CULTIVA
A reading tracker app that helps struggling readers bridge the gap
between digital overstimulation and deep focus to build a sustainable reading habit.
Project Type> Solo Capstone Project
My Role> End-to-End UX/UI Designer & Lead UX Researcher
Methodology> Design Thinking
Key Outcomes> Validated the "Initiation Gap" hypothesis across international participants,
defined 5 core feature opportunities (including Soft Block and Organic Gamification)
and established a high-fidelity visual design system.
The Background & Motivation
This project served as the final assignment for my UX/UI Design bootcamp. Eager to experience every phase of the product lifecycle, I used this hands-on journey to identify my core strengths and define my specialisation, which ultimately led me to discover my passion for UX Research.
While working solo, I received guidance from my instructor during the benchmarking phase, allowing me to maintain momentum through UI execution while keeping data-driven research at the core.
The idea originated from a personal observation, I realised that every time I used social media I ended feeling depleted, so I began blocking social apps and turning to productivity tools. While those platforms helped track exercise and water intake none were tailored to rebuild a lost reading habit to rest the mind and the eyes from screen fatigue.
The Problem Statement
Digital overstimulation drains mental energy, making the transition from high-stimulation screens to low-stimulation books feel overwhelming. Current productivity apps exacerbate this through aggressive lockouts and intrusive notifications, creating cycles of guilt rather than genuine motivation.
The Initial Hypothesis
Following a competitive benchmark, I hypothesized that replacing aggressive app lockouts with soft cognitive transitions and organic, low-pressure rewards would significantly lower the friction required to start reading.
EMPATHIZE
As a passion project that I dream of bringing to life, I knew every decision had to be deeply rooted in data. To validate my core hypothesis, I conducted semi-structured, 15-minute 1:1 qualitative interviews with 5 participants across international markets (France, USA, and Mexico).
I listened closely, taking handwritten notes to capture their daily struggles, language, and emotional patterns. While 2 participants completely validated my initial hypothesis, the remaining 3 challenged my assumptions, uncovering fascinating new perspectives.
To synthesize my notes objectively and avoid confirmation bias, I imported the qualitative data into Notion and leveraged AI to categorize feedback, map out pain points, and discover genuine user motivations.
The Eureka Moment:
Participants did not actually struggle with reading itself, once they opened a book, they enjoyed it and stayed focused. The friction was almost entirely concentrated in the transition from the phone to the book.
Insights:
About Causes
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Users are conditioned by rapid digital feedback loops. Books feel slow by comparison, making the initial 5–10 minutes of reading feel uncomfortable.
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Existing productivity apps feel taxing. They demand too much manual entry, send intrusive notifications, and act like rigid to-do lists rather than supportive companions.
About Recurring Behaviors
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Reaching for the phone is a subconscious habit triggered by boredom, stress, or micro-downtimes.
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Users view reading as a healthy alternative to screen time, seeking emotional nourishment rather than depletion.
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The main barrier is shifting from high-stimulation environments (social media, work) to low-stimulation ones (a physical book).
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Users crave guidance but reject aggressive boundaries like hard lockouts or pushy reminders. They want a partner, not a warden.
About Pain Points
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The physical presence of a nearby phone creates constant cognitive load.
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Choosing social media over a book triggers shame, which paradoxically creates a emotional barrier to returning to reading.
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Choosing what to read, or sticking through a slow chapter, is a major drop-off point.
About Opportunities
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Replace hard lockouts with gentle, welcoming nudges that help users ease their focus away from the phone.
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Incorporate calm, non-intrusive gamification and rewards to satisfy progress without feeling like a childish grind.
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Allow users to capture quotes, transforming the app from a time tracker into a personal collector of wisdom.
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For abandoned books, avoid guilt-inducing reminders. Instead, offer thoughtful prompts like: "Remember this book? Maybe now is a better time for it."
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Shift away from broad public networks toward private, curated spaces, a "Tinder for readers" focused on shared mindsets and personal growth over social validation.
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Design a calm space that shields users from the fast-paced, overstimulating noise of the outside digital world.
