When it came time to design and develop the website, we already had a strong idea of how we wanted the site to feel. We leaned on one of Aro's core brand traits—a quiet presence. Aro exists to minimize distractions so you can focus on something meaningful. It was important that the website felt like Aro could help you accomplish that. The type, the colors, the patterns, and compositions are all meant to coalesce into a calming, serene, supportive feeling.

With Aro, the benefit is not in the box itself, but rather the lifestyle it helps you create. This led us to focus on capturing the kind of mindful, present moments that are the ultimate goal of unplugging. We intentionally placed the Aro in scenes that served to help people visualize how it could fit into their own lives—how accessible those moments could be for them.

We set out to create an intuitive app that pairs with Aro’s high-tech smart box to make it rewarding and easy for someone to spend time away from their phone. The app allows you to measure data for goals, wellness, and celebrating accomplishments through autosyncing and prompted journal entries.

Contrary to most apps, we didn’t want people to spend too much time in it. We had hard conversations about the reality of how this product would be used. Of course, we wanted people to use the app, but only in a balanced way. A way that promoted healthy behavior and encouraged people to put their phones away and live their lives. We strayed away from dark UX patterns and wanted to create an in-and-out experience where you track how you spend your time… and then call it a day.

We took a lot of inspiration for current apps in the wellness market to help inform standard practices for UI/UX interactions—all with the intention of creating an intuitive experience for users. We did, however, want to break away from looking like standard wellness apps and decided to embrace a dark mode, lessening strain on the eyes.

A key goal we identified early in app design was to avoid making the product feel motivated by shame—an often occurrence in the wellness space. We intentionally avoided any copy or design that invokes shame and were particularly careful of the language used throughout the product. For example, we changed phrases of “Digital Detox” to “Digital Retreat” because of negative connotation “detox” has earned in the weight loss industry. We poured over these small details to help create a positive and enlightening experience.

There were so many people and partners involved in creating this app—it’s hard to keep track! We are very proud of every partner involved and how the end product came together. Now, people have a thoughtful way to create healthy phone habits, re-focus on the people and moments around them, and live life, uninterrupted.