Jot

Jot is a mobile journaling app designed to help users develop new habits and maintain consistency. Inspired by my personal experience of starting a journal at the beginning of this year, I recognized the value of a simple, low-commitment system that facilitates consistency. This fueled my ambition to develop Jot into a mobile application, providing users with an tool to effortlessly track their progress and stay consistent in their journaling journey.

Team
Individual Project

Role
Product Design

Timeframe
March, 2024 - Present

Journaling consistently can be tough.

Problem

While journaling is a common practice for many individuals, maintaining consistency is a challenge for many. This struggle is often attributed to factors such as time constraints, perceived complexity, and difficulty in finding a suitable format.

Why is it so hard?

Interviews

In order to understand the problem and the users needs, I conducted interviews with 10 individuals interested in self improvement and self care. I also created online surveys in order to better understand the main struggles individuals face when beginning their journal.

Q: What are some obstacles you face when journaling or starting to journal?

  • “Finding time to sit down every day. It’s hard to maintain consistency.”

  • “Being honest with yourself.”

  • “Motivation. Its hard to maintain the purpose of why you started.”

Q: What do you think would help make journaling easier?

  • “Making it more easily accessible.”

  • “I need accountability. Maybe having friends who also do it.”

  • “Some motivation like money on the line.”

Design process

Visual Identity

My main focus was on achieving a minimalistic aesthetic while still creating a sense of warmth and friendliness.

Wireframes

introducing jot

Set Goals

  • Set new goals every month.

  • Set reminders to stay on track.

Log

  • Quickly log the highlight of the day.

  • Rate your daily effort towards your goal. 

  • Quickly view past logs and keep track of progress. 

Create Entries

  • Longer journal entries for whenever it feels right.

  • Keep track of events and thoughts that cannot fit into one sentence. 

Widgets

  • Display streaks to keep up motivation.

  • Maintain consistency through daily reminders.

Solution

Jot simplifies journaling with a low-commitment system which prompts users to summarize their day in one sentence and rate their daily effort towards monthly goals. For more detailed entries, a section for longer reflections is available. This streamlined approach helps users maintain consistent journaling habits while monitoring their progress towards personal goals.

FRIENDS

  • Remind each other to log.

  • Displays streak to keep each other accountable.

Final Thoughts

Going forward, I hope to implement prototypes and translate the design from Figma to code, and conduct further research to incorporate feedback from actual users of the app. Overall, this project has been a fun challenge for me and I enjoyed the process of turning a journaling system I use into something practical and helpful. 

Designing a product from the very beginning was something new to me and posed many challenges but experimenting with what works and navigating through the process gave me a better understanding of the phases of product development and the role of design in the process. It was exciting to see something I use daily slowly develop into an actual product.