Above 90
How to foster sustainable habits, by relieving the pressure of maintaining perfect practice streaks.
Platform
iOS
Role
Product Designer
UX Writer
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Miro
Usability Hub
Optimal Workshop
In 2024, researchers found that 102 million Americans set New Year's resolutions¹, yet—
88% failed within the first two weeks²
94% abandoned their goals within two months³
The Problem
Despite numerous apps and tools aimed at habit formation, building long-lasting habits remains a significant challenge for those wanting healthier lives.
The prevalent focus on perfect streaks in most habit-tracking apps can discourage users by penalizing inevitable setbacks, leading to premature abandonment of new habits.
As a first step, I explored the behavioral psychology of habit formation by collecting key insights from leading behavioral psychology books including Atomic Habits, The Power of Habit, and Tiny Habits.
Behavioral psychology books that informed my UX strategy.
These insights revealed that effective habit formation requires structured triggers (i.e., specific cues in a user's environment or routine that prompt habit execution), realistic goal-setting, and planning for setbacks.
Additionally, I benchmarked 5 top habit apps for iOS, revealing major gaps in existing solutions and uncovering several opportunities for improvement.
Identifying UX opportunities through a competitive audit of key habit app features.
The Objective
Together, the above data-driven insights shaped my core objectives:
Help users overcome the hidden challenges of habit formation.
Prioritize progress over perfection.
Provide users with a way to effectively monitor their progress.
To better understand the challenges, frustrations, and motivations of real users, I conducted user surveys and interviews—capturing key insights like:
“I want to be more productive and more successful.”
“Streaks are a double edged sword. I get so bummed out when I lose my streak that I end up not doing it for a couple weeks.”
“Seeing progress helped motivate me.”
To ensure every design decision stayed grounded in real user behavior, I synthesized insights from surveys and interviews using affinity mapping—distilling key patterns into two user personas that reflected the needs, motivations, and challenges of actual users.
Synthesizing research data with an affinity map.
Driving user-centered design decisions with carefully crafted user personas.
Leveraging these research insights, the data clearly indicated the need to break down the complex process of habit formation into a clear, step-by-step framework that guides users toward long-term success.
Instead of requiring users to dive into a new habit blindly, which often leads to frustration, guilt, and eventual abandonment, the app focuses on teaching and empowering users to understand and apply the principles of effective, long-lasting habit formation.
User flow diagram showing step-by-step process for setting up a new habit.
High-fidelity screens mapped to each step of the user flow — designed to help users overcome the unseen obstacles of building lasting habits.
Initially, I designed a broad and shallow site map to provide quick access to various app features, settings, and options.
However, after conducting a card sorting exercise, I discovered a more effective approach: a narrower, deeper structure that still preserved full functionality but utilized progressive disclosure to keep users focused.
Before (left): A broad, shallow site map provided quick access but risked distraction. After (right): A deeper structure with progressive disclosure removes clutter, prioritizes clarity, and keeps users focused.
The refined architecture streamlined navigation, removed distractions, and created a more intuitive, task-focused user interface that allowed users to channel their energy into doing rather than deciding.
Clean and Focused: The Above 90 main screen design, based on the final site map architecture, minimizes distractions and keeps users focused.
I conducted usability testing early in the design process to surface key usability issues and gain insights directly from real users. This allowed me to address critical issues before finalizing the design.
Clarifying the 90% Completion Goal
Usability test results showed that 4 out of 6 users didn’t understand the 90% completion goal.
To address this, I introduced a button, prompting users to pause and absorb the key success metric before moving forward. Additionally, I added a dynamic habit meter that utilized state and color changes to clearly signal when users had met their goal, ensuring success was both understood and visually reinforced.
Before
Before: 4 out of 6 users were confused about the 90% habit completion goal even after being shown a tool tip.
After
After: A new button and dynamic habit meter with state and color changes help users pause, under-stand, and clearly see when they’ve met their goal.
