Graham Slick

Every project UX, Design, Ventures

100 Breaths

A meditation app that listens to your breathing and counts to 100 for you, with a guided cadence, waves to breathe with, and levels that only go up.

Five 100 Breaths screens side by side: home, Cloud and Wave in black, home in red and Wave in green
When
2018
Role
Concept, strategy, information architecture, UX and visual design
Platform
iPhone

A meditation app Graham designed around one practice: take a hundred breaths. It listens through the microphone of a phone, headphones or a watch and counts each breath, so you can stop counting and just breathe, and it tells you when you reach 100. While you breathe, an infinity symbol with a ball moving through it follows each breath in and out, so you can trust the app with your eyes closed.

There are two ways to breathe. Cloud sets a cadence in breaths per minute, with a teacher’s voice to guide it if you want one. Wave paces you with the sound of crashing waves, their speed matched to your breath. Path keeps your progress: streaks, stats, awards and levels.

His plan set the rules. Keep it simple. Let friends encourage each other without competing. Show only positive stats: a missed week is never called out, and a comeback is welcomed. Levels only go up, and each one unlocks a new color for the app, so the people around you can see how far along the path you are. And keep the income modest, with free options for people who can’t pay. In his words: “The spirit is not a business. You can’t buy spirit.”

The plan named the apps to follow, 100Yoga and 100Meditation. A year later, the Aloka app brought breathwork, yoga and meditation together.

Roles Concept · Product strategy · Information architecture · UI and UX · Visual design

The 100 Breaths home screen: a black cloud shape at the top, level 37, the 100BREATHS logo in a circle and a tab bar for Path, Cloud, Wave and Settings
Home
The Cloud screen in black: a white infinity symbol over the count 001, 10 breaths per minute and level 37
Cloud: breathing at a set cadence
The Wave screen: three black wavy lines over cream, the infinity symbol and the count 001
Wave: breathing with the waves
The Path screen: a four-day hot streak, a wavy progress line from level 37 to 38, the last session, close challenges and stats
Path: streaks, challenges and stats
Settings in three black cards: the Cloud cadence and guide, the Wave sound and fade out, and the Path color
Settings
The home screen in green, the color of another level
Home in green
The home screen in red
Home in red
The Cloud screen in red with its settings open: a cadence slider at 10 breaths per minute and the guide switched on
Cloud in red, with its settings
The Wave screen in green: green wavy lines and a green infinity symbol
Wave in green
A slide of four business goals: teach and motivate, together but not competitive, a modest income, and an ecosystem where bettering yourself helps others
Business goals
A slide of six rules and strategies, from keeping it simple and positive motivation only to levels that unlock rewards
Rules and strategies
The information architecture: Home leads to Path, Cloud, Wave and Settings; Path holds previous stats and unlocks
Information architecture