Role: UX/UI Designer
Duration: August 2024 - April 2025
Scope: Research, UX, UI, Design System, Prototyping
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Application
Design an intuitive and visually appealing app that delivers both personalized and general esoteric content — such as tarot spreads, lunar calendar insights, and horoscopes — catering to the needs of both dedicated and casual users through flexible features and pricing.
Users of esoteric practices have different engagement levels: dedicated users need reliable and personalized guidance for self-growth, while casual users prefer light, accessible content without complexity or commitment. Current apps often fail to serve both groups effectively within one platform.
I conducted 6 unmoderated interviews with users who engage in esoteric practices at different levels to understand their motivations, feature expectations, and visual preferences.
“I would most like to use features such as tarot spreads, horoscopes, a lunar calendar, numerology calculators, and meditations.”
“I’d like it to be something simple, without scary images of demons — just clean, minimalistic, and user-friendly.”
To reduce early friction, users need to explore core features before encountering paywalls. Gradual personalization, minimal ads, and a clear onboarding flow were critical to maintaining trust and engagement.
Problem Statement
Esoteric apps often fail to balance depth and accessibility.
Engaged users expect reliable, personalized guidance, while casual users seek light, intuitive exploration.
Most existing solutions focus on only one of these needs, forcing users to choose between complexity and simplicity.
How might we
Create personalization using AI that takes into account all the information the user provided about themselves at the time of registration.
Allow users to add personalized information during registration, such as their name, date of birth, city, and country of birth.
Add the ability to immediately provide feedback (e.g., "Do you like this tarot reading?").
Open all paid features to all registered users for a week so they can try them and determine if they are needed.
Offer a budget-friendly subscription that includes a personalized lunar calendar, unlimited personalized tarot readings on all life areas, and no ads.
Provide free functionality such as the card of the day, the Celtic cross, and 3-card spreads—each available once per day maximum—and a lunar calendar for the whole year without personalization.
Wireframes
All 22 major arcana were illustrated in a unified visual style to ensure consistency, recognition, and immersion across readings, onboarding, and daily interactions.
Motion was used intentionally to communicate system states, reduce perceived waiting time, and reinforce the ritualistic nature of the experience. Each animation was designed to support a specific user moment rather than serve as decorative motion.
Loading states were treated as moments of anticipation rather than passive waiting. Instead of a generic spinner, each loader reflects the app’s core themes and reassures users that the system is actively working.
Creates a calm, immersive transition into the app, setting the emotional tone and reducing friction at first entry.
Reinforces the app’s core concepts (tarot, astrology, lunar cycles) while maintaining visual consistency across features.
Communicates progress through a familiar metaphor, making waiting feel intentional and meaningful rather than arbitrary.
The shuffle interaction was designed as a ritual moment, increasing emotional engagement and user focus before revealing the result.
Mimics physical tarot card behavior to build trust and a sense of authenticity.
Offers a faster, more modern alternative for users who prefer efficiency while maintaining a sense of magic and anticipation.
To maintain visual consistency and scalability across the product, I designed a reusable UI system. It allowed me to iterate faster, keep interactions predictable, and balance a rich visual language with usability.
Buttons were designed with clear hierarchy and accessibility in mind, ensuring sufficient contrast even on dark backgrounds.
Illustrations were created specifically for the product to avoid generic stock visuals and strengthen brand identity.
Modals were designed to minimize disruption and clearly separate primary and secondary actions.
Form elements were designed to remain clear and readable despite the dark color palette, with special attention to focus and error states.
The authorization flow was designed to reduce entry friction while preserving personalization opportunities. Users can sign in via Google, Facebook, or continue as a guest. Optional personalization is introduced through a modal, allowing users to skip it and return later without blocking core functionality.
A short interactive tutorial introduces users to the app’s core features: the lunar calendar, tarot spreads, horoscopes, and the main menu. Highlighted tips gently guide attention while preserving the mystical atmosphere and keeping the first-time experience clear and unobtrusive.
The homepage serves as the central hub, giving users quick access to all core features. Navigation is available both through the side menu and direct visual entry points such as the lunar calendar, horoscope, and tarot spreads.
The side menu provides access to account settings, card customization, premium options, and support, ensuring essential actions are always reachable without overwhelming the main screen.
The Moon Calendar helps users quickly identify favorable and unfavorable days for planning the week. Full monthly access is available with a subscription.
To reduce anxiety and give users more control, unfavorable days can be hidden, allowing the calendar to adapt to individual preferences.
The Tarot flow is designed as a guided yet flexible ritual. Users first choose a relevant life category and a spread type, then move through a short animated sequence that can be skipped at any time.
This approach preserves the emotional depth of tarot practices while respecting users who prefer a faster, more practical experience.
The Zodiac section is built around a circular navigation pattern that mirrors the mental model users already associate with astrology.
Each sign can be explored individually, with optional paths to a children’s horoscope or element-based explanations. This structure allows users to dive deeper into astrology concepts without overwhelming those who only want a quick daily insight.
Error states were designed as part of the core experience to support users in moments of frustration or uncertainty.
Each error screen clearly explains what went wrong and offers a single, calm recovery action, while the illustrations help maintain the emotional tone of the product without increasing stress.
While working on this project as the sole designer in a small development team, I gained a deeper understanding of how crucial clear documentation and idea tracking are throughout the design process.
Even after wireframes are approved, decisions evolve — which makes maintaining an idea journal and clear task records essential for avoiding misunderstandings within the team.
The project has progressed smoothly into the testing phase, reinforcing that high-fidelity design and implementation are not endpoints, but part of an ongoing, iterative process focused on refinement and user feedback.