# Sip case study: Water reminders people don't switch off

Most people know they should drink more water, and most water apps don't help them do it. The goal is the same for everyone, logging is fiddly, and the reminders go off at the wrong time. Sip works out a goal for each person, logs a glass in one tap, and stops reminding you once you're on track.

- **Platform:** iOS, iPhone
- **Who it's for:** People building a daily water habit
- **Our role:** Product design, UX, UI, prototype
- **Year:** 2026
- **Tags:** iOS app, Health & wellness, Habit tracking, Product design, UX & UI, Clickable prototype

## The problem

Drinking more water is an easy goal to set and an easy one to forget. The apps that try to help often turn it into a chore, asking about every drink and buzzing every hour. We designed Sip to need as little as possible from the person and to know when to stay quiet.

- **A goal that isn't yours.** Eight glasses a day is a rule of thumb. Weight, activity, and hot weather all change how much someone needs.
- **Logging feels like work.** If recording a glass takes more than a tap, people stop by the afternoon.
- **Reminders people switch off.** Hourly alarms go off in meetings, after the goal is met, and late at night, until people turn them off.
- **Not every drink is water.** Tea, coffee, and juice count for something. Most trackers either ignore them or count them in full.

## How we approached it

1. **A goal worked out for you.** Weight, activity, and waking hours set the daily goal, and an optional hot-day boost raises it on warm days.
2. **One tap to log.** Quick-add buttons sit on the home screen, and each drink counts for the water it actually adds.
3. **Reminders that know when to stop.** Reminders follow the person's day, skip a nudge when they're on track, and pause once the goal is met.
4. **Friends without the details.** Friends see a weekly percentage and badges. They never see what someone drank.

## Onboarding

**The problem:** A water goal only works if people believe it, and they won't if it's the same number for everyone.

**What we did:**

- The intro screens show what reminders and friends look like in the app before asking for anything.
- Each setup step says why it asks. Personal details are only used to work out the goal.
- Permissions are explained before the system prompt appears. Reminders never come during sleep hours, and location is only used for the hot-day boost.
- The plan comes back as one number, 2.5 liters a day, with the glasses and reminder times that get there.
- Errors are designed too. A failed log-in says what went wrong and how to fix it.

**Screens:** Splash (Hydrate. Feel better); Welcome (Small sips, big changes); Reminders intro (Nudges that fit the person's day); Sign up (Phone, Google, or email); Log-in error (Says what went wrong and how to fix it); Reset password (A link by email, and back to log in); Verify email (A six-digit code with its own keypad); About you (Only what's needed to set the goal); Daily goal (Weight, activity, and waking hours); Permissions (Each with its reason, all optional); Notification prompt (The system prompt, shown in context); Your plan (The goal, the glasses, and the reminders).

## Home, in every state

**The problem:** Home screens are usually designed for a perfect afternoon. Real use includes the first morning, a dropped connection, and a goal that's already met.

**What we did:**

- On the first morning, home becomes a short setup list with one button to log the first glass.
- During the day it shows the total, what's left, quick-add buttons, the streak, and the next reminder.
- When the goal is met, reminders pause for the day, and the last drink can be undone from a toast.
- Offline, drinks are saved on the phone and sync later. Loading and dark mode have their own designs.

**Screens:** Home (Today's water, quick adds, streak, and next reminder); First morning (A setup list and one button to start); Goal met (Reminders pause, with an undo for the last drink); Loading (The layout holds while data arrives); Offline (Drinks save on the phone and sync later); Dark mode (The same home, for evenings).

## Logging drinks

**The problem:** Detailed logging is accurate, but people don't keep it up.

**What we did:**

- The drink sheet has water, tea, coffee, juice, and milk, with quick sizes and the amount that counts toward the goal.
- Custom drinks get their own name, color, icon, and how much of them counts as water.
- Today's log lists every drink with its time and what it counted for, and any entry can be edited or removed.
- Reaching the goal gets its own screen, with the streak and the points earned.

