AllaPrima
A mobile app that encourages artists to build creative habits through daily tailored prompts. Received an Honourable Mention in UX Design (2024 Student RGD Awards).
Timeline
Oct – Nov 2023
Team
Solo
Skills
UX Design, Visual Identity, Prototyping
Solution
Helping artists develop meaningful skills and sustained habits.
Users go through an onboarding process to set goals and skill level.
Find tailored daily challenges on the home screen, based on skill level, preferred mediums, and time available.
Motivate yourself to keep creating with a daily streak and other achievements.
Search for and save references and tutorials within the app.
Make the process of creating art easier with specific references.
View past uploaded works in the gallery to see natural improvement and progress over time.
Background
Burnout.
Visual artists often face creative burnout, which undermines motivation and enjoyment. I researched ways to overcome this and re-kindle people's motivation for creative hobbies.
Research Insights
Intrinsic motivation drives creativity.
Artists need intrinsic motivation, defined as the “enjoyment of and interest in an activity for its own sake” (Wang et al., 2018). This is essential for tasks that require sustained effort, such as drawing, and plays a key role in preventing burnout.
Sharing art online causes performance anxiety.
It negatively impacts intrinsic motivation by shifting focus toward extrinsic rewards like social media engagement (Wang et al., 2018; Wu et al., 2022).
Task completion reinforces motivation.
Focusing on skill development and completing tasks supports intrinsic motivation, while performance anxiety undermines it (Wang et al., 2018).
Pain Points
Perfectionism hinders motivation and leads to burnout.
People give up when they don't see immediate progress in their art skills.
People become anxious when sharing their art online.
Problem Statement
Artists need a way to build confidence and consistency in their creative practice.
My goal was to help artists rebuild confidence and consistency in their practice. I decided to create an app to encourage daily creation through tailored prompts, ranging from quick, low-commitment exercises to more creative challenges.
Goals
Create a motivation system for artists.
Let users set attainable goals for incorporating art into their lives.
Eliminate the performance anxiety associated with sharing art online.
Be accessible for beginners and experienced artists alike.
Competitive Analysis
Sketch A Day
The closest comparable product. Offers daily challenges, tutorials, and inspiration, but its community-driven model introduces competitiveness. Prompts are also vague and not suited for artists who want to develop specific skills.
Duolingo
Effective use of gamification (streaks and achievements) to encourage daily engagement. Its friendly, playful atmosphere is motivating but it is a language-learning app, not a creative tool.
Design Opportunity
Existing platforms either rely heavily on social comparison or lack the structure for meaningful skill development. This created an opportunity: motivate users to create daily through personalized, low-pressure prompts and an in-app reward system.
Information Architecture
Lessons Learned
Practicality & engagement
I designed interactions to sustain user interest while maintaining clarity and ease of use.
Professionalism & play
I balanced a playful brand with a professional interface, creating an experience that felt credible without being clinical.