Hoby

A mindful hobby app that helps you learn new skills, track your progress, and share your journey with a supportive community.

Role

UX/UI Designer, UX Researcher

Timeline

4 months (2025)

Tools

Figma, Miro

Platform

iOS Mobile App

Overview

Hoby is a mobile-first app designed to help people discover and stick with new hobbies. It targets young adults who often feel overwhelmed by the process of trying something new due to time constraints, financial limitations, and fear of failure or judgment. Many platforms exist to connect people to activities (like Meetup or Reddit), but few offer structured support and personalized guidance specifically for beginners.

Problem

Starting a new hobby is exciting, but sustaining it is hard. Users face barriers like paralysis from too much information, fear of expensive equipment, and isolation. Existing solutions are either too rigid (checkbox apps) or too broad (YouTube), creating a need for a guided, supportive entry point.

How I solved it

Design a mobile-first platform that helps users discover and commit to new hobbies through:

Guided Onboarding

Step-by-step onboarding for each hobby designed to reduce initial friction and build confidence

Personalization

Tailored Suggestions based on your lifestyle, free time, and long term personal goals

Milestone Tracking

Light Accountablity features to celebrate smalls wins and keep the momentumn going

Social Community

Connect with others on the same journey through supportive and low pressure social interactions

Research

To validate the problem, I surveyed 10 individuals who expressed interest in hobbies but struggled to get started. Key themes from their responses included:

Fear of judgment
Financial or time constraints
Overwhelm from not knowing where to begin

I also observed close friends dealing with the same issues and analyzed existing products like Meetup and Reddit hobby groups. These platforms often lacked guidance for beginners and were too unstructured.

User Personas

Sarah

Marketing Specialist

Needs

Consistency in short bursts to maintain momentum during her high pressure workday

Challenges

Consistency in short bursts to maintain momentum during her high pressure workday

David

Recent Grad

Needs

Finding affordable hobbies and building a sense of community by meeting new people

Challenges

Limited budget and feeling overwhelmed by too many options when choosing where to start

Research Findings

Time Barriers

Many users said they struggle to find time or stay consistent with hobbies. This led to designing short, easy-to-start sessions.

Skill Focus

83% of users said they’re motivated by skill development. I used this insight to prioritize skill-based recommendations.

In-person preference

Most users prefer learning hobbies in person or had no strong preference, reinforcing the need for local and social features.

Ideation and Planning

Brainstormed features that reduce friction (e.g., tutorials, progress tracking, starter kits)
Prioritized features that help users commit without pressure
Sketched early concepts and user flows\
Created low to mid-fidelity wireframes in Figma to define key elements to include

Wireframes and User Flow

I created low to mid-fidelity wireframes in Figma to define key flows:

Non Negotiable’s to include

Onboarding quiz to personalize hobby suggestions
Explore page with filters for cost, time commitment, and skill level
Hobby detail pages with steps, tools needed, and community threads
Progress tracker

User Journey Map

Discovery

Users become aware of Hoby through social media, word of mouth, or the app store. They're looking for something new or fulfilling to do

Exploration

They download the app, complete a quick onboarding quiz and browse beginner friendly hobbies matched to their goals and interests

First Step

Users select a hobby and follow through step by step instructions, starting with simple tasks like gathering materials or trying a basic skill

Engagement

They track their process, complete more tasks and engage with sharing with the community by sharing updates, asking questions or joining a thread

Final Product

Reflection

This project taught me to handle big workloads by breaking tasks into smaller chunks and using the Double Diamond method for clear, user-focused design. I learned to build what users actually need, not what I personally liked. To improve the app, I would add short interactive 3D tutorials, live group streaming, and gamified challenges to keep users engaged and growing.