quarium
UX/UI Design
User Research
Productivity & SaaS
2026
24-hours
Won Best User Research award & 3rd place overall at UXathon 2026.
At a 24-hour designathon while working in a team of 4, I helped create quarium: a concept for a mobile app that helps users replace habitual social media scrolling with genuinely restful breaks using a calming, low-stress aquarium gamification system. I came up with the fish aquarium concept and visual identity, designing a low-stress interface centered on positive reinforcement rather than harsh app blocking. Additionally, I proposed the gamification loop which would keep users motivated and help make self-care enjoyable. I built the user research survey and used the data to build user personas and define core pain points surrounding screen fatigue and doomscrolling.
The Problem: People take "breaks" on social media that leave them feeling stressed and demotivated.
We started the designathon with a problem we all struggled with: When we took breaks from school or work, the instinctual habit was to pick up our phones and start scrolling. But this had the opposite of the intended effect of the break--it left us feeling like we'd wasted time scrolling, less motivated, and sometimes even more tired than before. We wanted to see if this was a common experience, so we created a survey, asked our peers to fill it out, and studied the results. We further did secondary research and found sources online that testified to the same results.
Solution: An app that stops social media usage at the root, and suggests personalized alternatives.
There many screentime app blockers out there, which we analyzed the design of. However, for the most part those apps block you by telling you what not to do, but don't tell you what you should do instead. This is where we came up with an app that provides you with alternatives to scrolling. These alternatives are personalized and customizable to the user to encourage taking breaks that are truly restful. The app acts both as an app blocker and an focus timer.
Design: A cute gamifcation loop to keep users motivated.
I came up with the aquarium theming of our app and proposed that we could gamify taking breaks to encourage users to stay motivated. Taking a break would add a fish into your personal aquarium, so you could see your progress update as you took breaks. You can also add your friends to see their aquariums and keep each other accountable. We intentionally designed the app to be minimalist in terms of features and visual identity as to not overwhelming: we wanted to prevent spending excessive time on your phone, not add to it.
