-Create a tactile academic tool

-Promote improving time management skills

-Design a calming and stress free experience

-Mitigate procrastination in college students

Research began with making a map starting with the root of the problem: procrastination, and then finding the larger categories that stem from it. Throughout the research process it became clear that developing a tone for talking to the user would be a big push to make this game successful. Another note I made through consulting with a teacher was that tactile methods work, it makes the task feel more real and it drives focus. After these findings, I created my own poll for fellow students to take, and the key points were:

-Phones are the biggest distraction

-Tactile methods are favored for working alongside timers

-Stress has the biggest impact on their mental health

Visual resources were huge in developing a card game so I searched through a sea of different games. I wanted to include extra pieces like a timer and a phone slip to hide your phone, so I was sure to look into additional pieces found within games and how they go together. Another avenue I researched was existing apps, planners, and other trackers that involved progression and task completion. Stay away from an app was a goal of mine since a phone seemed to be the biggest distraction and tactile study methods seemed to be the most effective. Finally I wanted the name to be clear and to the point, similar to Uno, you know the game has to do with the number one since that is what it is titled.

At first I decided an assertive tone may be a good direction to start in to be sure the work would get done. So initially the designs I conducted were bright, in your face, typography based, and had a very assertive tone.

But after using the cards myself and testing them on fellow students, it was evident that the tone was too harsh, the visuals were disengaging, and if anything it did not help reduce stress, so I went back to the naming list and tried a calmer tone.

This shift in tone caused me to rethink my project, and go back to my research map and found that stress is the number one inhibitor to those that struggle with procrastination. So, I thought back to the nature retreat and took ink to paper and began sketching. After some beginnings on paper, I used the physical scans to create digital brushes so that it would be easier to manipulate and create a more even baseline for the letters to sit on.

While designing the logo, cards were also being developed. After the assertive GoDeckGo pink color theme, I began to try a light vs dark contrast to match the contrast heavy logo. At first a dark blue theme emerged, but after numerous trials, using the ink brush and color for activity cards seemed to work best with the work cards being black and white. The colored activity cards invoke a bright mood since you are taking a break from tasks, whereas the black work cards invoke a sense of focus since you are working on a task.

After the cards defined their style, the box and phone slip soon followed. Their sketches followed the dark blue sketches with the final product landing on the canvas background and the ink surrounding the logo on top of the box. The phone slip ended up turning into a small bag that any phone can easily slide into.

Of course this game has rules, and the best way to explain them is through showing how the game is played, and through this made up scenario you can see how easy it is to play.