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WHEN

December 2022

TOOLS

Figma

Illustrator

Photoshop

The Pomodoro Timer

UX/UI DESIGN, UX RESEARCH, USER-TESTING, PROTOTYPING, BRANDING

BRIEF / PROMPT

Conduct research and user interviews to understand how people visualize and manage their time. Investigate specifically the needs, wants, motivations, frustrations, and behaviors or habits of the users. Create a user experience for the Apple Watch that helps solve a problem identified in your research. Create the following deliverables:

MY WORK

In this project, I conducted 5 user interviews to understand how people visualize and manage their time and to investigate their needs, wants, motivations, frustrations, and behaviors/habits. I brainstormed several directions to design the Apple Watch app and ultimately decided to create a Pomodoro Timer app to help users to stay focused, take breaks, and stay motivated with their work.

The Pomodoro Timer is an innovative and user-friendly apple watch application designed to help users boost their productivity and stay focused throughout the day. Based on the Pomodoro Technique (setting fixed amounts of time to work and take breaks), this application provides an effective and straightforward method of time management to help users get the most out of their work day.

RESEARCH / INTERVIEWS

The project begins with conducting 5 user interviews to understand how people visualize and manage their time and to investigate their needs, wants, motivations, frustrations, and behaviors/habits. I interviewed a range of people, including 1 Apple Watch user, 1 Samsung Watch user, and 3 who did not wear a watch regularly. I then used the research findings to brainstorm 3 possible directions to take with my Apple Watch app design.

Interview Questions:

  • Please introduce yourself. What is your name, age, and occupation (are you a student?).

  • Do you believe time management is an important skill? Why or why not?

  • What are your goals for time management?

  • How do you conceptualize/visualize time? (e.g. in blocks, by the hour, by events, by a percentage of the day, as a countdown until bedtime, etc.)

  • Do you prefer using a digital or analog clock? Why? Do you ever use different techniques for time telling?

  • Do you ever feel as though time passes by at varying speeds based on the activity you are currently engaged in? Name a specific example.

  • How do you manage your time? Do you use or have used any time management techniques? (e.g. using a planner, time blocking on a calendar)

  • How successful are the time management techniques you have tried?

  • Do you have an Apple Watch or any electronic watch? What is your main device for telling the time?

  • [If the interviewee does use an electronic watch] How do you mainly use your electronic watch? Which watch face do you use? What features do you wish you had on your electronic watch?

  • How would you describe your sleep schedule? Do you think it is healthy? Do you ever find yourself going to bed too late and not getting enough sleep? Why?

  • Do you ever use a clock tower to tell time? Or some other shared time-telling device in the community? (e.g. a school bell)

  • Before personal time-telling devices were available, people used to rely on clock towers shared by the community which was often local landmarks that were a shared part of people’s routines and traditions (e.g. celebrating the new year). What are your thoughts on the switch from using clock towers to personal time-telling devices? What do we gain and lose?

  • What applications do you use on your electronic devices to help tell, plan, and manage time? What are your favorite and most used features?

  • What features would you like to see on an electronic watch that you’d be interested in?

  • Is the functionality or aesthetics of a clock or watch face more important?

  • [Show and explain to the interviewee pictures of different watch faces for the Apple Watch] What are your thoughts on these different watch faces? 

  • Do you have any thoughts or questions you would like to ask me?

Interview Findings:

  • Electronic watch users mostly used their digital watch for checking notifications.

  • One interviewee uses a feature where he gets tapped on the wrist by his Apple Watch as every hour passes. He found this feature helpful as it reminds him of time passing and often reminds him to get back to work after getting distracted from a task.

  • Different people visualize time in different ways. One interviewee thinks of time as a timeline. One interviewee thinks of time as numbers. However, both use Google Calendar to see their schedule and plan their day.

  • Several interviewees struggle especially with time management, finding motivation to start doing work, and getting distracted.

  • One interviewee enjoyed using the Pomodoro Method to help her start studying and stay motivated to keep studying.

  • In general, the interviewees want a way to better motivate them to start and stay productive for prolonged periods of time without getting distracted, especially by their phones.

     

Research / Competitive Analysis:

Conducted research on existing apps and watch faces relating to time telling, time management, and time visualizations.​ Below are some examples of similar apps already on the market and some insights on their strengths and weaknesses.

 

UI DESIGN VERSION #1

Based on the research, I create wireframes and prototypes for the Pomodoro Timer Apple Watch app design, focusing on allowing users to start Pomodoro Timers and be able to track their progress. I also experimented with using the outer rim of the Apple Watch as a progress bar. After brainstorming, creating wireframes, and creating a digital prototype in Figma, I conducted user testing with 5 people using a paper prototype, the Figma prototype displayed on a laptop screen, and a Figma prototype on an actual Apple Watch using a Figma plug-in called Watch Mirror.

PAPER PROTOTYPE

Conducted user testing with 5 people using a paper prototype, the Figma prototype displayed on a laptop screen, and a Figma prototype on an actual Apple Watch using a Figma plug-in called Watch Mirror. The paper prototype was printed to-scale and had interchangeable screens that were labeled on the back based on their order in the workflow.

User Testing Goals:

  • Does the Apple Watch application help users stay focused? (or does it actually distract them)

  • Is the application easy and intuitive to use? 

  • Would the user actually use the application themselves?
     

USER TESTING RESULTS

The first iteration of the Pomodoro Timer UI design for the Apple Watch was not successful because it was not intuitive to users and the elements on the screen were too small. The outer rim progress bar contributed to the lack of real estate on the already small screen size, and would not be friendly for older models of the Apple Watch that do not have edge-to-edge screens. The overwhelming amount of information on each screen was also a problem that contributed to the lack of intuitiveness and small size of UI elements.​

Areas for Improvement:

  • Make the buttons bigger as they are difficult to tap on the small screen.

  • Make the design less “busy” and distracting (e.g. taking away the unnecessary elements).

  • Make the color scheme less bright and distracting.

  • Make the overall experience more intuitive for first-time users who may not have experience with the Pomodoro technique or study planners prior.

  • Break down crowded screens into several more simple screens.

  • Remove the outer rim progress bar as it takes up too much room of the screen and is not friendly to older models of the Apple Watch that do not have edge-to-edge screens.

  • Perhaps adding visuals to the Pomodoro timer itself would improve the experience.

  • Instead of returning to the home screen, the user should stay on the Pomodoro timer screen when working (and this screen should be designed to be non-distracting).

UI DESIGN VERSION #2

Using the feedback and ideas I received from the user testing of the first iteration, I designed improved screens with modifications to improve the user experience. One of the biggest changes I made in UI design version #2 was simplifying the screens and breaking down complex tasks into multiple easier to follow screens to make the user workflows more intuitive. I also changed the color scheme to be less distracting and added small "bubbles" that appear after a user finishes a Pomodoro cycle, acting as a small reward (in addition to progress tracking) for the user successfully focusing for their set amount of time.