Overview
Support new adults in turning their mundane to-do lists into engaging productivity tools they love using.
Role
MDes Student
Researcher
Vibe Designer
Time
1 week
Event
Figma x Contra Makeathon
| CONTEXT
The Adulting Learning Curve
"Adulting" isn't just about remembering tasks and checking them off—it's about feeling capable while you're still learning.
Traditional to-do apps handle logistics but miss the emotional reality of major life transitions. Recent graduates need more than task management. They need encouragement when things feel hard, celebration of their progress, and tools designed for people still figuring things out.
For the Figma x Contra Makeathon, I decided to tackle this pain-point using Figma Make within 1 week.
| DESIGN VISION
Not Just Another To-Do App!
To-do apps have become essential during major life transitions—graduation, first jobs, living independently. But most productivity tools feel cold and impersonal for users still learning adult responsibilities.
Sterile interfaces, vanishing progress tracking, and lack of positive reinforcement do not provide the supplemental support for people who already feel overwhelmed. This redesign makes task management more supportive by adding motivational elements and progress celebration while keeping the experience simple and accessible.
| SECONDARY RESEARCH
To-Do Apps Don't Scale with Emotional Complexity.
With the 1 week deadline for the Makeathon. I decided to conduct secondary research through a scan of TikTok and Reddit reviews which revealed consistent and ongoing frustrations with productivity tools for young adults:
Challenges with Note UI
Thousands of TikTok views on "how to customize Apple Notes to dos" - users need complex workarounds just to make productivity feel motivating.
Lack of progress indicator
Completed tasks vanish without accomplishment. No acknowledgment of growth during an already uncertain life periods.
One-Size-Fits-None
Standard interfaces overlook how overwhelming adulting feels for beginners. Personalized emotionally-supportive solutions are needed for this vulnerable transition.
User Conversations
I had conversations with various emerging adults regarding their experience with post-grad life management which revealed the emotional gap in productivity tools.
The following are main insights I found:
Through conversations, I found that there was a sentiment of imposter syndrome of adulting that runs deeper than simple task management.
Ultimately, I found that users crave recognition that acknowledges the emotional weight of learning independence, not just task completion.
| CUSTOMER INSIGHTS
Recent graduates…
rely on to-do apps to manage new responsibilities like finances, job applications, and social commitments.
Their mental models are shaped by tools like Notion and Apple Notes, so they understand organizational features. However, they need experiences tailored for people still learning adult responsibilities, with emotional support built into the interface and warmer, more encouraging UI patterns.
The core pain point isn't just organization. It's cognitive overload from multiple responsibilities hitting simultaneously. Moving, starting work, managing personal life, and handling finances all demand attention at once.
| COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
What can we learn from existing solutions?
The gap in existing solutions
Apple Notes is simple but emotionally unsupportive. Habitica offers emotional intelligence and engagement, but requires significant setup before users can access those benefits. This creates a barrier for users who are already overwhelmed.
What's needed: Accessible gamification that combines Habitica's emotional awareness with Apple Notes' immediacy.
Overlook of Apple Notes indicated a minimalistic approach that lacked emotional support
Insights from Apple Notes
The double-edged sword of simplicity
Apple Notes' intuitive design attracts overwhelmed users, but its functionality feels emotionally flat. Tasks are checked off and immediately vanish, offering no acknowledgment of effort or progress. Users managing major life transitions need more than a checklist. They need to see their growth, feel their achievements, and receive encouragement along the way.
Analysis of Habitica showed the benefits of gamifications but there was a high barrier of entry
Insights from Habitica
Habitica gets emotional support right but requires effort
Habitica's XP system and rewards prove the app understands part of the emotional equation. Users clearly want celebration and progress tracking. But Habitica misses a critical insight: accessibility matters. Its complex setup creates barriers for overwhelmed users, preventing them from accessing the emotional support features they need.
| DESIGN GOALS
From Research to Design Direction
Emotional Task Support
Create low-barrier organizational tools with personalized positive reinforcement integrated throughout the experience to support users navigating adult transitions.
Emotional + Gamification
Transform tasks into visible achievements using XP, levels, and celebration messages that build confidence and provide tangible proof of progress.
Personalized Motivation
Provide customizable backgrounds and task-specific messages that make task management feel encouraging and personally relevant to users' daily lives.
| EMPATHIZE
Storyboarding the adulting experience
Scenario Storyboard for Managing Overwhelming Task Loads
Scenario Storyboard for Keeping Track of Accomplishments
| Emotional Task Support
Making tasks feel less like a chore.
I wanted to move beyond a simple checklist by making tasks visually engaging. Inspired by Habitica and retro space games, I designed colorful, customizable pills that would evolve as users progressed. The idea was that leveling up would unlock new features like decorations, accessories, and interactive elements, letting users personalize their experience.
