Case study · 2024
Halcyon OS
A calm, keyboard-first operating layer for focused work.
ClientHalcyon
Year2024
RoleLead Product Designer
StatusShipped
Overview
Halcyon is a desktop environment for people who care about deep work. The product was a working prototype with a powerful engine but no coherent surface. I led the design end-to-end: from first principles around attention, to the production component library shipped with v1.
The challenge
The founders wanted a tool that disappeared. The challenge was designing a UI rich enough to be useful, but quiet enough to be invisible — without falling into the trap of a 'minimal' skin over a complex reality.
The process
- →Research with 24 knowledge workers over 3 weeks
- →Prototyped in code from week 2 — no static mockups past ideation
- →A weekly review with the founders for 12 weeks
- →Shipped v1 in 6 months, with a published design system
The solution
A three-zone layout (now, next, library) anchored to the keyboard. Every component is motion-aware — they settle in, they recede, they wait. Nothing competes for attention until you ask.
+38%
Activation
4.9★
App Store
12 wks
To v1