This is just an overview of the app. If you’re curious about my personal growth and reflections throughout this project, read it here.
Companion is an application designed to help users work alongside someone else by sharing focused work sessions through voice or video calls. The idea of "focus" here refers to working on each person’s individual tasks in the presence of another, creating a shared yet independent working environment
Many of us struggle with chronic procrastination, often because we feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks we need to complete. We might try to help ourselves by stay organized by creating to-do lists, but in the end, we often ignore them and avoid the work altogether. At the same time, more and more people experience loneliness and a lack of a support system. This app is an attempt to address both problems—distraction and isolation—by offering a simple way to stay accountable and feel less alone.
The solution app is called Companion, created to be somehow a helper for chronic procrastinators. There isn’t a deep story behind the Companion name—it just felt right. I hope Companion can be like a focus buddy: a quiet, supportive presence that helps users stay on track and get through their day, one task at a time.
During the design process, I was struggling because that was my first time doing iterated process of research, conducting an interview and user testing. I also reworked my app because I changed my solution concept, so in total I worked on the same process twice. I also struggled because I have never created any design using Figma before.
Access the design prototype through this link:
https://www.figma.com/proto/7XgrgdDegMagPu1ilARPdd/Companion?page-id=48%3A901&node-id=59-37&viewport=458%2C-355%2C0.26&t=SrXwo4j9gxhvTVeB-1&scaling=scale-down&content-scaling=fixed&starting-point-node-id=59%3A37
Source: Google search
Users don’t need to sign up or log in—everyone stays anonymous, which encourages productivity without pressure. Before starting a focus-session, users write down their intention for the session (what they want to accomplish), and their hope or feeling that they want to achieve after the session ends. Then, they are matched with another user via voice or video call, depending on their preference. During the session, users can mute or unmute themselves to maintain focus while still acknowledging the other’s presence.
This is my first app in Apple Developer Academy. Its flow was created like this—without any registration or login feature, without storing any data anywhere because I tried to align my current skills with my knowledge and the project deadline. Given around two weeks of development while I haven’t programmed using Swift before, I try to keep it as simple as possible without pressuring myself too much with target and perfection.