habit suggestions.

Early users appreciated the ease of managing habits on-the-go, highlighting the convenience of smartwatch controls for staying focused throughout the day.

And much more...

Control in Your Hands

Habitude empowers users to set their own pace—whether it's defining how long they want to work on a habit or scheduling personalised reminders. This flexibility supports autonomy, a key motivator in behaviour change, helping users stay consistent on their terms.

Commit, Then Begin

Before jumping into action, users are invited to make a mindful agreement with themselves—a subtle nudge rooted in behavioural psychology. This small act of self-commitment boosts accountability, reduces procrastination, and transforms intention into action. The contract pop-up creates a moment of reflection and ownership, anchoring motivation in personal purpose—because while motivation may fade, commitment endures.

Stay Consistent

Quick daily check-ins and streaks help users build momentum and stay motivated—making progress visible, one day at a time.

Reflect to Reinforce

Each habit comes with a quick journal for noting wins, struggles, or emotions—building self-awareness and reinforcing consistency. Grounded in self-monitoring, these reflections can later feed into personalised analytics, offering deeper insights over time.

Words That Guide, Not Overwhelm

Every word in Habitude is crafted with intention—friendly, clear, and purpose-driven. From onboarding to tooltips, microcopy plays a silent but powerful role in easing friction, guiding behaviour, and building trust. It’s not just what users see, but how it makes them feel—encouraged, understood, and in control.

87% of users said the app feels easy to understand, and praised the blend of tone and illustrations for making the experience feel light yet purposeful.

Microinteractions & Animation

Subtle animations and microinteractions throughout Habitude bring the experience to life. They provide feedback, celebrate progress, and make navigation feel smooth and intuitive. These small moments of delight not only enhance usability but also boost motivation by making habit-building feel rewarding and engaging.

Accessibility Testing

Before diving into prototyping, I ran an accessibility check during the branding stage—ensuring colour contrasts met WCAG guidelines and typography was legible across devices. This early focus helped lay a strong, inclusive foundation for the app experience.

Usability Testing

To understand how Habitude performs in real-world settings, I tested the prototype with 10 participants across varying goals and backgrounds. The aim was to validate usability, emotional resonance, and feature usefulness in early-stage testing.

Impact & Results

Every design decision in Habitude was anchored in real user needs—from reducing overwhelm to boosting motivation. Early testing showed the app didn’t just look good, it worked. Features like personalised routines, thoughtful copy, and motivating tools helped users take consistent action and feel more in control of their growth journey.

Habitude AI became a go-to for users feeling overwhelmed. Several participants shared that having routines generated from simple prompts removed guesswork and gave them a clear starting point.

80%

users completed onboarding without confusion, noting that the flow felt “quick, clear, and helpful” in setting initial goals.

The Timer in strict mode helped reduce phone distractions. Users mentioned it felt like a “small challenge” that kept them focused and added a sense of commitment.

7/10

Users used Journaling and reflections and showed potential for future insights. Users expressed interest in seeing how their notes could evolve into personal analytics.

The Contract feature encouraged ownership. One tester said,

“It actually made me pause and take my goal seriously.”

90%

preferred the home screen layout for quick access to what matters.

Microcopy and tone stood out as highlights—participants described the language as “calm, supportive, and motivating,” contributing to a positive emotional experience.

Final Reflections

Habitude began as a passion project to explore how behaviour design could make habit-building less overwhelming and more personal. While several advanced features were conceptualised, I focused on launching a lean prototype that solves the right problems with clarity—starting small, but with strong foundations to scale.

Winning Moments

User-Centred Psychology: Applying commitment, personalisation, and progressive disclosure created experiences that felt intuitive and motivating.
System Thinking in Habit Design: Viewing habits not as tasks but as routines within goals helped connect micro actions with macro change.
Creative Copy and Microinteractions: Careful attention to language and delightful feedback moments made users feel supported—emotionally, not just functionally.
Lean Prototyping + Real Feedback: Testing early with just 10 users gave me directional clarity and validated emotional resonance over features alone.

Lessons Learned

Start Small, Think Big: It’s tempting to go feature-heavy, but focusing on emotional value and problem–solution fit early makes testing more meaningful.
Clarity > Complexity: The best features were the simplest ones—tools like the timer or the contract that quietly empowered users.
Trust the Process: Lean methods, from sticky-note ideation to voice-of-user synthesis, helped me move from ambiguity to clarity without losing creativity.
Design for Feedback, Not Validation: Testing low-fidelity paper prototypes encouraged open, honest feedback. Users felt more comfortable sharing thoughts when they knew nothing was set in stone—which led to braver, more actionable insights.