But this created more problems than it solved. The interactions were difficult to build in Figma Make and would be hard to maintain long-term. The interface became cluttered and distracting. Most importantly, it didn't provide the emotional support users actually needed.
Early Rough Draft of Task Designs in Figma Make
Looking at the level titles, I realized they were too vague. Something like "Level 1 - Adulting Achieved" didn't mean anything or acknowledge the real work of managing your life. But I saw an opportunity there. What if leveling up unlocked titles that captured the adulting experience while celebrating your progress? Titles that were funny, relatable, and something you'd look forward to earning. Since adulting tasks never really stop, this would give users ongoing motivation and be much easier to build and maintain.
Early Level Designs - inspiration from retro space games
FigmaMake's constraints actually helped me figure this out. I couldn't rely on placeholder text or edit copy later. Every level title had to be intentional and written from the start. This pushed me to create titles that were specific and empathetic by design, not just generic labels with numbers.
In the final iteration, I created custom adulting titles that relate to the actual experience, things like "Tax Warrior" or "Relationship Referee." They're positive, relatable, and a little funny. Universal enough to work for everyone, but still personal enough to connect to what users are actually going through.
| Personalized Motivation
Designing pop-ups that actually support.
My initial approach was straightforward: after completing a task, a pop-up would display a positive message like "Great job!" Below is what FigmaMake initially generated. It wasn't decorative, but rather a functional prototype for the pop-up interaction. However, the first iterations featured messaging that was too generic and bland.
Early Message Pop-Up Designs
With FigmaMake, I needed to design a more intentional framework. I created distinct pop-ups for different contexts: one for the to-do list and another for the game page. Each featured pre-written messages tailored to its specific moment, congratulating users on adding tasks, completing them, and interacting with tasks in the game page. This ensured users felt supported throughout their experience.
The goal was making encouragement feel like a natural part of the user journey rather than a one-size-fits-all notification. I applied the same approach used for custom adulting titles, crafting messages that were positive, relatable, and lightly humorous. Messages that felt personal and connected to users' actual experiences, not just generic "Great job!" responses. These acknowledgements appeared when users added a task, completed a task, and finished interacting with it on the game page. Each was specific and meaningful.
For the final iteration, I incorporated a retro game design throughout to maintain visual consistency across the platform.
| Final Designs
A to-do game that makes adulting feel manageable by turning daily tasks into visible achievements and encouraging progress.
Task History & Organization
Welcoming entry
Sets a supportive, positive tone from the start.
Immediate task input
Gets users started quickly without complex onboarding.
Visually appealing game page
Provides a dynamic space users want to return to.
Progress tracking
Creates a lasting record of completed tasks instead of a disappearing checklist.
Accessible Gamification
Task History & Organization
A clear path of progress, not a complex game.
Task history keeps track of your completed work, giving you a visible record of everything you've accomplished instead of letting it disappear.
Emotional Task Support
Customizable Aesthetic Themes
Encouragement that fits the moment and feels like you.
Relatable backgrounds
Users can choose from backgrounds inspired by real home environments and personal vibes. Each option is designed to reflect the everyday spaces and moods people experience in their daily lives.
Motivational messages
Motivational messages are tailored to the context, creating support that feels natural and integrated into the experience.
Pixel-art style
Keeps the interface warm and playful rather than corporate or sterile.
Personalized Motivation
Progress & Gamification
Achievement System & Milestones
Relatable Adulting Titles
Evokes positive emotions through humor by swapping generic labels ('Level 5') for quirky, relatable titles ('Laundry Legend') that celebrate post-grad milestones.
Achievement pop-ups
Facilitates a sense of accomplishment with supportive pop-up messages that acknowledge completed tasks.
| Final Designs
Reflection: Did I win? (Sort-of)
I didn't place in the Figma Makeathon, but I still consider it a win—just not in the traditional sense.
The real opportunity came from the unlimited FigmaMake credits given to participants. Without any constraints, I was able to explore the platform's full capabilities and build a functional tool I genuinely needed as someone new to managing adult responsibilities. Along the way, I learned to integrate Supabase, convert projects into FigmaSites, conduct usability studies with advanced prototypes, and experience firsthand how AI is reshaping design through rapid prototyping.
The experience was transformative. The time pressure and unlimited prompts pushed my skills and adaptability in ways I hadn't expected. And in a sense, I did win—I now have a free gamified task manager that I use every day. Through usability testing, I'm already considering new features like a buddy system (think Nintendogs) or more practical additions like repeatable tasks.
Overall, it was an incredibly valuable experience. If you're curious, you can try LifeLevel for yourself.