**Screens:** Water balance (Today's intake against the goal, hour by hour); Log a drink (Type, size, and what it counts as); Custom drink (Name, icon, and how much counts); Today's log (Every drink, with what it counted for); Edit entry (Change the amount, time, or drink); Empty log (One tap to start the day); Goal reached (The streak and the points earned); Notifications (Reminders, friends, and badges in one list); All caught up (An empty state that points to settings).

## Progress and wellness

**The problem:** Liters per day is a dull number. People keep going when they can see how it connects to how they feel.

**What we did:**

- Week and month views show the total, the daily average, goal days, and the mix of drinks.
- The calendar marks each day as goal hit, close, or low, and each day opens to its drinks, mood, and sleep.
- The weekly report ends with one suggestion for next week, like a glass with dinner, and can add that reminder in a tap.
- A daily check-in records mood, sleep, energy, and symptoms. The app then points out patterns, such as feeling better on goal days.

**Screens:** Week stats (Total, average, streak, and drink mix); Month stats (The month so far, and when you drink most); History calendar (Goal hit, close, or low, day by day); Day detail (Drinks, mood, and sleep for one day); Weekly report (How the week went, and one idea for next week); Daily check-in (Mood, sleep, energy, and symptoms); Check-in saved (Patterns between water and mood); Insights (Short reads on hydration, sleep, and energy); Article (A four-minute read with a tip to try); Achievements (Levels and badges); Badge detail (What it took, and what comes next).

## Friends and challenges

**The problem:** Habits stick better with other people, but few people want friends seeing their health data.

**What we did:**

- A weekly leaderboard and seven-day challenges turn the habit into a light game.
- Only progress percentages and badges are shared. The empty Friends screen says so before anyone is invited.
- Challenges come in three types: a daily goal streak, most liters, or earliest first glass.

**Screens:** Friends (The week's challenge and leaderboard); No friends yet (How it works, and what is shared); Friend profile (You and a friend, side by side this week); Invite friends (An invite code and contacts already on Sip); Challenge (Who has hit their goal each day); New challenge (Type, length, and who to invite).

## Settings and Sip Pro

**The problem:** If people can't tune the reminders, they turn them off altogether.

**What we did:**

- Reminders can be smart, every 90 minutes while awake and skipped when on track, or set for fixed times. Quiet hours follow bedtime.
- The goal can stay automatic or be set by hand, and tea and coffee can count partly toward it.
- Health sync, a watch app, and lock screen widgets let people log without opening the app.
- Privacy says what friends can see, data exports as CSV, and deleting the account explains what it removes.

**Screens:** Profile (Goal, streak, level, and Sip Pro); Edit profile (Personal details used for the goal); Settings (Everything in one list); Goal and units (Automatic or manual, ml or oz, your cups); Reminders (Smart or scheduled, with quiet hours); Notification settings (What to hear about, and when not to); Appearance (Light, dark, or automatic, and the app icon); Health and devices (Health app, watch, and smart bottle); Lock screen widgets (Today's progress and the next glass); Privacy and data (What friends see, export, and delete); Help (Common questions answered first); Delete account (What it removes, confirmed with a checkbox); Sip Pro (What Pro adds, with a free trial); Manage plan (Plan, payment, receipts, and cancel).

## The visual system

Each card's color says what it's about: blue for water, lavender for how you feel, sand for streaks and rewards.

- **Color by meaning.** Blue is water, lavender is wellbeing, and sand is streaks and rewards. The colors are used the same way throughout.
- **Soft surfaces.** Cards sit on soft gradients with translucent edges and use the system font. It looks like it belongs on an iPhone.
- **Every state drawn.** Empty, loading, offline, error, and dark versions are all designed.
- **Built to be used.** Main touch targets are at least 44 points, and every icon-only button has a label for screen readers.

## How success is measured

The numbers that show whether the design fixes the problem.

- How many days a week people hit their goal
- How many people keep reminders on after the first month
- Average taps to log a drink
- How many people join or start a challenge

HTML: https://www.choie.co/work/sip