Beni
A children's literacy app designed for remote teaching during Covid-19
My role
UX/UI Designer
Project
Visual programming project
Timeline
Aug - Dec 2020
Tools Used
Figma, Adobe Illustrator,
Optimal Workshop, Miro
Overview
Prompt
With the aim of helping teaching during the covid-19 pandemic through educational games with an interactive educational system. Create an experience that allows educators and students to develop their educational tasks. Consider the needs of pedagogues and students.
Design Process
Initial Thinking
Target Users
Literacy pedagogues, parents and children
Research methods
Online survey (Google form)
Online interview (due to the lockdown)
Research online
User Research
Background Research
Identify existing online and on-site platforms related to community building
Discover how the new students are connecting with pedagogues.
Analyse how the students are utilising the current system.
Identify the strengths/potential of the current system.
Research Goals
Platforms and books offering literacy activities were analysed.
Research 1 - Existing Systems
Research 2 - Literacy Educators and Students Surveys & Interviews
What resources are students using to study?
80%
through Google classroom
What are the biggest difficulties in using these resources?
It's not in Portuguese
Paid and Limited lessons
No customisation options
Weak content
Difficult to play
Children get angry easily
Websites, apps or platforms used
Research Findings / Pain Points
01
Most parents don't know about apps in this segment, and the few that do, along with data acquired from pedagogues who contributed to our research, identified lack of accessibility, prices, limited lessons and poor content as the main problems with existing apps.
02
Both parents and pedagogues agreed that the app should focus on: the alphabet, the initial letter of the word, the initial syllable of the word and word reading.
Problem Statement
There is no platform to help pedagogues during early childhood literacy. It's difficult for educators and students to establish a sustainable relationship and keep students interested.
Information architecture
Sitemap
To establish the functions and contents and organise so that can visualise the app's basic structure and navigation. Based on this idea, card sorting was carried out with different groups participating in the project. Then sought to diagram the results of the card sorting using the sitemap method.
Wireframe
Prototype
Beni as
a set of syllables made up of be + ni, making it easier for children to understand and the content of the application, the teaching of syllables.
A ligature was used in "be" to represent the student, as if they were sitting on a chair. In "ni", it refers to the idea of a pedagogue standing in front of a desk.
Design Concept
Visual identity
UI Guide
Colour palette
Typography
It's an app to help children learn literacy.
Learn by helping Beni and his friends build a rocket.
01
High-fidelity design
An educational platform
Design Solution
Select the activities, create a room with your class and monitor your students' development.
02
If you’re an educator,
Carry out educational and fun activities adapted to the digital environment. View your progress and personalise your character and screen.
03
If you’re a student,
User feedback
User testing feedback
It's clear how students are managed.
As a point of iteration, which was later developed, the importance of accessibility and inclusion for all students was discussed.
Presenting to the University
We had academic support throughout the project. I heard specific answers about how the app would be attractive and what advantages and suggestions it brought.
Reflection
Takeaways
Designing an app for this audience was very challenging, mainly because designing for children is very different for adults.
We need to take into account that they are still developing and that design is divided into age groups that need specific solutions. So the information needs to be clear, using symbols and icons as a way of communicating, and have appreciation and encouragement to get them involved.
The support of pedagogues and students was extremely important in this construction, as it was possible to ascertain the best approach and content.
Nice to see you here!
