But You Promised: Designing for Everyday Accountability
"But You Promised" is a concept app developed in collaboration with Klarna, designed to make personal accountability feel lighter, friendlier — and even a little fun. Whether it’s asking a friend to return your charger, pay you back for coffee, or finally drop off that borrowed sweater, the app tackles the most awkward moments of adulting with design-driven ease.
We aimed to answer a common question: how can we make it easier (and less uncomfortable) to remind someone they owe you something?
By focusing on tone, timing, and trust, the app created a low-stakes space for high-impact behavior. It’s not just about remembering — it’s about making accountability feel human, not heavy.
Design Objectives
Reduce Social Friction: Help users follow up on promises without sounding pushy or passive-aggressive.
Make It Easy to Remember: Let users log small, personal commitments before they slip through the cracks.
Celebrate Follow-Through: Create a sense of satisfaction when promises are kept — on both sides.
Key Features
Promise Logging
Quickly jot down what someone promised you (or what you promised them), including context, due date, and emoji-based categories.Playful Reminder Nudges
Instead of cold reminders, we crafted warm, even funny, notifications that keep the tone light.Fulfillment Tracker
A dashboard showing promises made, kept, and still pending — helping users stay on top of the little things.Social Sharing (Optional)
Some promises need a little more visibility. Users could optionally share or co-own promises with the people involved.
UX Approach
Empathy-Led Interviews
We talked to users about the emotional tension of asking for things back — and designed with those feelings in mind.Delightful Microinteractions
Every part of the flow — from creating a promise to nudging someone gently — was designed to feel frictionless and kind.Minimal, Friendly Aesthetic
A playful, pastel interface with soft typography and emojis set the tone: this isn’t a debt collector — it’s your accountability buddy.