Making Key Learning Tools More Accessible
During usability testing, 3 out of 6 participants struggled to locate the instructions for how to set up a new habit.
Additionally, 4 out of 6 users expressed a need for quicker access to key terms and explanations when learning to set up their new habit.
To improve access, I implemented a shortcut button that instantly displays instructions and added help icons next to each prompt, providing immediate access to detailed explanations and ensuring a smoother, more accessible learning experience.
Before
Before: Users experienced frustration due to instructions buried at the bottom of lessons and insufficient access to key terms.
After
After: New shortcut buttons and help icons provide instant access to instructions without interrupting the lesson flow.
Enhancing Social Support Features
After sharing a new habit in the app, 2 out of 6 participants wanted to check the status of their friend request but had no way to check if it was pending, accepted, or ignored.
To improve clarity, I added a text indicator next to each friend’s name showing the current status of the invitation. This small but impactful change eliminated uncertainty, giving users the immediate feedback they were looking for.
Before
Before: Friend list without invitation status, leaving users feeling uncertain about their friend requests.
After
After: Enhanced friend list with visible invitation status indicator, providing real-time updates on invitation progress.
To create a cohesive and seamless user experience, I developed a design language system for the Above 90 app.
This system ensured visual consistency, clarity, and accessibility while keeping the product aligned with its core mission—helping users build and sustain meaningful habits.
Building better habits isn’t just about starting strong—it’s about sticking with it. To ensure users stay engaged and successfully build long-term habits, here are several opportunities for continued improvement that I've identified.
Follow Up Testing to Measure UX Impact
Habit Formation Proficiency: Measure percentage of users that successfully complete all eight essential steps to establish a lasting habit.
Goal Clarity: Assess how many users clearly understand the 90% habit completion objective—and that success doesn't require perfect, unbroken streaks.
Track Long-Term Retention & Engagement
Monitor engagement, retention rates, and drop-offs to uncover friction points and optimize the user journey.
Aim to increase the percentage of users who engage for 10+ months—a key milestone supported by research showing that long-term habits can take an average of 10 months to form⁴.
Boost Engagement with Delightful Interactions & Gamification
Introduce playful, interactive elements with gamification—drawing inspiration from high-engagement apps like Duolingo.
Implement milestone rewards, and progress animations to reinforce positive habit-building behaviors.
Reduce Cognitive Load with Short-Form Videos
Replace text-heavy habit lessons with playful and engaging videos to improve comprehension and retention.
Use motion and storytelling to reinforce habit-building principles, making learning more intuitive and fun.
Final Thoughts
This project challenged me to rethink how people experience progress, motivation, and success—especially when forming new habits. Grounded in behavioral psychology and real user stories, I set out to design a product that reduces friction, embraces imperfection, and helps users stay consistent.
I approached this by combining product thinking, strategic UX, and visual craft to support meaningful behavior change. It reinforced my belief that the best user-centered solutions begin by meeting people where they are—then guide both the user and the business forward with clarity and purpose.
¹ John Gramlich, "New Year's Resolutions: Who Makes Them and Why," Pew Research Center, January 29, 2024, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/29/new-years-resolutions-who-makes-them-and-why/; U.S. Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: United States," accessed February 25, 2025, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045224.
² Taylor Barnes, "New Year's Resolutions: Why Do We Give Up on Them So Quickly?" Baylor College of Medicine, January 11, 2024, https://www.bcm.edu/news/new-years-resolutions-why-do-we-give-up-on-them-so-quickly.
³ Michelle Rozen, "How Committed Are You to Your New Year Goals? A Quantitative Study on the Connection of Commitment and Performance with New Year Resolutions," Open Journal of Social Sciences 11, no. 9 (2023): 415–428, https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2023.119027.
⁴ Phillippa Lally et al., "How Are Habits Formed: Modelling Habit Formation in the Real World," European Journal of Social Psychology 40, no. 6 (2010): 998–1009, https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.674.