Morning Chant
Morning Chant - A Spritual Logging & Goal Tracking App
Project Overview
Context
Morning Chant is a carefully crafted app designed with love and understanding for practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism. We know how important it is to dedicate time to your spiritual practice, and this app is here to support you in tracking your moments of chanting “Gongyo” and “Daimoku.” By doing so, it nurtures not only your personal growth but also enhances the well-being of others and strengthens our community bonds. Recognizing that everyone has unique needs, we’ve made sure the app is inclusive for all ages. Its simplicity and heartfelt purpose make it a wonderful companion on your journey to deepen your practice.
Business Goals
The objective of this application is to provide a simple and intuitive interface suitable for all ages, featuring the following key features.
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Enable users to effectively track and log their chanting activities (Gongyo and Daimoku) for personal growth.
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Promote spiritual consistency by providing helpful reminders and setting achievable goals.
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Support both individual and community engagement to deepen their practice.
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Foster a sense of contribution by allowing users to track their time for themselves, others, and the wider community.
My Role
I was responsible for the complete design lifecycle—from research to journey mapping, wireframes, UI design, and final delivery.
Timeline
3 weeks (Design Sprint + Iterations)
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1 week: Research & Discovery
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1 week: Solution & Wireframes
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1 weeks: UI Design, User testing and validating with stakeholder
The Challenge
Design a spiritual wellness app that appeals to a broad age range—from teenagers to elderly users—while maintaining a clean, focused experience. The app needed to seamlessly integrate daily chanting, goal setting, reminders, and community participation, without overwhelming users or disrupting the meditative nature of the practice.
Product Requirement
The Morning Chant app was designed to support a spiritually grounded and goal-oriented user experience.
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Daily Chant Log
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Goal Setting & Tracking
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Reminder System
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Community
Key Constraints
Multi-Generational Accessibility: The interface had to be intuitive for both tech-savvy youth and elderly users with limited digital familiarity.
Minimal Distraction Design: The UI needed to remain calm and uncluttered to respect the spiritual context of chanting.
Time Tracking Simplicity: Logging chants had to be quick and meaningful, without unnecessary manual input.
Platform Limitations: The app was developed using Bravo Studio, which limited advanced custom interactions and native-level flexibility.
Approach
Research
Compitetive Research
ChantBuddy - Daimoku Tracking
Daimoku Pro
Daimoku Conter
User Segemnt
Proffesional
Student
Retired Person
User Needs & Expectations
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Users value purposeful chanting (e.g., for parents’ health, job growth).
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Community participation boosts motivation.
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Users want a non-distracting interface during chant time.
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Many desire goal-setting linked with spiritual effort.
Opportunities
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Daily Reminders and Streak Tracking
Encourage consistency with customizable reminders and visual streaks to build chanting habits. -
Goal-Oriented Chant LoggingAllow users to link chanting sessions to personal goals (e.g., health, exams, job search), making the practice more purpose-driven.
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Community Engagement and Live Chant SessionsEnable real-time group chanting to boost motivation and reduce the feeling of isolation.
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Simplified UI for Elderly Users
Design an accessible, senior-friendly interface with large buttons, voice guidance, and fewer distractions. -
Progress Visualization and InsightsProvide charts and summaries showing time spent chanting for self, others, and community — reinforcing impact and spiritual growth.
User Journey Map
Stage | User Action | Pain Points | Opportunities |
|---|---|---|---|
Discover | Open the app | Overwhelming options | Simple onboarding with tutorial |
Engage | Log chanting session | Hard to stay consistent | Reminder, bell notification, timer |
Grow | Create goal and log for it | Hard to connect chant with goals | Goal setting tied to chanting duration |
Reflect | See dashboard insights | Hard to measure impact | Visual stats for personal/others' progress |
Share | Join community practice | Feels isolated | Live chant user count and join button |
Solution
User Flow
Wireframe
Splash/Login/Live Chant
Morning Chant is a spiritual wellness app that empowers users to log and track their chanting practice (Gongyo & Daimoku), both for personal growth and for contributing to community well-being. The app focuses on simplicity, purpose, and mindfulness.
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Slashscreen: A serene monk illustration surrounded by floating lotus flowers sets a peaceful tone. The dark-to-light vertical gradient suggests spiritual ascent and calm awakening.
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Live Chant Timer: The Central countdown timer visually displayed as a radial ring for easy tracking. Top Bar displays current number of live chant users, enhancing real-time community awareness. Gongyo / Daimoku Toggle button lets users choose their practice mode and mute / bell Icon audio control for the ending bell. Exit Button let the user quick way to leave the session without confusion. Minimal distractions during chanting to maintain focus, yet all actions are easily accessible with thumb zones.
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Login: Simple and accessible login form with clear call-to-action for signup and password recovery. High-contrast text and large touch targets support older users.
Dashboard Features
Dashboard: Live Chant Users shows current active participants and lets users instantly join a session and personal vs. community Toggle button empowers users to view time spent on self vs. others.
Time Breakdown Cards displays cumulative hours toward goals (e.g., growth, others, parents’ health). Reminder Bar clearly shows upcoming goal-based chant reminder (e.g., “11:15 AM – Personal Growth Daimoku”).
Quick Access Overlay Menu: Users can jump to goals, schedule, community, and profile while chanting. Play / Video Button for audio/video chanting guides during sessions.
Community
To foster deeper spiritual engagement by creating a connected chanting ecosystem — helping users build routine, belong to regional chant groups, and measure collective progress.
Problem Addressed
The lack of visibility into community participation and motivation among users made it difficult to coordinate chant times and set consistent schedules. Furthermore, users were unable to view their chanting habits and time distribution.
Community Screen: Displays regional chant groups (e.g., Bangalore, Mumbai) with member count badges and color-coded activity indicators. Users can view group sizes and join or create new groups with the "NEW" CTA.
Dashboard Analytics Screen: Shows total number of app community members and Real-time graph visualizes chant time trends over 24 hours, helping users reflect on their discipline and engagement patterns. Allows toggling between personal and community stats, reinforcing both self-accountability and collective spirit.
Create a Goal
The Goals feature is designed to align chanting practice with real-life aspirations, helping users stay spiritually grounded while working toward meaningful personal milestones.
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Users can define their goals under custom categories like Finance, Health, Job, or Travel and link them to Personal or Family intentions for deeper purpose alignment.
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Every goal can be tracked with a specific due date, fostering a sense of commitment and urgency without pressure.
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The dashboard visualizes overall chant engagement and offers a view into how users are progressing toward their goals through consistent practice.
Takeaway
# 1 Community Drives Commitment
Establishing regional chanting groups improves user accountability, promotes belonging, and enhances overall engagement.
# 2 Visual Analytics Enhance Self-Awareness
Displaying chant duration through graphs helped users track patterns and motivated them to maintain consistency.
# 3 Simplicity Builds Routine
Users of all ages can set and stick to a chanting routine with a calendar-based scheduling interface that is clean and easy to use.
# 4 Switchable Views Empower User Control
Users were able to balance inner growth with collective participation by offering both personal and community toggles.
# 5 Design That Reflects Purpose
The app's spiritual and meditative objectives were well-aligned with its calm color palette, soft shapes, and intuitive navigation.