Project Story
Inspiration
Many wellness apps feel overwhelming—too many metrics, constant notifications, and pressure to “optimize” every part of life. We wanted to build something calmer: a tool that encourages reflection before action.
DayLift was inspired by the idea that small, intentional daily check-ins can compound into meaningful long-term improvement—without guilt, streak pressure, or noise.
What it does
DayLift is a lightweight iOS wellness app that connects daily mood check-ins to gentle, actionable support. Users can log how they feel in seconds, track nutrition and workouts, and use guided breathing exercises when stress is high.
An Insights dashboard helps users reflect on trends rather than chase scores.
All data is stored locally on-device, keeping the experience private and distraction-free.
How we built it
DayLift was built using SwiftUI and a clean MVVM architecture.
- Models define core data (mood entries, nutrition logs, workout sessions)
- ViewModels manage business logic and persistence
- Views remain declarative and reactive to state changes
Calorie recommendations are estimated using the Mifflin–St Jeor basal metabolic rate equation:
[ \text{BMR} = 10w + 6.25h - 5a + c ]
where
- (w) = weight (kg)
- (h) = height (cm)
- (a) = age (years)
- (c) = sex-based constant
All data is persisted using Codable and UserDefaults, ensuring fast performance and offline reliability.
Challenges we ran into
- Designing a UX that felt supportive, not judgmental
- Keeping features useful without adding unnecessary complexity
- Managing shared state cleanly across multiple SwiftUI tabs
- Ensuring daily data updated correctly across app launches
Balancing simplicity with functionality was the hardest challenge.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
- A fully functional mood-responsive wellness flow
- Clean separation of concerns using MVVM
- A calm, cohesive UI that subtly adapts to user mood
- A privacy-first design with zero external dependencies
- A complete end-to-end iOS app built entirely in SwiftUI
What we learned
- Small UX decisions dramatically affect how safe an app feels
- SwiftUI works best when logic is pushed out of views
- MVVM makes iteration faster and debugging easier
- Wellness products should encourage awareness, not perfection
What's next for DayLift
- Expanded insights and visual trend summaries
- Sleep and recovery tracking
- Smarter, mood-aware recommendations
- Optional data export for users who want deeper analysis
DayLift will continue to focus on small lifts that lead to real improvement.
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