Visual Communication - Bachelor

Sketchy.Live

trophy Awarded

Sketchy.Live is a cheeky digital sidekick that intercepts impulse online purchases before they happen. Blending humour, empathy, and AI, it transforms the act of spending into a moment of reflection, turning hesitation into empowerment. Through animated characters, gamified savings, and smart habit tracking, Sketchy.Live reimagines digital financial control as a playful and self-aware experience for the modern consumer.

Maxim James Eychenne

Sketchy.live

Your cheeky impulse control sidekick

Sketchy.Live is a gamified impulse purchase intervention tool disguised as a cheeky shopping companion.

Australians spend around $44 a week on impulse buys, more than $2,200 a year each, adding up to over $47 billion nationwide. Gen Z and late Millennials are especially caught in this cycle, surrounded by flash sales, TikTok hauls, and algorithmic temptation loops. Research shows these purchases are often driven by emotion rather than need, yet most budgeting apps focus on numbers instead of behaviour. Created in response, Sketchy.Live tackles the emotional triggers behind impulsive spending, speaking to users’ self-awareness through humour, reflection, and human connection rather than guilt or restriction.

And yes, the cat actually talks! Say hi at sketchy.live

A person holds a smartphone in one hand while standing on a city street at sunset. On the phone screen, the Sketchy.live app displays playful prompts like “Honey, that’s a want, not a need” and a blue button labeled “Lock & Save.” The app’s cat mascot appears at the bottom of the screen. The warm orange lighting contrasts with the cool tones of the phone display, creating a cinematic look.
A laptop on a bright yellow background displays the Sketchy.Live interface. On the checkout page, an animated black cat named Sketch appears beside playful chat bubbles saying, “Two pairs?” “Are you growing extra legs?” and “Lock it for a day… future you can decide.” A large purple button labeled “Lock & Save” is shown, suggesting the user delay their purchase.

Designed to help users pause before impulsive online purchases, Sketchy intervenes at checkout with humour, empathy, and conversation. Through AI-powered dialogue, he engages users in short reflective chats that explore intent and emotional state before they commit to buying.
Three smartphone screens displayed against a bright yellow background showcasing the Sketchy.live app. The first screen shows a shopping checkout page with a lock timer overlay labeled “Unlocks in: 23:14” and a small black cat icon, representing the “Block Checkouts” feature. The middle screen shows the black cat character sitting on a pile of coins with fish icons floating around, labeled “Earn Rewards.” The third screen shows financial tracking data, including Tuna currency, purchase rate, total savings, and spending graph, labeled “Track Habits.”

At its core are two animated characters, Sketch the witty cat and Blinky the energetic alarm, who embody the app’s playful personality. Each successful intervention rewards users with Tuna Bucks, a symbolic token that replenishes the small thrill of a purchase through achievement rather than consumption.
A lineup of five illustrated black cats named Sketch is shown against a bright red background, each expressing a different emotion. From left to right: idle with relaxed eyes, shocked with wide pupils, disengaged with a sideways glance, angry with glowing orange flames behind its head, and thinking with eyes looking upward. Each pose is labeled with its corresponding state in white text.

By blending real-time AI interaction, habit tracking, and state-based animation, Sketchy.Live transforms financial hesitation into empowerment. It reframes control not as restriction, but as a creative act of self-awareness that makes restraint feel satisfying, personal, and even a little fun.

A nighttime city scene featuring a bus stop advertisement for Sketchy. The poster has a bold red background with a stylized black cat illustration featuring yellow eyes. The headline reads, “Finger on checkout? Block the impulse.” Below, the Sketchy logo appears with download icons for Google Play and the App Store. The ad is clean, high-contrast, and eye-catching against the urban backdrop with blurred lights and passing cars.
A blurred person walks past a wall covered in bright red Sketchy posters. Each poster features the brand’s black cat with yellow eyes and the tagline “Sketch sees what you don’t.” The design alternates between front-facing and side-profile cat illustrations, creating a striking pattern. The bold yellow and black typography stands out against the red background, while the Sketchy logo and app store icons appear along the bottom of each poster.
A close-up render of a smartphone’s corner against a vivid red background, showing the Sketchy app icon on the home screen. The icon features a stylized black cat with sharp yellow eyes and a red angular forehead, conveying a mischievous expression. The phone’s sleek black edge and charging port are visible, emphasizing a modern and minimal aesthetic.

Maxim James Eychenne

Max is a multidisciplinary designer and creative technologist studying Visual Communication Design at QUT. His work explores the intersection of design, AI, and human behaviour, blending storytelling, interactivity, and speculative futures to challenge how people engage with technology and emotion.