Citrology Tarot ( 2021 ) - Necessary Behavior

Project Brief

Necessary Behavior is an organization that focuses on a social justice-driven media platform founded in 2018. It serves as a resource hub, educating, inspiring, and empowering people to create healthier communities through its official website, podcast, and social media.

Their audience is deeply concerned about mental health, and I was tasked to build a tarot mobile application that offers daily readings on topics of love, career, and personal growth as a mental health tool.

As the sole designer, I owned product strategy and partnered with 2 developers.

Problem and Challenge

In 2020, the digital Tarot application was growing fast. At that time, the market offered Tarot apps mostly for expert-level card experience for enthusiasts. How can we build a product that differentiates itself from others?

Solution

A coach-based Tarot app for beginners. Designed to bridge the physical-to-digital gap, it delivers the quick, easy-to-read insights that competitors lack.

A coach-based Tarot reading application targeted at beginner-level users, aiming to provide a quick, easy-to-read experience, bridging the physical deck to the realistic digital world.

A coach-based Tarot app for beginners. Designed to bridge the physical-to-digital gap, it delivers the quick, easy-to-read insights that competitors lack.

Business and Design Constrains

The Tarot is an entirely new product line for NB, and no design system is available, the website was built a couple of years ago, everything needs from scratch.

A Coach-Based Tarot Reading Experience

I conducted the survey and interviewed 5 participants to gather valuable insights.

“The major arcana only have 22 cards. I can pull one or three cards at most for Yes and No questions, or for past/present/future spread, but beyond that, I’m not really sure what I’m looking at.” — Jessica Judd

For beginners who are interested in reading cards but often feel overwhelmed by the rules. I designed the Tarot glossary feature, teaching them how to read rather than just telling them what to read, without leaving the app for educational resources to have a consistent reading experience.

Bridging The Physical & Digital World

Traditional Tarot readings require physical space, and carrying a bulky 78-card deck alongside a guidebook is quite heavy. The physical flow is:

1. shuffling the paper -> 2. cutting the deck -> 3. drawing the cards.

I aimed to bring the physical realism experience to the digital world by mirroring the traditional user journey in the digital space. This approach aligns the established mental models and muscle memory in the physical deck, ensuring a seamless and intuitive experience.

Business Goals VS Users' Needs: Shift From A One-time Entertainment Experience To A Long-term Personal Growth Tracker

“I may go weeks without a reading, or I may have weeks of daily readings. It’s all about paying attention to my needs, being mindful of where I’m at, and asking myself if or why I need a reading. Maybe I just want to do one for fun.” — Ashley Brown

🎯 Business goal: Aimed to shift a Tarot app from a one-time entertainment experience to a long-term personal growth tracker.

How to balance the business goals and users needs? By designing this tracking tool under a user's account, they can see at a glance when they did readings. Allow users to save a reading experience for a specific life area (e.g., Career, Relationships, Self-Growth) and record their mood after each draw, providing critical context for future reflection. This feature keeps users coming back to the application, increasing user retention and the daily active engagement rate.

Design System and Patterns

emotions-happy

My primary goal was to establish a consistent user experience for light and dark themes across the product, seamlessly bridging the brand identity across diverse product sections. I built the foundational design system, defining reusable patterns, UI components, and usage guidelines.