PACT

one designer, one developer
four months - live project

Rethinking how people build habits through PACT

My Role: UX Designer & Researcher

Timeline: Jan – April 2025

Tools Used: Figma, Framer, Notion

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1

Designer

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1

Developer

Hi.

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4

Months

Overview

01

The Problem

Most habit apps focus on streaks and productivity, creating pressure instead of progress. Users feel anxious when they miss a day, making consistency harder.

02

The Solution

PACT redefines habit formation as a self-compassionate journey — not a rigid routine. It uses reflective prompts, gentle nudges, and community accountability to help users build habits that last.

03

My Role

Led end-to-end design — research, journey mapping, UI/UX. focused on creating an interface that felt supportive rather than judgmental, designing the grid system for maximum clarity.

Research & Discovery

User Research Methods:

10 user interviews with busy students and young professionals. Surveys on habit-tracking behaviour and app fatigue. Competitive market research (Habitica, Finch, and Fabulous). Regular discussions with PM about technical possibilities and constraints

Key Insights:

Motivation fluctuates with emotional states, not reminders.
People abandon apps that shame or over-notify.

Reflection and accountability increase retention.

Motivation fluctuates with emotional states, not reminders.
People abandon apps that shame or over-notify.

Reflection and accountability increase retention.

Competitive Analysis:

Reddit communities revealed “guilt” and “app fatigue” as recurring complaints about streak-based trackers. Existing habit trackers punish users with harsh streak resets (Streaks, HabitBull), create guilt through gamification (Habitica), or lack visual clarity (Way of Life)—no app combines retrospective check-ins with a compassionate, non-judgmental grid system that acknowledges real life while encouraging honest consistency.

Reddit communities revealed “guilt” and “app fatigue” as recurring complaints about streak-based trackers. Existing habit trackers punish users with harsh streak resets (Streaks, HabitBull), create guilt through gamification (Habitica), or lack visual clarity (Way of Life)—no app combines retrospective check-ins with a compassionate, non-judgmental grid system that acknowledges real life while encouraging honest consistency.

Journey Mapping:

Current Journey (Traditional Habit Trackers)

1.Download app excited → 2. Build 10-day streak → 3. Miss one day due to illness → 4. Streak resets to 0 → 5. Feel defeated → 6. Avoid opening app → 7. Miss more days → 8. Delete app feeling like failure

Desired Journey (With PACT)

Download PACT → 2. Build progress over 10 days → 3. Miss one day due to illness → 4. Check in retrospectively the next day, mark as missed → 5. See full picture in grid (10 checks, 1 miss) → 6. Feel honest and okay → 7. Continue building habit → 8. View long-term patterns

Current Journey (Traditional Habit Trackers)

1.Download app excited → 2. Build 10-day streak → 3. Miss one day due to illness → 4. Streak resets to 0 → 5. Feel defeated → 6. Avoid opening app → 7. Miss more days → 8. Delete app feeling like failure

Desired Journey (With PACT)

Download PACT → 2. Build progress over 10 days → 3. Miss one day due to illness → 4. Check in retrospectively the next day, mark as missed → 5. See full picture in grid (10 checks, 1 miss) → 6. Feel honest and okay → 7. Continue building habit → 8. View long-term patterns

User Persona

Maya, 27

Creative working professional seeking structure without pressure.

Apps She Uses: Notion, Headspace, Apple Health, Spotify.

Maya is juggling her full time job and creative endeavours. She genuinely wants to build healthy routines—like meditation, drinking more water, and working out consistently—but often loses momentum after the first two weeks. Most habit apps feel either too gamified or too strict. She wants an app that understands real life, keeps her gently accountable, and celebrates small progress.

Goals

  • Build consistent daily habits without feeling pressured

  • Track progress visually to stay motivated

  • Have flexibility to skip days when life gets busy

Frustrations

  • Habit apps breaking streaks even if she misses one day

  • Feeling guilty when the app sends negative notifications

  • Too many steps to create a simple habit

  • Over-complicated dashboards

Needs

  • Simple, fast habit setup

  • Encouraging reminders

  • Flexibility (skip days)

  • Visual motivation (streaks, milestones)

Why PACT Helps

  • The Pact feature gives accountability without pressure

  • Streak rings + micro-celebrations make progress rewarding

  • Flexible skip days keep her from feeling like she “failed”

  • Clean dashboard reduces overwhelm

Define & Ideate

Design
Philosophy:

  1. Compassion over competition

  2. Balance over perfection

  3. Reflection over rigidity

  1. Compassion over competition

  2. Balance over perfection

  3. Reflection over rigidity

Brainstorming & Early Sketches:

Explored habit loops that adapt to mood and energy levels.

Explored habit loops that adapt to mood and energy levels.

Information Architecture:

Design Solution

Home Page

A daily snapshot that shows your progress at a glance and keeps your commitments top of mind.

All Pacts

An overview of all your active habits, visualized to make consistency visible and motivating.

Create New Pact

A simple, guided flow to turn an intention into a clear, trackable commitment.

New Pact Created

Instant feedback that confirms your pact is live and reinforces momentum from day one.

Reflection & Next Steps

What I Learned:

Empathy-centered UX turns productivity tools into emotional allies.

What I’d Do Differently:

Test gamified “collective pact” features earlier for group motivation.

Future Iterations:

AI-powered adaptive nudges based on user’s emotional tone.

Business Considerations:

Premium tiers for guided accountability groups or expert-led challenges.

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