DEFINE
With a clear direction in mind, I moved from raw data into defining Cultiva’s strategic identity and core structure.
I shaped the Product Vision & MVP Scope to keep the app focused on what truly matters: guiding users away from digital noise so they can cultivate a habit of deep focus. To ensure the product remained a gentle companion rather than a rigid tracker, I established strict Ethical Pillars: no toxic social comparison, no addictive dark patterns, and no aggressive warden-like behavior.
To make the app self-sustaining, I designed an ethical Monetization Strategy centered on a Freemium model. The free tier offers access to core features, standard time intervals, and the main tracking interface, while the Premium tier unlocks custom focus blocks, custom visual rewards, and quote export tools.
Finally, I translated all these decisions into the UX Architecture & Wireframes, mapping out a clean sitemap, strategic user flows, and mid-fidelity layouts to test navigation and hierarchy before adding visual design.
IDEATE
Armed with my research insights and the notes from my initial benchmarking, ideas started connecting almost instinctively.
I knew I wanted to integrate a respectful form of gamification with a subtle touch of warmth to build an emotional connection with the user. Fresh off a trip to Mexico, my initial sketches featured playful skeletons, skulls, and forehead stars as progress markers. Over time, those concepts naturally evolved into a calmer, botanical direction: the metaphor of a blooming digital brain.
Translating these ideas into my first hand-drawn wireframes brought me face-to-face with my first real roadblock: scope creep. As I mapped out screen structures, I found myself adding components like hard off-switches and complex bottom navigation bars, that bloated the interface. I quickly realized that if I tried to include every possible idea, the product would lose its calm essence and I would never reach the finish line.
To get past this hurdle, I stripped away non-essential elements and strictly anchored my wireframes to the core MVP and the user’s primary happy path:
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I eliminated the persistent bottom navigation bar during key reading screens to minimize cognitive load and eliminate visual distractions.
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I removed lockout buttons, replacing them with a gentle transition screen that guides the user without feeling restrictive.
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I redrew my quick paper sketches into clean, annotated mid-fidelity wireframes in Figma to clearly document how each UI decision solves the initiation gap.
Before diving into high-fidelity screens, I curated a moodboard which centers on organic minimalism, earthy tones, and soothing layouts with a touch of humor, particularly by reimagining the brain concept as a playful, interactive element.
PROTOTYPE
With the visual direction established, I transitioned into high-fidelity design by building a dedicated UI kit focused on accessibility, calm interactions, and emotional resonance.
Because Cultiva was conceived as a mobile companion to address phone-based distraction right where it happens, I focused exclusively on an iOS mobile experience.
To bring the product vision to life, I carefully crafted the UI foundation and interactive elements:
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Visual Identity & Typography: I established a warm, grounded color palette adhering to high-contrast accessibility standards. For typography, I paired Coben, a serif with the nostalgic, tactile feel of a classic book, with Avenir, a clean, accessible sans-serif for UI clarity.
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Component Architecture: I sourced and adapted a botanical design library aligned with my moodboard, illustrated the central brain illustration, and built reusable Figma components with explicit interactive states.
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Micro-Interactions & Tone of Voice: I authored a supportive, low-pressure tone of voice to guide the user. To reinforce deep focus without introducing visual noise, I animated a subtle, heartbeat-like pulsing effect on the brain vector to signal that it’s alive during reading sessions, pairing it with smooth, flash-free screen transitions to prevent digital overstimulation.
(Explore the interactive Figma prototype here)
TEST
Honestly, I was nervous about launching the test; I needed to know if Cultiva's promise of 'calm' actually translated through a screen.
I used Maze to conduct an unmoderated, remote study, reaching 25 participants across international markets. It was a massive reality check! Seeing that users felt motivated and calm confirmed the branding direction, but the quantitative metrics exposed real navigation struggles.
My biggest 'aha!' moment came from seeing 59 clicks on a single disabled pen icon. That, along with the detailed feedback users left in the comments, gave me a clear, golden guide for the future and proved they genuinely wanted a reflection feature.
I haven't implemented these changes yet, but the test didn't just find issues, it literally roadmaped Cultiva's next sprint, making me even more excited to build it live.