Tickle MVP Mobile

Services

Mobile App MVP design

Category

Mobile App

Client

Max Mcquillan

Designer / Designers

Raksha Tated

Tickle is a mood-first wellness app built around one goal—make emotional regulation feel playful, not preachy. I led the MVP design, turning a lighthearted concept into a functional product that drives daily habit without forcing effort.

Portfolio project image
Portfolio project image

The Challenge

Most wellness apps are repetitive, preachy, or too effort-driven.
Tickle needed to be:

  • Low-lift but emotionally rewarding

  • Engaging without streak pressure

  • Smart, but disguised as fun

The product had to be intentionally unserious, but still deeply thoughtful.

Research & Insights

We studied apps like Finch, Neko Atsume, and Duolingo to find that users stay longer when the UX is emotionally intelligent, not rigid.
People don’t want to “track emotions,” they want to feel seen. So the input system became visual and intuitive—no text logs, just mood → pet reaction → tiny dopamine hit.

Strategy

We narrowed in on 3 pillars:

  1. Mood-first entry → Visual emotion selection

  2. AI pet response → Dynamic reactions + surprise activity

  3. Passive progress → Pet evolves as you show up

The goal: habit-forming UX without ever saying the word “habit.”

Product Flow

  • User taps mood

  • Pet responds with a meme, song, hug, or video

  • That logs the emotion passively

  • Over time, pet evolves to reflect growth
    No push notifications. No journaling. Just light, meaningful interactions.

Design

The UI leaned into soft pastels, animated microinteractions, and expressive pet motion.
Everything was designed to feel like a toy, not a tracker.
Mood inputs were big, visual, tap-worthy making it frictionless to show up.


  • 6+ /

    years of experience

  • >85% /

    client retention rate

  • 50+ /

    satisfied clients

  • 55+ /

    projects finished

Book a call to discuss your product or just say hi!

Back to top

Back to top

Let’s break the internet.
Or at least make your product feel like it could.

Raksha T

Product Designer

Contact me

Hit me up if you’re looking for a fast, reliable Product designer who can bring your vision to life. I’ll design it like it’s about to go public.

  • 6+ /

    years of experience

  • >85% /

    client retention rate

  • 50+ /

    satisfied clients

  • 55+ /

    projects finished

Book a call to discuss your product or just say hi!

Back to top

Back to top

Let’s break the internet.
Or at least make your product feel like it could.

Raksha T

Product Designer

Contact me

Hit me up if you’re looking for a fast, reliable Product designer who can bring your vision to life. I’ll design it like it’s about to go public.

  • 6+ /

    years of experience

  • >85% /

    client retention rate

  • 50+ /

    satisfied clients

  • 55+ /

    projects finished

Book a call to discuss your product or just say hi!

Back to top

Back to top

Let’s break the internet.
Or at least make your product feel like it could.

Raksha T

Product Designer

Contact me

Hit me up if you’re looking for a fast, reliable Product designer who can bring your vision to life. I’ll design it like it’s about to go public.