Daysync
CREATED AN AI PRODUCTIVITY TOOL FOCUSING ON QUALITY SLEEP.
ROLE
Product Designer
Project Manager
TIMELINE
36 hours
TOOLS
Figma
TEAM
Hannah Wang (dev)
Sydnie Chen (design)
Kitty Vu (design)
Summary
In October 2023, I competed in a 36 hour hackathon with my friends, 2 designers and 1 developer. We were given problem spaces — education or health — and was asked to identify and create a solution within this space.
I was the project manager and product designer, designing the app and making sure that we finish the project on time.
After very late nights, we won 2nd place with Daysync :)
Problem Statement
As college students, we realized that many students fail to get the recommended 6-8 hours of sleep.
At this point, I wasn’t entirely sure if this was the problem we wanted to solve, but it felt like a solid starting point. Many of my friends, including myself, were sleep-deprived from studying, hanging out with friends, procrastinating, and more.
However, personal experiences alone weren’t enough to prove that this was a universal issue. So, we turned to white paper research.
But, do people really face this problem?
Through the research, I found that sleep deprivation in students isn’t just common around the world—it’s also harmful to their health. This data was eye-opening and convinced us that helping students get better sleep was an essential goal.
But, if this such an important problem, why hasn’t it been successfully solved before?
It turns out that many productivity apps have tried to help students get better sleep by managing and organizing their schedules, goals, and even moods. However, our competitor analysis revealed that there were missing key components: personalization and AI. That’s where Daysync comes in.
Additionally, after surveying 120 students from 20+ schools, the data revealed that using these current apps are effective — many students continue to sacrifice sleep to due to their school commitments.
From these surveys, interviews, analysis, we set out to narrow down the primary features of Daysync. In other words, what does the data tell us about how to best support students to manage and complete their work on time?
Image above: user journey map to determine where and when students need Daysync the most.
Image above: affinity diagram to organize and cluster insights from our data.
Image above: effort impact matrix to determine the “high-impact” features to implement in Daysync.
With clear features and a solid vision in place, we finally began creating our designs.
Using our data, we started to sketch our vision for the app. Due to the intense nature of hackathons, we knew we wouldn’t have time for many iterations so we made sure every decision counted.
Image above: effort impact matrix to determine the “high-impact” features to implement in Daysync.
Image above: low-fidelity design of the main pages.
Introducing Daysync
Clearly see your tasks and assignments.
Final Designs
This is the homepage interface, where students can easily track and manage their to-do lists and assignments.
The AI generates new assignments and tasks daily, based on the due dates and individual preferences.
Who’s this?! Somniaa!!
According to your calendar, Somnia will pop up, signaling that it's time to lock in and start working.
Inspired by the Pomodoro technique, DaySync activates both focus and rest timers during study sessions.
This feature was added because many students shared that they often neglect rest times while studying, increasing the likelihood of burn out.
Scattered assignments, no more.
It all starts here—DaySync syncs all your assignments from different platforms during the sign-in process.
Users can then input the assignments they want to focus on, add personal tasks, and set a sleep goal.
This feature was included because many students expressed frustrations with having their assignments scattered across multiple platforms.
Make sure to get your 8-9 hours of beauty rest.
In the Sleep tab, users can track their sleep and set sleep goals.
We found that people who prioritize and monitor their sleep are more likely to consistently get their 8-9 hours.
Lock in and get off your phone.
We have widget-based focus time trackers and notifications right on the home screen to help prevent students from using their phones to check their status.
Users won’t need to keep the app open to track their timer, addressing a common frustration with popular Pomodoro timers.
Wishes
36 hours is not enough.
36 hours wasn’t enough to truly do justice to DaySync. I love the concept behind it and wish I had more time to refine the design and analyze the product-market fit. Despite this, I’m incredibly proud of what the team has accomplished in such a short amount of time! :)
Image above: Picture of the Daysync team (left to right: Kitty Vu, Sydnie Chen, Me, Hannah Wang) during our all-nighter for Somnia.
Learnings
Put the users first.
In the beginning, our idea was to create a cute, addicting game to make completing assignments more fun. I was really excited about designing adorable animations and graphics, but after conducting user interviews, I quickly realized that’s not what users wanted. So, we pivoted and focused on putting the user first, ultimately creating an amazing and practical product that truly serves their needs. :)
More Projects
Check some of my other cool projects below :)
Product Design Intern @ Wayfair
Founder & Lead Product Designer @ Freebites