Forgetfulness, rigid apps, wanting a nudge rather than a lecture: these patterns became Emily.
Emily Watts
- A consistent nightly flossing routine
- Guidance on proper technique
- Streaks to stay motivated
- Easily forgets to floss at night
- Current reminder apps feel rigid
- Progress tracking is unclear or cumbersome
"I feel better knowing I didn't skip tonight, my streak keeps me on track."
From soft lavender to Mint Thread.
The first build was pastel lavender on white, the same silhouette as every wellness and period-tracker app. Mint Thread is built around the actual color of a floss spool, and the coral it warns with.
Most people know they should floss.
Most people forget.
Flosser was designed around one idea: small actions become habits when they feel easy, rewarding and consistent.
Built on the cue–routine–reward loop from Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit.
Real bathroom moments, photographed the way they actually happen.
Green
Coral
Tint
Green
No alert red. Nothing in the app is allowed to look like a failure state.
Soft shapes for a soft habit. Round, approachable, easy to live with.
Chip's smile, the streak dots and the timer ring are all drawn from the same few curves. Nothing in the interface has a hard corner.
Violet on white read as clinical to me, closer to a medication tracker than a habit worth keeping, so I left it behind.
Sampled from the original prototype.
Three screens, one loop.
Opens straight to Chip and today's streak, no setup screen in the way.
A two-minute timer so you don't rush, guide open the whole time.
See how friends are keeping up with their streaks, so you can hold each other accountable.
From early prototype to launch.
The first working version proved the loop worked. It didn't yet make anyone want to open it.
There wasn't a real home screen yet. The timer and guide doubled as one.
One screen, one job: open Chip and start flossing.
Hamburger → tab bar
Four sections used in a two-minute session shouldn't hide behind a menu icon.
One screen → two
Progress and Friends got split into their own tabs instead of competing for space.
No mascot → Chip
The cue-routine-reward loop needed a face carrying the "reward" half. Chip became that.
Generic violet → warm palette
Purple reads as productivity software. Cream, mint, and coral read as a habit worth keeping.
Flat stats → stakes
"4/7 days" became "2 days behind, Snaggle's creeping in", so friends' progress now has tension.
Timer-first → Chip-first
The old home screen doubled as the timer. The new one gives you a reason to press start.
Meet
Snaggle.
Jealous of every smile that isn't his. Snaggle spreads grime whenever Chip is left unguarded, but consistency is his weakness, every flossing session pushes him back.
The mascots are the brand.
Flosser's identity isn't a logo and a palette. It's two characters and one rule about who gets blamed.
Reacts. Never blames.
He dulls when the habit slips and brightens when it returns. He never reports a number and never asks where you've been.
Takes the blame. Always.
Every consequence is attributed to him, never to the user. He is a nuisance you push back, and that is the whole trick.
Grime happens to Chip. It is never something the user did wrong.