Seen | Devpost

Inspiration

A huge amount of work in households isn’t physical chores — it’s the invisible cognitive load: remembering, planning, coordinating, and emotionally holding things together. That load is often unrecognised and disproportionately carried by mums/women, which leads to burnout, resentment, and relationship strain.
We wanted to build something that shifts the dynamic from nagging → noticing, and from unseen → seen.

What it does

🏠 Home feed: “Today’s contributions” activity feed + gentle affirmations/nudges
✅ Task logging: quick-add chips, typing, and voice logging
🎙️ Voice logging: speak a task, then tap Done — log it to add it
📢 Task requests: Mum can request support; Dad/Alex can complete it from their Profile (one tap “Done — log it”)
🎁 Rewards: send virtual appreciation + browse partner brand deals (coffee/flowers/restaurants)
👤 Profiles: per-person stats + household contribution split
🦆 Duck avatar coach: celebratory popups for good behaviour; judgey popups + “angry quack” sounds when supporters don’t show up
🎯 Custom goals (Mum): weekly appreciation target + task-share target
🌙 Light/Dark mode: toggle in header
📱 Mobile-first: full-screen on phone; optional phone frame on desktop

How we built it

Frontend: React + TypeScript (Vite)
Styling: Tailwind CSS v4 + CSS variables for theming
State: React Context + useReducer
Voice: Web Speech API (SpeechRecognition)
Duck sounds: Web Audio API (synthesised “happy chime” + “angry quack”)
Charts: Recharts (profile breakdown)

Challenges we ran into

Invisible work is hard to represent without making it feel like “scorekeeping.”
Voice input on mobile can be inconsistent depending on browser permissions and security constraints.
Getting the “nudge” tone right: supportive and warm, not guilt-based or accusatory.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

A mobile-first demo with clear, judge-friendly flows (Mum logs → Dad/Alex see → appreciation + support happens).
The task request loop that turns “mental load” into a visible ask and a concrete action.
The duck avatar coach that makes behavioural nudges feel playful instead of confrontational.
A clean light/dark mode that works across the whole UI.

What we learned

Nudges work best when they offer a next action (appreciate / claim / do), not a lecture.
“Fairness” is personal — letting Mum set goals creates healthier expectations than hard-coded rules.
Small UX details (quick add, voice, one-tap done) matter a lot when the goal is reducing burden.

What's next for Seen

Auto-detection of invisible work (calendar + message + routine signals) to reduce logging burden.
Shared task assignment and rotation (“who owns school admin this week?”).
Smarter nudges (tone testing, contextual prompts, summarised weekly insights).
Real partner rewards: integrate discount codes/offers that encourage appreciation without gamifying relationships.
Expand beyond households into teams/schools/community groups where invisible coordination labour also shows up.