Smart Time-Tracking App
Role
PRODUCT DESIGNER
Duration
2 MONTHS
Platform
MOBILE
Industry
PRODUCTIVITY
Overview
Many people try to manage their time better, yet most tools make the process feel complicated and tiring.
Smart Time-Tracking App was created to make that awareness effortless. It combines a clean, modern interface with an AI assistant that helps users recognize patterns, build healthier habits, and feel in control of their time without pressure.
The MVP focused on validating whether time tracking could feel simple, intuitive, and genuinely enjoyable.
Challenge
Most time-tracking apps feel rigid or overwhelming and demand too much effort for something meant to save time. It was essential to create an experience that combines structure with simplicity, making time awareness feel effortless, motivating, and emotionally light.
My Role
As the only designer on the project, I led the end-to-end design process — from defining the UX strategy and conducting benchmarking to creating user flows, visual interfaces, and validating the concept through guerilla usability testing.
Design Approach
The project followed a human-centered design process adapted for a short, agile MVP cycle:
Understand
Market and user research, benchmarking
Define
Key pain points, product goals, and feature priorities
Ideate
User flows, low-fidelity wireframes, task breakdown
Design
Visual identity and interactive prototype
Validate
Early usability testing and ongoing iteration
Research & Insights
Competitive Benchmarking
YNAB
Clear time allocation model that inspired our “time budget” system.
Timely
Smart use of AI to detect activity patterns.
Toggl Track
Quick-start experience with minimal setup.
Clockify
Simple, accessible manual entry for flexible tracking.
Our reference point was YNAB — its time allocation model inspired the idea of ‘budgeting hours’ instead of just logging them.”
Core User Insights
Through the benchmarking process, we identified three key user needs that shaped the MVP direction:
Quick, frictionless time entry
Clear visual feedback on tracked time
Smart, motivational insights (not guilt or overload)
Defining the MVP
Given the short project timeline, we focused on two main features: real-time tracking and time allocation system.
These features provide both flexibility and structure — allowing users to balance spontaneity with intentional time management.
Real-Time Tracking
A simple input field on the home screen to log what the user is doing
Select a category (e.g., Work, Learning, Chores)
Start/stop timer or log manually
Visual timeline showing active and past sessions
Time Allocation System
Inspired by YNAB’s “envelope” method — users allocate weekly hours (e.g., 40h) across categories and subcategories.
Categories: Work, Study, Life, Calls, etc.
Subcategories: Meetings, Deep Work, etc.
Color-coded bars visualize progress toward or beyond targets
Set “target hours” (e.g., at least X hours of learning, max Y hours of calls)
Interaction Design
& Wireframing
Building on the defined MVP structure, the product logic was translated into a clear and engaging user experience. The focus was on how each function fits into the overall flow and how users naturally move between time tracking, time allocation, and smaller supporting actions like managing categories.
Wireframes became a way to explore the rhythm of interaction and to test how the interface communicates hierarchy, relationships, and intent without relying on visuals.
As a result, we achieved a set of well-defined flows that made the experience intuitive and easy to follow, allowing us to test how users understood and navigated the product before moving into the final design phase.
Visual design
The visual direction was defined to create a modern, clear, and emotionally engaging interface. The interface was designed to feel focused yet calm, combining a clean aesthetic with soft gradients, rounded forms, and glass-like effects that added depth without distraction.
The interface uses the Luftga typeface, chosen for its geometric precision and contemporary character. A vibrant color system connects each category with its own tone, while accessible contrast ratios ensure le gibility for all users. A unified component library defines color styles, cards, and UI patterns that shape the app’s consistent visual language and make the system easy to scale.
Usability Testing & Outcomes
Before development, the prototype was tested through quick guerilla usability sessions with early users and colleagues to gather fast feedback on clarity, flow, and visual hierarchy. Testing confirmed that the real-time tracking flow was immediately clear, while some confusion around targets and allocations was resolved through small microcopy and visual adjustments.
These quick iterations validated the core concept and helped refine the interface before handoff. The MVP now provides a solid foundation for future updates, including planned integrations with Slack and Google Calendar, AI-driven insights, and an enhanced analytics dashboard for time visualization.
Reflection
This project reinforced my ability to own the end-to-end design process — from discovery to delivery — while staying grounded in user needs.
It also strengthened my visual storytelling skills, helping me turn complex time data into clear, motivating experiences.