HydroGo
HydroGo is a smartwatch app which offers fast hydration tracking for management on the go. Even for the busiest of people, HydroGo can make ensuring proper hydration and reaching individual goals an easy aspect of day-today life regardless of daily distractions.
2026 | 3 Weeks | Content Design
Brief & Overview
Maintaining good hydration habits and reaching recommended goals can be challlenging, especially when balancing a busy life with other responsibilities. My aim was to combat this by making hydration management effortless and accessible through a smartwatch app.
As a solo project, I had a wide range of responsibilities throughout the design process, from initial research to prototyping. With a relatively short timeline of three-weeks, careful time management and prioritisation of tasks was vital to ensure that I would reach my goal within the timeline.
Research
I kickstarted this project with research, mainly though competitor analysis of competing apps, including Strava, Headspace, Todoist. I analysed the UI design, content reviews of each of these to identify a range of strengths and weaknesses.
It was clear that complexity of interfaces can make using an app feel unnessescary and time consuming. Users want something that fits seamlessly into their everyday life and doesn’t require much time or cognitive effort to use. I’m interested in creating things that solve real-life problems, so I wanted to create something that would both be beneficial and enjoyable for the end user to use and avoid seeming like a chore. Analysis of google trends highlighted how the demand for hydration management and general concern with the topic has skyrocketed in recent years
Concept & Audience
I established a concept of a smartwatch app that allows for easy tracking of whatever people drink throughout the day. I chose a target audience of young adults (18-39), as this is the demographic that are new to the university, work and adult life, and may not have time to think about proper hydration whilst managing other responsibilities.
Design Process
Sketching & Wireframing
A series of sketches were produced in order to experiment with a wide range of possible outcomes. This stage was pivotal to supporting further idea generation as several sketches of different UI concepts and screens were produced, giving a clear idea of my desired layout and flow. Translating my strongest sketches into digital wireframes bought my concepts to life and highlighted the format and structure that was the strongest for my project.
Refining & Prototyping
Prototyping was one of the most rewarding aspects of this project. Translating my initial wireframes into low-fidelity and high-fidelity interfaces allowed me to bring my concept into a functional interface, focus on user experience, and ensure the final designs aligned with my ambitions.
I received positive feedback from my peers, alongside some constructive feedback. Changes I made from this included adjusting colours to improve contrast and accessibility and making the process of recording intake more efficient.
Project Outcome
This project provided an exciting opportunity to explore my approach to UI design by adapting my process and structures for a smartwatch app. It challenged me to explore visual identity and user experience can work together to create an innovative product on a smaller smartwatch screen. By addressing the everyday challenge of hydration management, I gained a deeper understanding of how design can address real-life problems and deliver a functional, thoughtful user experience.
Read more about the process in my project blog.