Timer PLUS
⭐️ 4.7 App Store Rating | 1 Million+ Users | iOS - Android
Company: Digitalchemy LLC
Duration: Approximately 3 months
Team: PLUS Design Team
My Role: UI / UX Designer
Case Study: Time...For Skeuomorphic UI
Designing Timer PLUS — A Classic Timer App With Charming Appeal
Overview
Designing A Classic Timer App with Tactile Charm
One of my earliest app projects at Digitalchemy LLC, was designing Timer PLUS. As part of the company’s “PLUS” brand family—known for its nostalgic, skeuomorphic design style was essential.
I was responsible for taking the timer app from rough, coffee-stained sketches to final launch. As the sole product designer, I led the full UX and visual design process. The goal? To make a digital timer that felt like a real physical object—something intuitive, charming, and satisfying to use.
Time...For Problems
Defining a Direction in a Sea of Timer Apps
Like most utility apps, timer apps come in every flavor imaginable. There are hundreds, if not thousands, across iOS and Android. The biggest challenge? Figuring out what would make this one stand out.
What should the style be? What layout actually works best? How many features is too many? And how do you build something highly functional—while still honoring the brand’s nostalgic requirement for a skeuomorphic UI?
No small task.
⬆️ Above - Early visual mockup of the timer - Early concept was radial loading bar for timer.
Time to Lead ⏰
My core role: Designing Every Second
As the UI/UX Designer for Timer PLUS, I led the end-to-end design—from first sketch to final dev handoff—while learning under the sharp eyes of our Art Director, Julia, and the company founder, Aidan. Their mentorship was intense, insightful, and brutally pixel-perfect.
My responsibilities included:
- Competitive research & benchmarking
- Sketching and building concepts into Figma prototypes
- Creating detailed UX flows and documentation for devs
- Designing the skeuomorphic UI to match the PLUS brand
- LOTS of testing
- Producing final assets and App Store screenshots
- Presenting design reviews and iterating fast
This project demanded extreme visual precision. Every pixel, font weight, and bevel had to pass approval—first from Julia (who caught everything), and then from Aidan, who grilled me on every decision to sharpen my product thinking.
PLUS users had come to love the tactile, “real” feel of the brand. Getting it wrong meant hurting the product—and the trust users had in it. So I didn’t just design it. I obsessed over it.
Time...For Action ⏱
From fast sketches to final screens
Every screen, flow, and detail got my full focus. As the UI/UX Designer for Timer PLUS, I took the lead from concept to completion—sketching fast, iterating smart, and designing with care. Below is the work done to complete this product.
Things Were Getting Sketchy ✏️
The first concepts
Fueled by coffee and a delicious bagel with cream cheese, I sketched dozens of early ideas—refining the strongest ones with feedback from our Art Director, Julia.
The best concepts were brought into Figma, where I quickly built wireframes and prototypes to start shaping the Timer PLUS experience.
Rapid Mockups
Cooking up screens in Figma
With constant feedback from my Art Director, I iterated quickly—refining UI mockups again and again for testing.
Each round of feedback led to sharper designs, stronger layouts, and better clarity.
Here’s a look at some of the early concepts created for internal review and user testing.
Final Design
Simple. Functional. Just charming enough.
The final layout was intentionally clean—anchored by the skeuomorphic design that gives PLUS brand apps their signature vibe.These apps are meant to be simple, helpful, and quietly delightful. That’s what makes them work… right on time. ⏰
Everything you see here was crafted in Figma.
A clean UX flow with the latest wireframe helped me layout the final design details.
Based on the earlier concept I eventually found the best layout and crafter a clean wireframe. This was the final layout and guide for buttons and screen design.
Then I applied the skeuomorphic UI I had been practicing, to make things look and feel real.
I even made sure the UI worked cleanly on iPads and Android Tablets.
App Store Content
40 languages, custom screenshots
This was my first real deep dive into what makes a great App Store presence. I designed and A/B tested screenshots and the app icon—then helped localize everything into 40+ languages to boost global downloads.
It was fun, hands-on, and taught me how much detail goes into that tiny little first impression.
I even designed the app launcher icon.
Surprising Results
From zero to over one million users worldwide.
What started as a simple skeuomorphic timer turned into a global hit. Over a million users downloaded the app, and the positive reviews rolled in.
I was proud to have helped create something functional, beautiful, and genuinely useful. From early sketches to prototypes and dev handoffs, this was my moment to grow—learning fast under the mentorship of both the Art Director and company founder.
And from here… it was time for the next big project.
Disclaimer:
The work shown here was created during my time at Digitalchemy LLC and is presented solely for personal portfolio use. All visuals reflect my role and contributions, and are shared respectfully to highlight process and craft—not for public or commercial use.
Reflections
Making Time To Smile
Timer PLUS was more than just another utility app—it was a crash course in thoughtful design, collaboration, and pixel-perfect execution.
I learned how to balance user needs with brand expectations, how to listen to sharp feedback and use it to grow, and how to turn a basic concept into something people genuinely enjoyed using every day.
From sketch to store launch, every second I spent on this app helped shape me into a better designer. And knowing that my work helped bring a little charm and delight to something as simple as a timer?
That still makes me smile.
Here’s what teammates had to say…
"...Hard-working, respectful, and team-oriented..."
Emily — Product Manager, Digitalchemy LLC
October 10, 2019