Small Ledger

01Background

This is a small expense tracker I built for myself. Most of the ones out there either have too many features or look like spreadsheets. I wanted one I could use for ten seconds a day and that was pleasant to look at.

02My role

I did the product definition, interface design, icons and prototype on my own. A friend helped build the iOS version.

03Process

1. 1

   The ten-second rule

   Logging an expense takes at most three taps: amount, category, done. The category icons are big enough that you can log without typing anything.

2. 2

   A soft, paper-ledger feel

   The background is a cream close to paper, the cards have generous rounded corners, and categories use macaron colours. The point is to make looking at your bills less stressful.

3. 3

   Testing on my own data

   I used it for three months, and every time something felt off, I changed it. The home screen went through eleven versions.

04Result

It is currently a closed beta with thirty-some friends using it, logging an average of five days a week. The project also gave me a small interface component library of my own.