I created these: http://shoutkey.com/excavate, http://shoutkey.com/modify in quite a short time. I could have paid $5000 for a professional design, but it would be (let's say) 20% better. For my project, it doesn't make sense to pay $5000 for 20% better design.
Where are you getting $5000 and 20% from? It would take a skilled designer no more than an hour or two to polish that up. I mean, you switch from all-caps title text to regular case - why? YOU could polish that up and make it look immensely better with maybe 15 minutes more work and thought.
I already don't like to-do apps, but I wouldn't even download one that didn't look fun, interesting, new and beautiful. Simple as that.
The $5000 and 20% were just illustrative. I'm not going to polish it up, because I decided to go with the second design.
You don't seem to like it but I think it looks quite good. Majority of people who've seen it liked it as well, but you can't please everyone of course.
