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Dreamsome

Not only a design project, but a full-on startup journey.

From concept discovery, product design and creative direction to securing public funding, building a team, mastering public speaking and financial planning. I combined creative expertise with strategic business thinking to drive product development. Read the full case study from idea to launch.


2024 – now

UI/UX design
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Everybody dreams.

But not everybody remembers their dreams. Dreams hold the key to our emotional processing, and show tremendous potential for improving mental health. A dream diary is essential for dream recall and any further dream work. As someone passionate about dreams, I decided to build a user-friendly digital journal. This is my journey as a product designer, and a founder.

Validation

was conducted through landing page testing and user feedback on the offering

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Testing the waters with a lucid dreaming offering

⚡️ The average interest rate among 7 participants was 3.0

⚡️ The language around trauma scared people away

⚡️ It was not clear what lucid dreaming is and what the offering is

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Shifting from trauma language, explaining lucid dreaming

⚡️ The average interest rate among 20 participants was 7.7

⚡️ User journey of the product was not clear

⚡️ Visual language received mixed opinions

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Redefined the offering for a broader audience

⚡ ️ The average interest rate among 18 participants was 9.0

⚡️ It was clear what the app is doing

⚡ Design was well-received. Described as clean, not overwhelming, playful, beautiful

Competitor analysis

Helped identify the gap on the market for a digital dream diary that strongly focuses on well-designed user experience. I made a strategic decision to avoid AI interpretation as it opposes the aim of deep self-reflection. Besides, it goes against particular dream work methods that Dreamsome promotes. This approach to dreamwork creates a unique USP in itself.

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Customer profile

Helped answer the questions: "who will use the app and how to reach them?"

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Key features of the diary

were defined through card sorting

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Usability

Was tested at public UX testing events, as well as private interview calls.

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Total research participants

100+

Testing rounds (so far)

6

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Developer handover

Included detailed flows, component library and a style guide

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Branding

Dreamsome has a heart

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Custom logo

Unique custom lettering and a mark inspired by the infamous Inception movie.

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Socials

The idea was to create playful visuals that combine elements of realistic imagery and imaginary cartoons - to create a sense of dreams and reality merging together.

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Educational content’s aim was to debunk popular myths about dreaming and motivate the potential users to pick up the dream practice

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Stickers

Were designed to be shiny, playful, delightful and attract attention

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That must be it.


But not quite. I’ve also pitched on stage, wrote business & financial plans, researched incorporation options, deepened my knowledge of dream work, organized events and received 2 startups scholarships.


Today Dreamsome continues to grow through bootstrapping and I’m happy to join teams who value multi-faceted players. After this experience I know there is nothing I can’t do or learn. Want a team player like that on your side? Get in touch!

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Acknowledgments


Developer:

Irina Shumilova


Coaches & Mentors:

Charlie Morley,

Angel Poon,

Adam Formanek,

Dr. Katharina Feldmann,

Sandra Thumm,

Katrin Jahnke


Supporters:

Lin Cassie Zhen,

Robert Eckstein,

Dr. Karine Miras


and every test participant

whose input was invaluable


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