SametKayaDesign - Dreamlog

Overview

Dreamlog is a digital dream journaling app designed to help people remember, analyze, and get inspired by their dreams. The app focuses on transforming dream journaling from a forgotten habit into a calm and intentional daily practice.

Why This Project?

Many people remember parts of their dreams when they wake up, but forget them shortly after. Some even write their dreams down, but lose consistency or lack structure.

I wanted to explore whether a digital experience could:

Make dream journaling easy and fast
Help users build a habit
Allow emotional reflection and symbolism tracking
Make users feel connected to their subconscious

This led to the initial concept of Dreamlog:
A calm, guided journaling experience for the first moments after waking up.

Research

To explore real user attitudes and habits, I conducted a lightweight survey via Instagram Stories.

Goal: Measure user behavior, interest level, and emotional connection with dreams.

Insights:

Dreams are emotionally meaningful for users
There is high interest, but low habit formation
Users need a fast & effortless way to log dreams
Emotional tagging can help users make sense of recurring feelings or themes

Design Goals

Based on insights, I shaped four core design directions:

Make capturing dreams effortless
Encourage consistency
Support emotional reflection
Create a calming, gentle experience

Wireframing

Wireframes helped define layout, hierarchy, navigation, and task flow before visual design exploration.

Key Wireframe Decisions

Quick input field with optional voice capture
Simple navigation with three core sections: Write, Archive, Settings
Mood tagging step included after writing
Minimal empty state to encourage first-time journaling

High-Fidelity Design

Once the structure was validated, I transitioned into high-fidelity design focusing on:
✨ Calm emotional tone
✨ Accessibility
✨ Personal reflection

Light & Dark Mode

I designed both modes because dream journaling often happens:

right after waking up (dark mode comfort)
later during reflection (light mode clarity)

Visual Principles

Calmness: Gradients, rounded corners, soft colors

Emotional depth: Mood tags & symbolism chips

Emotional depth: Clear hierarchy, single-action screens

Habit building: Empty states, encouragement tone

Accessibility Considerations

Large touch targets for sleepy interaction
WCAG-compliant contrast ratio
Icon + text combined labels
Simple linear task structure

Next Steps

If this concept were continued, next steps would include:

Usability testing with real users
Refining onboarding and timing of reminders
Potential AI-powered dream interpretation
Beta prototype and App Store soft launch

Outcome & Reflection

Dreamlog allowed me to explore emotional design, calm UI, and behavior-supporting interaction patterns. Although the project exists only as a concept for now, the learning process shaped an experience that feels: