Software, product & UX
Hearth
A mobile-app prototype for long-distance couples: a shared digital home, gentle partner signals, and small rituals that keep two people connected.
Why I started
I explored how long-distance couples could feel present in each other’s day through a shared digital home.
My contribution
My work covered the concept, user research, UI/UX, application development and shared-state database architecture.
Current state
Prototype. Screens and a walkthrough demonstrate interactions; it has not been presented as an App Store release or a validated production service.
A home for two people
Hearth explores how a couple can feel present in each other’s day while living apart. The central idea is a shared digital home: a place that belongs to both people and gives their interactions a setting beyond another message thread.
The prototype uses a warm pixel-art environment with rooms, a garden and two avatars. The supplied screenshots show actual prototype screens; the separate phone mockup below is a visual concept exploration.
Presence without pressure
A partner’s state becomes a gentle signal in the home. In the night-time screenshot, a partner is sitting in the garden and needs a little space; the other person has acknowledged that with “Check in later.” The Leave a signal action offers a way to respond.
This interaction explores a specific product question: how do you let someone know you care while respecting their availability? The home and avatar make that state visible, while the response gives the other partner a small action to take.
Rituals and a place to personalize
The sketchbook places the partners’ daily drawings side by side and lets them browse earlier and later entries. It turns a small creative activity into a shared record that can be revisited.
The screen recording shows the home as an interactive space. You can pan and zoom, view the partners’ avatars, bring them together, and access shared moments. A decorating interface lets you select a room or garden, move objects, and browse furniture and finishing touches. These interactions connect the shared-home idea to something the couple can make their own.
Building the product
My work covered the product concept, user research, UI/UX, front-end and back-end development, and database architecture. The shared-home model needed to support two users and their common application state, rather than two independent personal spaces.
The project involved Supabase, SQL and Firebase, with work on notifications and experimentation/A-B testing. The product work shaped the technical structure: partner state, a shared home and relevant updates had to fit together. I used AI coding tools during development while defining the experience, integrating its parts, testing and iterating.
Prototype scope and next steps
Hearth is a prototype/MVP project. The media demonstrates the visual environment and interactions, but it is not an App Store release or evidence of a large-scale production service.
The next product question is whether these signals and rituals help couples stay connected in everyday use. Further validation would need documented user feedback, reliable shared-state behavior and a clear evaluation of notification timing. User totals, retention improvements and commercial outcomes are not claimed.
Inside the prototype
Explore the shared home, bring the avatars together, and rearrange the rooms and garden. This screen recording shows the prototype in use.
96-second silent screen recording of the actual prototype. Play and seek using the video controls.
Download videoRead the video walkthrough
- 0–24 seconds: pan and zoom around the garden and furnished shared home.
- 24–60 seconds: view the partners’ avatars, together mode, shared moments, and the style and decorate actions.
- 60–84 seconds: open Decorate home, select the garden, and move a blossom tree.
- 84–96 seconds: return to the living room and browse furniture and finishing touches, including an easel.
Concept mockup supplied for the project: an exploration of the mood check-in interface.
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