A messaging app where tone is never lost.

Startups & Communication · Simple App

The client.

A first-time founder with no technical background. She came to the first meeting with handwritten notes and hand-drawn sketches of her idea. She had a strong gut feeling about the idea and wasn't going to let it go.

The idea came from a real moment. She'd noticed how often text messages were misread by the people around her — same words, completely different interpretations. That stuck with her.

The idea.

A standalone messaging app with a built-in system for conveying emotional tone. The sender chooses how they feel before they type. The receiver sees that context instantly, without having to guess.

It sounds simple, but it solves a real problem. Text messages get misread all the time because tone gets lost. Emojis help, but they're informal and not appropriate everywhere. This app adds an emotional layer to every message without changing how you write.

The challenge.

Visual cues mean different things in different cultures. The app needed a customisation system that lets users adjust how emotions are represented to match their own background. We built in cultural presets for several major regions and a manual override so anyone can configure their own associations.

Visual accessibility was another challenge. The emotional indicators had to be clearly distinct, carry the right weight, and not interfere with readability. Dark mode and light mode each needed their own treatment.

The client also had a lot of ideas. She had ambitious plans for future versions — AI-powered features, companion tools, multimedia elements. Every session required us to separate what belonged in version one from what could wait. The core idea was strong enough on its own. We had to keep it from growing into something it didn't need to be yet.

The process.

Week 1. Discovery

The founder explained the concept and her vision from scratch. We discussed standalone app versus plugin, API risks with other messaging platforms, monetisation (freemium), and the scope of the first build. We agreed to do market and user research before touching a design tool.

Week 2. Research and market analysis

Competitor analysis, user persona development, and market positioning. We mapped out where this sat in the landscape, from casual messaging apps to corporate communication tools, and found a mental health angle that made a lot of sense. A "check in" colour message to a mate without having to say anything out loud.

Weeks 3 and 4. Design

We worked through the message layout, emotion placement, and custom illustration design live in Figma. The client wanted the brand identity baked into the visual assets themselves, not just slapped onto standard elements. We designed a custom set that tied directly to the product's visual language.

We also designed the contact screen, settings, notification controls, privacy settings, cultural customisation, and the onboarding flow.

Week 5. Prototype

The final prototype was fully interactive on a phone. The client opened it on her own device, shared her screen, and tapped through the entire app live while I watched. Onboarding, cultural preset selection, starting a conversation, picking an emotion, sending a message, seeing the colour change, checking settings. It felt real.

I gave the client a shareable prototype link and a set of simple usability test prompts so she could put it in front of friends and family and start collecting real feedback before any development began.

The result.

A fully interactive Figma prototype accessible via a shareable link. Onboarding, messaging with emotion selection, custom illustrations, cultural customisation, contact management, settings, and privacy controls. A clear MVP feature list with future ideas documented and scoped for later versions.

The client came in with sketches on a piece of paper. She walked out with something she could put on her phone, show to potential investors, and test with real people.

What made this project work.

• The core idea was strong and simple. One concept, clearly understood, with a universal problem behind it.
• We kept scope discipline despite the client's creative energy. MVP one did one thing well.
• Cultural customisation was built in from day one, not bolted on later. That gave the product global relevance from the start.
• The shareable prototype link gave the client a tangible asset to take to investors and test with real users immediately.

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