Ankh app case study

Case study

MobileApp Digital Legacy B2C Data Security

Project description

Ankh is an experimental project exploring digital memory preservation. The premise is simple: in the far future, fragments of our identity, namely our stored data records and even our DNA, might be recovered and used to reconstruct us.

Client

Ankh is a pre-seed stage startup in the futurology field, trying to bring the idea of digital resurrection closer to people while allowing them to have control over their personal data.

Responsibilities

Design, Wireframing, Prototyping, Survey analysis

Team

1 designer, 1 developer, 1 marketing and product manager

Role

UX design and research

Context

Ankh is a tool that helps users collect and preserve personal information throughout their lifetime. This data could include memories, emotions, digital traces, and behavioral patterns. While the chance of a full resurrection is speculative, Ankh explores how personal data can be collected, preserved, and potentially reconstructed in the distant future.

Research

Research showed that while competitors used interview models. The opportunity here was giving users freedom in how they preserve memories.

We began by examining niche competitors in the industry. Most focused on preserving a digital personality through avatars that could tell a user's story after death. While their execution varied, the shared approach was interviewing users to capture and document memories. This confirmed our direction: the core of our experience would give users flexibility in how and when they engage, letting them choose topics and switch between them freely.

After analyzing direct competitors, we expanded our research to apps that use similar input styles, such as journaling and guided reflection tools. This broader perspective revealed best practices for creating engaging user flows and highlighted opportunities to design interactions that felt richer. These insights informed how we could introduce variety, personalization, and play into the experience.

Planning

After identifying opportunities and best practices, we created a plan for how Ankh could move from concept to a minimum viable product (MVP). My role extended beyond research into task prioritization and feature sizing. Collaborating with my partner, I helped evaluate which ideas were essential for launch and which could be deferred. This process was instrumental in shaping the user experience of the app, ensuring that our MVP was focused, approachable, and aligned with the core value of helping users preserve their thoughts and memories without overwhelming their daily routines.

Some of the goals and features we prioritized for the MVP included:

Guided prompts that help users capture and reflect on their memories in a simple, structured way
A wide range of topics with flexible switching, allowing users to explore what feels most relevant at any given moment
Optional daily or weekly goals to encourage sustainable habits without creating pressure
Full control over personal data, ensuring users can manage their information from input to storage

Design

By the time I joined the project, the core of the app was already in place. This included an onboarding flow, a home page with category options, and a bank of 300 questions with question trees that dive deep into both lightweight and sensitive topics.

So, with a good base to start from, I began work on the experience of the flow.

Image of alpha app, before UX changes.

Exploration

Building on this foundation, I focused on the flow of the experience. My first step was to explore how Ankh should look and feel. Through early visualization experiments, I began shaping a visual identity that balanced futurism with familiarity, giving users a sense of both ease and ambition. These explorations led to the creation of a design system that ensured consistency and scalability. The system provided a base of reusable components, making it easier to refine the experience and test new approaches as Ankh developed.

Progression

With the visual direction and system in place, the next priority was user progress. I worked with my partner to define a weekly goals model that gave users a steady, achievable rhythm, paired with a lifetime progress view that highlighted the larger story they were building over time.

Through these steps, Ankh evolved from a functional prototype into a product with a distinct identity, structured interactions, and a long-term engagement model that reinforced its speculative vision.

Image of beta app, after UX changes.

Next steps

Development

In parallel with design, development moved forward and led to the release of an alpha version of Ankh. This early build established the foundation of the experience with a broad set of question models, categorized content, and an encryption system designed to safeguard user data. Security was our priority from the start, ensuring that users could trust the app with deeply personal information.

Our current focus is on refining the progress experience and integrating the visual updates that express Ankh's identity more fully. As these features roll out, we are closely monitoring how they shape engagement, gathering feedback from early adopters, and testing how different approaches influence usability and trust. This cycle of building, measuring, and refining allows us to validate improvements with real users and ensure the app continues to grow in a way that feels both secure and meaningful.

Testing

To guide development, we established a combination of analytics and user input channels. Analytics track progress, retention, and pain points while keeping all data anonymous, enabling us to understand engagement patterns without compromising privacy.

In parallel, we set up a small but growing community of early users, providing direct insights into how the app fits into their routines and meets their expectations. An in-app survey further gauges how Ankh resonates with its niche audience and measures reception across a broader group.

This dual approach of quantitative analysis and qualitative insights allows us to refine the product based on both observed behavior and lived experience, ensuring that design and feature decisions respond meaningfully to real user needs.

Whats next

With the alpha version live, Ankh has moved from concept into the hands of real users, providing insights into engagement, user preferences, and friction points.

Our immediate focus is on developing the beta version, which will introduce:

Structured engagement through weekly goals and progress mechanics, helping users build consistent habits and see tangible growth.
Updated visual identity across the app, ensuring the design system and branding are applied consistently to create a cohesive experience.
Enhanced feedback loops, where analytics, surveys, and community insights directly inform new iterations and feature refinements.
Refined user personas, guiding improvements to acquisition strategies and ensuring the app continues to meet real user needs.

The beta will offer a more polished and feature-complete experience, ready for a broader audience. Looking further ahead, our vision is to expand functionality, deepen long-term engagement, and continue evolving the app as a meaningful tool for users to preserve their thoughts and memories.

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