Mobile App Design

Pocket Tarot App

Creating a Tarot App That Stands Out in a Saturated Market

I wanted to create a Tarot app that stood out from the other available apps. I conducted a user survey that identified what made people download Tarot apps and what they felt was lacking from the apps they’ve downloaded.

The final prototype is based on my feedback from each round of prototyping and testing - including the addition of a card log, a better card selection interface, and a cute and friendly visual design.

User Testing and Iteration Leading to a Cute Final Prototype

Identifying that the key thing that was missing from existing tarot apps was a more guided experience, especially for 3+ card spreads, I developed multiple prototypes using Figma and conducted user testing to iterate on my concept.

Using User Research to Find Creative Opportunities

Tools Used

Google Forms

Figma

User Research

User Research / Survey

User Testing

UX Design

Wireframing

User Flows

Prototyping

Visual Design

Creative Direction

Illustration

Style Guide

Concocting a User Survey

Tarot is the practice of using a deck of cards to gain insight on whatever situation you may find yourself in. More casual practitioners may pull (or select) a single card that represents their day (similar to a daily horoscope) and more seasoned folks may pull a larger spread of cards with each one representing a different aspect of a situation.

My first step of this project was to build and distribute a survey for potential users to see how they use digital tarot and what would convince them install a new tarot app.

Some of my key takeaways from the survey results:

  • 76% are secular or semi-secular - not many take tarot too seriously

  • 64% practice tarot as needed, rather than daily

  • The most popular reason for choosing their current app or trying a new one is aesthetics/visual style

  • A new feature worth testing would be the ability to choose your daily card from a selection of cards, rather than a single card being automatically generated

The First Step to a Good Fortune is Planning

To get started with brainstorming ideas, I sketched a few options for wireframes.

While there are so many different directions this project could go, I decided to focus on:

  • An easy daily single card pull

  • Creating a simple yet hand-held 3 card spread experience

  • Designing a beginner-friendly tarot app for a casual, secular audience

Testing My Sketches With Real Users

Once I settled on the sketches, I made a low fidelity prototype in Figma to test out!

Through user-testing, I discovered:

  • Users expected to have access to a back button

  • Users would like the ability to revisit the cards they get in a log

  • One user suggested including a question or prompt that could be included to guide users through picking a 3 card spread - which aligned with my goal of creating a more guided experience

Manifesting Users With Unique Visual Design

Aesthetics will be a big part of making this app successful since most of the users I surveyed would try and use a tarot app based on the visual style. This is also how people tend to select physical tarot decks!

I wanted to make something unique - most tarot apps are dark and celestial. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I decided to aim for something a bit more light and friendly to align with my goal of reaching beginners and casual, secular tarot enthusiasts.

It took me a few tries to get this just right - especially since this project has taken place over a year and my skills as a UI/Visual designer have grown significantly since then. You can see how the visual design became cleaner and more mobile-friendly overtime!

Final Prototype…For Now!

After over a year of on and off work on the Pocket Tarot project, the final prototype is complete!

With this version of the prototype, I’ve updated the graphics to reflect the visual direction.

I’ve learned SO much about prototyping, mobile app design, and user testing through this process. I found myself continuously redesigning this project because I had grown as a designer each time I went to work on this. Even now, I have ideas for how to improve this prototype - as it goes with any product design, there is always more to be done!

But I’m happy with where this prototype has landed…at least for now!