CONCEPT APP—Horizon

AI powered file management and organization app.

Introduction

A concept app—Horizon.

Horizon is a file management application that started off as a 2-day hackathon, that later turned into an undergrad project in my senior year at ASU. The idea started when I witnessed my friends cluttered desktop screen. It was also a relatable issue, which motivated me to create a solution for organizing their digital mess. 

Created a concept MacOS app from 0→1, conducted 3 user interviews, and 3 user tests. This project was also awarded the Spring 2025 Design Excellence Award from the Herberger Institute for Design and Arts at Arizona State University.

Overview

Leveraging emerging AI tech to help decrease people's digital desktop clutter and assist in the menial task of organizing desktop files.

AI-driven file management tool enhances digital organization by intelligently categorizing folders, renaming files according to their relevance, and effectively consolidating disorganized files to ensure a tidy digital workspace. 

The app is natively designed for MacOS and is meant to work locally, without the need for internet to keep user’s files secure.

Research

A widespread challenge for people that lacks a straightforward solution in today’s market.

As I began talking to more people, I’ve realized the issue was a universal challenge for most when it comes to organize their oncoming and existing files.

However, today’s solutions are not as approachable as one would hope when it comes to assisting with file organization. In fact, it’s more time consuming to set up the necessary logic and rule system to organize the already messy files.

Locally ran AI technology for file security and privacy.

The AI technology operates through a model known as Llama AI 3.1, which runs locally and offline to ensure user file security and privacy.

If the AI is taught well, it will utilize a specific set of file analysis rules to maintain consistency in categorizing content, allowing users to see real-time changes made to their file structures when the program is executed.

Quickly select a parent folder and Horizon will organize the contents inside

Sort files into subfolders by type, name, or content, keeping the parent folder organized effortlessly.

See real time changes happen to your files.

As the AI operates natively with MacOS’s code base, all changes will occur directly on Finder previews.

Users couldn’t distinguish the differences between their original files and sorted files in the app’s early explorations.

I enhanced the user experience by implementing a side-by-side comparison view of the original and AI-sorted file structures, along with customizable file previews. 

Additionally, I introduced an onboarding tour to help users navigate the page more effectively, which overall led to a more satisfactory experience between the 3 tested users

Drag and drop any multiple loose files from anywhere to quickly organize them.

Users can quickly grab any loose files that’s laying around in either the desktop home screen or from any loose folders, and drop it into the app to be quickly sorted into a new parent folder based on their contents.

Rename multiple files using content-based naming rules.

Selected files will be automatically renamed based on the contents of images, files, and documents, which can be help users quickly find and identify files and images.