UX/UI Design • App • Contest
the challenge
As part of the 2025 edition of Designflows, the European design contest organized by Bending Spoons, I had 60 hours to imagine and design an app for a future human colony on the Moon.
My goal was to create a product that could blend usability and emotional connection, in a context where interactions need to be fast, reliable and adapted to extreme conditions.
The result is a voice-first, bot-based experience built around task delegation and mission tracking, designed to work smoothly in a low-precision, high-stakes environment like the lunar surface.
Out of 1300+ participants, my project made it to the top 40 finalists. For a detailed day-by-day breakdown of the process, from sketches to the final UI, you can read this Medium article.
Credits
European Contest by Bending Spoons
Year
2025
The brief imagined a lunar colony inhabited by researchers and families. The goal was to design a task assignment app, usable in challenging conditions like gloves, helmets, low precision, and limited time.
Two very different user types needed to be supported: multitasking researchers and less technical family members.
Insights from the brief emphasized the need for:
– Fast, intuitive UI
– Voice control for hands-free interaction
– Bot customization to simplify recognition
– Task clarity to avoid confusion or overlap
The main scenario: requesting a Hexabot to retrieve a material (silicone) and deliver it to the Science Dome for prototyping.
I started by mapping all the functional steps: checking bots, assigning tasks, confirming delivery.
These early sketches helped define core logic and layout options, especially for the dashboard, which acts as the central hub for monitoring and assigning tasks.
The voice assistant was planned as a primary feature from the start: always accessible and useful in hands-busy situations.
Once the structure felt solid, I created a full wireflow.
The experience is centered around a dashboard for real-time status and task assignment. A simple, linear flow guides the user through each step: selecting a bot, assigning a task, monitoring the mission.
The voice assistant was integrated into every phase: not as an add-on, but as a core tool, always ready to assist.
To make the interaction more intuitive and emotionally engaging, I gave it a visual personality: animated feedback, expressive cues, and a tone designed to feel like a trustworthy digital buddy, not just a machine.
The visual identity needed to feel space-inspired, yet human.
I developed a color system using Void Blue for depth, Sky Blue for actionable elements, and Sunbeam Yellow for highlights.
All components were designed for readability, clarity, and fast interaction.
The Hexabots were imagined as personal, customizable assistants.
I designed them to be easily recognizable, each with their own color, name, and expression, so users could create a stronger bond and reduce friction in task assignment.
I used 3D modeling, generative AI and Photoshop to explore and finalize their look.
By the end of day, the project was finally starting to look and feel like a real product. The core flow was clear, the structure worked smoothly, and the first high-fidelity screens brought the concept to life.
An interface designed to feel sci-fi but human, functional but emotionally expressive — ready to land on the Moon.
To speed things up even more, I designed a home screen widget for instant access to bot activity and mission updates, allowing users to stay informed without opening the app.
The final stage of the journey brought me to Bending Spoons HQ in Milan, where all 40 finalists were invited to present their work and meet each other. It was an incredible moment to connect with designers from all over Europe, each with a different approach to the same challenge.
Seeing how others interpreted the brief, from ultra-minimal to wildly experimental, was truly eye-opening.
The exchange of ideas, plus the chance to talk with the team behind Bending Spoons, made this more than a competition: it became a rare, energizing learning experience.
Even without a win, I left with something bigger: inspiration, new connections, and the motivation to keep pushing creative boundaries.
