Atom OS
A phone OS that strips your screen down to what actually matters.
RESEARCH_
The concept came from a personal need during exam season — existing solutions either deleted apps entirely or were too rigid to customise. I identified two core user types: students managing academic pressure and young professionals battling social media anxiety.
IDEATION_
I explored what a 'dumb phone' mode could look like without sacrificing utility. Early explorations focused on widget hierarchy and colour — settling on black and white to psychologically reduce the pull of the screen.
KEY DECISIONS_
Kept micro-interactions minimal by design. The colour gradient in the screen time dashboard was used to signal which apps help vs. harm, without being prescriptive. Focus mode was made user-configured, not automatic, to preserve autonomy.
SOLUTION_
A four-widget home screen with a settings panel featuring screen time visualisation, app usage breakdowns, and a toggleable Focus mode that blocks selected apps for user-defined time periods.
REFLECTION_
Atom OS taught me that subtraction is a design decision. The hardest part wasn't adding features — it was deciding what to withhold. I'd revisit the onboarding flow to help users understand the philosophy before they start using it.