Swidge

A modular, context based deadline and scheduling tool.

TYPE

Solo Project

ROLE

End to end UI/UX Process

TIMELINE

6 Weeks

PLATFORM

Web Application

Problem

Students struggle to manage deadlines across multiple aspects of life

I’ve always found myself juggling multiple schedulers and task managers, for different aspects of life. It felt scattered and inefficient. I wanted a single, calm space where everything could live without feeling bloated or rigid.

Solution

A task manager application built with modularity, dashboards and context-aware overviews.

Modular Dashboards for Every Context

Effortlessly switch between dashboards to reduce cognitive overload.

Visually separate your tasks by context to stay organised.

Customise each dashboard to match your workflow, priorities, and focus.

Unified Overviews Across Dashboards

Overview cards offer quick insight into tasks across all dashboards.

A dedicated overview section ensures visibility without cluttering your workflow.

Smart widgets align with task types, surfacing what matters most at a glance.

Versatile Task Cards

Choose from a variety of card types designed for notes, deadlines, progress and more.

Visual indicators reflect urgency, with colour coded highlights based on upcoming due dates.

Track progress within the card and view completion without clicking deeper.

User Research

Survey found 63% of users struggle to prioritise tasks.

I’ve always found myself juggling multiple schedulers and task managers, for different aspects of life. It felt scattered and inefficient. I wanted a single, calm space where everything could live without feeling bloated or rigid.

Insights

63% of users reported difficulty in managing priorities,

50% of users have difficulty keeping track of varying tasks.

88% of users use task management tools multiple times per week.

75% of users want dedicated dashboards for distinct contexts

63% of users reported difficulty in managing priorities,

50% of users have difficulty keeping track of varying tasks.

88% of users use task management tools multiple times per week.

75% of users want dedicated dashboards for distinct contexts

Research backed decisions

Automating summaries and organising tasks by context will help users prioritise effectively, keep track and manage all areas of life at a glance.

Design Precedents

Task managers fail to balance simplicity with versatility

Notion

Super flexible, but lacks task-specific structure

Can feel overwhelming without tight organisation

Not ideal for quick glance planning or contextual clarity

Todoist

Great for fast task entry and completion

Lack spatial and visual grouping for multitasking

Doesn’t scale well across contexts or dashboards

User Persona

Finding focus areas through empathetic personas

Jess

Age: 22
Role: University Student + Freelance Designer

Pain Points

Overwhelmed managing tasks across contexts

Finds other task managers too complex

Struggles to see what urgent

Wants something simple and easy to use

Goals

A place to see everything in one glance

Keep university and freelance task separate

Have a sense of calm control and progress

Avoid overly technical interfaces

Ideation and Wireframes

Converting a concept into a tangible product

Landing Page Sketches

While sketching landing page ideas, I aimed for something that felt minimal, clear, and visually refined.

Main Dashboard Ideas

I experimented with different layouts to organise tasks and deadlines across multiple contexts.

Landing Page Wireframes

After exploring initial sketches, I translated them into wireframes to better visualise the structure and flow of the interface."

Dashboard & Widget Wireframes

These wireframes helped me visualize how a fully populated version of Swidge might look, guiding the final UI

Design System

Creating a minimalistic style for productivity

I designed the style guide to be clean and minimal, aiming to support productivity by keeping the interface calm, intuitive, and distraction-free.

ICONS

FONTS

Aa

Aa

Satoshi

Satoshi

Black

Bold

Medium

Regular

Black

Medium

Bold

Regular

LOGO

BUTTONS

Primary

Primary

Secondary

Secondary

Tertiary

Tertiary

COLOURS

#3F76FF

Primary Blue

#000000

Text Primary

#FFFFFF

Background

#ECECEC

Accent

#3F76FF

Primary Blue

#000000

Text Primary

#FFFFFF

Background

#ECECEC

Accent

LAYOUT

4

4

8

8

16

16

24

24

32

32

48

12 Column Grid

12 Column Grid

ICONS

LOGO

COLOURS

#3F76FF

Primary Blue

#000000

Text Primary

#FFFFFF

Background

#ECECEC

Accent

FONTS

Aa

Satoshi

Black

Bold

Medium

Regular

BUTTONS

Primary

Secondary

Tertiary

LAYOUT

4

8

16

24

32

48

12 Column Grid

Final UI

Bringing it all together

The final interface captures Swidge as a whole. A minimal, modular tool designed to simplify deadlines across any context.

Landing Page

Main Dashboard

Reflection

Creating a case study has its difficulties...

One of the most rewarding parts of this project was seeing the final UI come together into something I’m genuinely proud of. I also found that leaning into my curiosity and using passion as fuel helped me push through the more challenging parts of the process. Once I got into a rhythm, the work became incredibly rewarding.

That said, I realised the value of sticking to the design process instead of jumping ahead to the "fun parts" too quickly. If I were to do it again, I’d start with deeper research and validation early on. Spending more time understanding users upfront would’ve helped shape stronger, more focused decisions later. Another big challenge was choosing what to show, countless research and design fails went into this project, it was difficult picking what is important to showcase.

This project taught me how to structure the UX process from start to finish. I learned that what first feels overwhelming becomes manageable once you just start, that was a huge personal takeaway. I also picked up countless UI/UX techniques, from broader design fundamentals of information hierarchy to technical tricks like harnessing auto layout in Figma. Creating a style guide, in particular, helped me design with more consistency and clarity.

Above all, this was a reminder that progress happens step by step, and that good design isn’t about perfection, but about having intention.

Lets talk!

Feel free to reach out and connect!

Lets talk!

Feel free to reach out and connect!

Lets talk!

Feel free to reach out and connect!

© 2025 Joshua Hatchard

© 2025 Joshua Hatchard

© 2025 Joshua Hatchard