Daydream

A playful journaling app to help bring back the childish joys we have lost and forgotten as we grew up.

Project Information

A year-long thesis project where we get to explore any topic, in any method of research and present the final design deliverables however we see fit. The amount of freedom was both daunting and an exciting challenge.

I decided on the topic of "(the lack of) play in teenagers and adults", focusing on how our idea of play evolves as we mature into adults with less time and more responsibilities, and how that change might desuade us from being more playful in our day-to-day life.

For the final deliverables, I prototyped and animated an idea for a journaling app that posts daily prompts to encourage imaginary play.

Project Details

Duration 
Sep. 2020 – Apr. 2021

Tasks 
Illustrations • UI/UX Design • Animations • Research • Project Management • Presentation

Tools 
Illustrator • AfterEffects • Adobe Xd • Affinity Designer • Keynote

Promotional Video

Application Prototype

Below are interactable prototypes of two user flows: initial onboarding tutorial and going through the achievements collection.

The Adobe Xd file has been updated since the project was delivered in April of 2021, so there may be minor differences between the prototypes and the promotional video above.

Onboarding

This flow follows a new user as they go through a simple tutorial laying out basic functions of the Daydream app. 

Achievements

This flow goes through the achievement collection page under the profile icon as well as customizing the user's dream space.

Screen Mockups

App showcase psd created by rezaazmy - www.freepik.com

Reflections & Next Steps

I'll be honest, remotely completing the last year of university was tough. The burnout was real and my motivation was down the drain. Fortunately, I had a topic that I am genuinely interested in, which helped push me to complete the year-long project and allowed me to proudly present my final designs to my classmates, my professors, and now, the Internet!

I have a lot of ambitious ideas for this project, the most important one is to incorporate other types of play (dramatic, competitive, physical, constructive, symbolic, etc.) into the Daydream app, as it currently only touches upon imaginary play.

Other ideas I would like to play with include: creating a promotional website, updating the promotional video with better animations and to actually try programming the app.

The Process