Time Forge

A first-place winning project from the inaugural 2025 Design Jam hosted by the University of Pittsburgh.

Black and white graphic for the Figma Fiends, featuring a pixel art shield with a clock in the center and two crossed pencils behind it, with text above reading 'Slay the dragon of procrastination with Time Forge'.

Overview

Over a week, my team and I designed, prototyped, and pitched Time Forge. Time Forge is a gamified Pomodoro timer created with a medieval theme and pixel art. Study for a set amount of time, then take a break at the local tavern! At the tavern, you can take a break and relax or speak to the locals to learn more about the secrets of the town.

Skills

  • UX Research

  • UX Design

  • Wireframing

  • Prototyping

My Role

UX Researcher, UX Designer

Toolkit

  • Figma

  • Itch.io

  • PiiiXL

Phase I: User Research

User Personas

For this design challenge, we were given three different personas to design our project around. We were given the option to design around one of the three, two of the three, or all of the personas. This project was designed around JG3 and Prof. Zev.

A portrait of a 55-year-old man with gray hair and glasses, wearing a tweed jacket, on the right side of the image. On the left side, a sheet of paper displays information about Professor Zev, including his background, needs, pain points, tech literacy, and personal background, in black text on a white background.
A young woman wearing a blue uniform and a hat, standing in a kitchen, holding a tray of cooked pasta, with shelves of food in the background.
A young man in a plaid shirt smiling in a classroom filled with students and bookshelves

The Problem

Students are struggling to lock in.

The Question

How can we motivate students to work on their tasks in an accessible yet playful way?

Gauging User Interest/Needs

Using a Google Form, I created a survey to gauge interest and needs students would have wanted to see in a study/focus app. Below are some results from the survey.

Pie chart showing responses to a question about tools that motivate work, with options: No, google calendar, flora, and grades page on canvas.
Pie chart showing survey responses about study break preferences, with 31.3% for 5/15 minute breaks and 68.8% for customizing their own time.
Bar chart showing responses to what visual or audio elements would enhance study experience in a medieval-themed app. Most responses favor background music, followed by torchlight animations and parchment textures.
Bar chart showing survey responses on the importance of features like character progression or collecting in-game items to stay motivated, with 43.8% choosing option 4, 18.8% choosing option 3, 12.5% choosing options 5 and 6, and 6.3% each for options 1 and 2.

Our Solution

Time Forge - A gamified Pomodoro timer with a medieval theme and pixel art. With Time Forge, you will be able to set your own study/work time and break times. During your breaks, you’re welcome to hangout in the tavern where you can relax and ease your mind or learn more about the secrets that lie within this town.

Competitive Analysis

A comparison chart showing the pros and cons of different products: Pomofocus, Forest, Spirit Lofi, and Time Forge. It lists attributes such as affordability, accessibility, and fun, with check marks indicating positive aspects and crosses indicating negatives for each product.

Pomofocus: A free time-blocking timer that allows users to set their focus and break times to stay focused on the tasks they’ve set for themselves.

Forest: Another time-blocking platform that encourages users to stay focused on their tasks. One key feature of this app is that it allows users to grow a tree as they work on their tasks; however, if users exit the app, their tree dies. This app is available for a one-time purchase of $3.99.

Spirit City: Lofi Sessions: A gamified focus tool where users can discover and collect Spirits. You can also customize a virtual avatar and environments.

Phase II: Design

Storyboarding/Impact

We quickly created a storyboard to display the persona we were building around (JG3) would use TimeForge and how it would impact his academic performance.

Six cartoon panels illustrating a story about JG3 preparing for an exam: panel 1 shows JG3 thinking about a psychology exam, panel 2 depicts JG3 feeling unmotivated, panel 3 shows a recommendation to use Time Forge, panel 4 features JG3 enjoying music and gaming, panel 5 depicts JG3 studying happily with music, and panel 6 shows JG3 earning a score of 100 on his exam.

Wireframes

Using Figma, we created low-fidelity wireframes to visualize a concept of the app’s layout.

A grayscale sequence of five digital screens displaying a timer app interface with different timers set for work and break periods, along with a settings menu showing options for sound, music, alarms, and break durations.

Following the creation of our low-fidelity wireframe, the team began working on our high-fidelity prototype. Using pixel art images created by our Digital Artist, Henry, and images from PiiiXL and Itch.io, we were able to bring some of our artistic ideas for Time Forge to reality.

A series of black and white digital illustrations of a countdown timer and task management app, showing different screens for setting work and break intervals, starting a timer, and managing tasks.
Black and white pixel art of two separate scenes, one indoors with animal and human characters, and one indoors with a mountain picture, clock, and fireplace.

Limitations & Key Takeaways

  • Coming up with a coordinating schedule as full-time students presented challenges in maintaining a consistent workflow throughout the project.

  • Conducting user research and iterating on design concepts within a one-week timeframe required quick decision-making and adaptability.

  • While TimeForge was developed as a conceptual prototype, it demonstrated the potential to motivate students to remain engaged and focused on tasks through thoughtful UX design.

  • The development of distinct personas allowed us to account for a diverse user base, guiding inclusive and user-centered design decisions