What's this about?

Damit approached me with a rough concept for a depression prevention app based on habit building. With visuals already in place, they needed a cohesive design:

  • I grounded the design in psychological research to support mental health goals
  • I designed an intrinsically motivated core game loop that outlasted churn
  • I transformed its mixed reality layer into a seamless part of the game design

Challenges

Feel free to leave

The goal wasn't retention at all costs, but letting users leave any time without falling back to old patterns. What they learned had to last.

Strapped on cash

With limited budget, I prioritised research and a sound concept over UI design, which would've offered the least impact for the most effort.

A delicate matter

Building resilience against depression required care, with mechanics grounded in psychology and designed to avoid unwanted side effects.

Touch grass

A healthy routine requires some time outside. The design would need to mirror this balance utilising mixed reality elements.

Strategy

A prime blueprint

Given the complexity, I first had to bring together research, product constraints, and the team's goals into a coherent whole that could hold all of it.

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Infinity loop

At the heart of it all, there needed to be an intrinsically rewarding core loop, so motivation would hold even after users churned from the app.

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Into the wild

With mixed reality as a requirement, I needed an outdoor equivalent to the hub at home. If only there were a structure that naturally reflected it...

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A prime blueprint

Do your homework

I grounded my work in psychological research. A key concept is learned helplessness, typically associated with depression, but equally relevant for prevention, which is countered by building a solid, varied foundation of habits that holds up under setbacks.

Activity system

I grouped all activities into distinct types to balance their quantity and unify their user flows, and then tiered them so more complex activities would unlock gradually as users moved through earlier stages and built confidence

Translating into systems

I designed a loop where completion of daily routines unlocks new activities of the player's choice. This is intrinsically rewarding, as players learn to enjoy new activities for their own sake, rather than the app. This in turn improves future success by making daily routines more adaptable, in line with the psychological foundation.

A wholesome journey

With all pieces in place, I mapped user flows across each journey, covering every possible path and leaving no state without a fitting next step. I also accounted for multi-session flows, especially during motivation drops.

Infinity loop

Feel the variety

With the activities clustered, each type needed its own UX. Inspired by Headspace's calm, lightweight feel, I translated that approach across the different activity types, most notably the outside and multi step activities.

C-c-c-Combo Breaker

Streaks are a strong intrinsic motivator, as consistency is key to habit building. The Streaks app served as an inspiration. In DAMIT, streaks also increase a reward multiplier, reinforcing the intrinsic loop. Failure still offers reduced rewards to avoid punishment.

What's on your mind?

Memories were a new addition to the concept. Since journaling is an effective mental health tool, I included it to build a sense of progress and enable introspection when a streak breaks. The iOS Journal app served as inspiration.

Into the wild

Home sweet home

At the core was a beever village, tying everything together. It served as the central hub, with new animals joining over time, each with their own building, which also acted as the entry point to its respective activity type.

Walking 500 miles

The initial vision had users gradually uncover a map as they spent time outside. I reworked this concept into a path drawn on the map, plotted by distance from home. At any given location (e.g. at work), users could set up camp, creating a direct connection between real life and the experience.

Diversify!

To incentivise time outside, I introduced two resources: craft and wood. Both were needed to upgrade the village, with wood earned outside and craft at home. Tasks completed from a camp yielded wood instead, reinforcing a healthy balance between home and outside.

The result

Your life, your choice

DAMIT became a project we were all genuinely proud of 🤌💋 The app always leaves you in control, free to shape your life on your own terms. We supported that freedom at every step, with suggestions for adjustments and a randomiser to discover new activities.

Hey! I'm the founder of DAMIT! What can I say, Michal's work was perfect — so much so that I want to put real effort into the recommendation - but then I keep feeling unhappy with it and keep deleting it again 🙈

Magdalena Gigler
Jealous? 😐

No need to be! I got all the resources to make your project just as awesome and beyond! How about we have a short talk and exchange about your requirements?

Let's talk!

NEEEXT!!!