DormDesk

Home Page
Home Page
Task Tracker
Course Tracker
Finance Tracker

Inspiration

DormDesk was inspired by the everyday challenges we and our peers face as students trying to balance academics, personal tasks, and finances. We noticed that many of us rely on scattered tools—planners, notes apps, spreadsheets—to stay organized, which often leads to missed deadlines and unnecessary stress. We wanted to create a platform that brings everything together in one place.

What it does

DormDesk is a student-focused productivity platform designed to simplify and organize college life. It serves as a centralized space that combines essential tools to help students manage their academic, financial, and personal responsibilities. With a clean, user-friendly interface, DormDesk enhances the study experience through features like a calming study playlist on the homepage and a fun mushroom-shaped cursor that adds personality. It includes a Task Tracker to organize classes, monitor deadlines, track grades, and build personalized schedules; a Course Tracker to manage assignments, set priorities, and stay informed on class requirements and timing; and a Finance Tracker to log expenses, set savings goals, and improve budgeting habits. DormDesk is everything a student needs to stay balanced, productive, and in control.

How we built it

We used HTML to create the structure of the website and to build interactive elements like buttons. CSS was used for styling, including custom layouts and design, with modern features like flexbox and grid to ensure responsive and organized page layouts. Some parts of the project were initially developed in Java to experiment with logic and structure, then translated into HTML for web integration. We coded and previewed everything using CodeSandbox, which allowed for quick edits and testing. Our design approach focused on a minimalist, student-friendly interface, using a neutral color palette to keep the look clean, calm, and easy to navigate.

Challenges we ran into

As beginners with limited coding experience, one of our biggest challenges was working within the skills we currently had. This was our first hackathon, so we weren’t sure what to expect going in. Choosing a platform to code on was also a bit confusing at first, but we decided to use CodeSandbox because it felt the most beginner-friendly. We ran into a lot of debugging and syntax issues—especially since not all of us were fully familiar with HTML. At one point, we had written parts of the code in Java and then realized we needed to convert it to HTML to make it work for the web, which took extra time and effort. We also struggled with keeping the user interface consistent across different pages and connecting them properly through the navigation bar. On top of that, we were new to GitHub and had to learn how to use repositories and version control along the way.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud of how much we were able to achieve as beginners in our first hackathon. One of our favorite features was embedding a Spotify study playlist directly into the platform to help users stay focused while working. We also had fun adding creative touches, like customizing the cursor into a mushroom icon to match our whimsical, student-friendly theme. Beyond that, we successfully built and connected multiple pages for course tracking, task management, and finance tracking. We designed a clean, minimalist interface and learned how to structure and style everything using HTML and CSS. Figuring out how to link pages through a navigation bar and troubleshoot layout issues was a big milestone for us.

What we learned

During the development of DormDesk, we gained hands-on experience in web development and team collaboration. We learned how to embed a Spotify playlist, customize the cursor, and work with the GitHub repository. This project helped us improve our coding skills, understand version control, and function more effectively as a team. We also revisited the value of brainstorming and how it fuels creative and user-focused design.

What's next for DormDesk

The future of DormDesk is to evolve into a powerful, full-featured mobile app that redefines how students manage college life. We envision a sleek, modern interface that’s not only more visually engaging but also more intuitive — making everyday tasks feel effortless. With expanded widgets and customizable features, users will be able to tailor DormDesk to fit their unique schedules and goals. Introducing secure logins and data storage will allow students to seamlessly access their information anytime, anywhere. But we don’t want to stop there — we plan to launch a student-driven survey to shape the next generation of features, ensuring the app grows with real needs in mind. From academic support to personal organization, DormDesk will become more than just a productivity tool — it will be a personalized hub for student success.