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Tangerine is Your Necessary Dose of Self-Care
I love pastel colors. They always feel soothing to me and mimic the springtime where colors are just starting to emerge and the summer heat…
I love pastel colors. They always feel soothing to me and mimic the springtime where colors are just starting to emerge and the summer heat hasn’t fully kicked in. It’s that hopeful, reborn feeling I have when I use Tangerine, a relatively new journaling, habit forming, and mood tracking app.
While I’ve covered my fair-share of mood tracking, journaling, or habit-inducing apps, I haven’t seen anything that is quite like tangerine. The idea was born by a pair of developers who were trying to solve their own problem — sticking to their habits. The plan was if they could solve their issue and sell a few subscriptions at the same time, it was a win-win. Soon after launch they incorporated the ability to track moods as well which allowed them correlate user’s moods with their habit progress. Finally, they flushed out the self-care angle further, adding additional journaling.
I can’t speak highly enough about Tangerine’s design. I could ramble for a paragraph on each aspect of this app. But to keep things rather brief, I’ll mention a few standout aspects. First, I’m in love with all the graphics placed within the app. They are original characters and objects that make the app feel more polished but stick with the subtle pastel feel. Secondly, I want to praise the apps layout. With so much information, it could easily become cluttered but Tangerine keeps it organized with simple tabs and hierarchal placement to allow the app to flow naturally.
The app is full of animations such as confetti for completing a habit and intuitive gestures such as swiping across your habits to denote competition. Carousels across the top making choosing topics smooth and more natural than obnoxious drop downs.
To use the app, add a variety of habits you’re looking to improve. Maybe eat a piece of fruit each day, practice the piano, or stop biting your nails. Habits are broken down into times of day (or any time) and have their own cards. The cards can have helpful emoji, how many times each day you look to accomplish that habit, and how long your current streak is for that habit. Tangerine judges you on each day, showing various smiley emojis on the calendar based on how you did.
Each day, tangerine prompts you to reflect on your day. You see a summary of your habits and you can report how your day was. Tangerine then asks you what made your day like that, bringing up a laundry list of topics such as family’s work, friends, health, and much more. All with their own cards and custom artwork. If you choose, you can elaborate further and any other emotions you experienced.
Everything culminates in your journal, that shows all your entries from each day and lets you view your progress over time and what made a difference those days. It is easy to peruse and helpful tips in the app can help you make the most of it.
What amounts to a daily guide to self-care, Tangerine has never been more important as the masses start to put a higher importance on self-care and mental health. All of which was exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic that left many people quarantined, unable to see friends or family. Anyone can benefit from Tangerine and once you start using it, it will become a healthy habit in and of itself.
But enough about other people's apps.
