EdTech Challege
EdTech Challege
EdTech Challege
~ With Umi App
01
Project Brief
My Role
UI UX Designer
Timeline
Nov 2024
Deliverables
UX Audit
Competitive Analysis
User Research
Task Flows
Wireframes
Hi-Fid UI Designs
Prototyping
Reimagining EdTech: A UX + UI Challenge
Umi is a gamified language-learning app that teaches words in context using short, real-world video clips from TV shows and movies. While their approach is innovative, there was low engagement beyond lessons and weak daily retention.
After discussing these pain points with the founder, I got curious by these challenges and took on a self-initiated redesign to explore solutions.
While my main focus was solving Umi’s engagement challenges through UX improvements, I also explored a refined UI direction to modernize the overall experience. Since this was a self-initiated challenge, I took creative liberties to showcase both my UX and UI skills. However, in a real-world setting, I would work closely with stakeholders to balance feasibility, technical constraints, and brand identity.
02 Business Pain Points
02 Business Pain Points
01
01
Over 50% of users only complete lessons and don’t explore other features.
Over 50% of users only complete lessons and don’t explore other features.
02
02
Daily engagement is significantly lower than weekly engagement.
Daily engagement is significantly lower than weekly engagement.
03
03
Users spend minimal time per session, limiting retention and progress.
Users spend minimal time per session, limiting retention and progress.
03
03
Digging into User Insights
Digging into User Insights
To better understand Umi’s users, I first spoke with the founder to learn more about their core audience—who they are, why they use the app, and what challenges they face.
I then expanded my research by analyzing user feedback from online reviews and discussions across multiple social platforms.
To better understand Umi’s users, I first spoke with the founder to learn more about their core audience—who they are, why they use the app, and what challenges they face.
I then expanded my research by analyzing user feedback from online reviews and discussions across multiple social platforms.
To better understand Umi’s users, I first spoke with the founder to learn more about their core audience—who they are, why they use the app, and what challenges they face.
I then expanded my research by analyzing user feedback from online reviews and discussions across multiple social platforms.
UX Audit
UX Audit
Evaluating Umi’s core flows
Evaluating Umi’s core flows
To assess Umi’s user experience, I conducted a UX audit of its core screens, focusing on usability, engagement, and how well the app’s gamified learning approach supports user motivation. By analyzing the Lessons, Practice, and Goals screens, I identified key strengths but also uncovered usability challenges that could impact engagement.
04 Challenge
04 Challenge
Redesign visual elements and improve feature sets and flows. Build prototype that reflects a solution to business and user pain points.
Redesign visual elements and improve feature sets and flows. Build prototype that reflects a solution to business and user pain points.
01
01
H.M.W.
H.M.W.
Encourage users to explore features beyond lessons and engage more deeply with the app?
02
02
H.M.W.
H.M.W.
Create a stronger daily habit that keeps users coming back consistently?
Create a stronger daily habit that keeps users coming back consistently?
03
03
H.M.W.
H.M.W.
Make each session more engaging and rewarding to increase time spent in the app?
Make each session more engaging and rewarding to increase time spent in the app?
Gamers and learners need motivation, but they experience it differently—key to Umi’s game-based approach.
Gamers and learners need motivation, but they experience it differently—key to Umi’s game-based approach.
Gamers and learners need motivation, but they experience it differently—key to Umi’s game-based approach.
Gamer Psychology
Gamer Psychology
Drive for progress and achievement.
Drive for progress and achievement.
Gamers are highly motivated by progression systems that provide a clear sense of achievement. Research in game psychology shows that dopamine release is linked to completing tasks, unlocking rewards, and leveling up, which keeps players engaged and coming back.
Gamers are highly motivated by progression systems that provide a clear sense of achievement. Research in game psychology shows that dopamine release is linked to completing tasks, unlocking rewards, and leveling up, which keeps players engaged and coming back.
Student Psychology
Student Psychology
Balancing control, structure, and purpose.
Balancing control, structure, and purpose.
College students learning behaviors are shaped by their busy schedules, cognitive load, and goal-oriented mindset. Unlike gamers who thrive on rewards and progression loops, students value clarity, autonomy, and structured learning paths that help them efficiently absorb information.
College students learning behaviors are shaped by their busy schedules, cognitive load, and goal-oriented mindset. Unlike gamers who thrive on rewards and progression loops, students value clarity, autonomy, and structured learning paths that help them efficiently absorb information.
4.01
4.01
Breaking the Scroll Cycle
Breaking the Scroll Cycle
To encourage users to explore features beyond lessons, I redesigned the home screen to focus on daily progress and challenges rather than an infinite scroll of lessons. It presents users only with lessons necessary to achieve their daily targets, along with Daily Challenges (pulled from Umi's Practice options)— integrating gamification elements with fish points as rewards. This approach provides a clear sense of direction and achievement, making engagement with Umi feel more intuitive, structured, and rewarding.
04.01 Design Solution
04.01 Design Solution
Rationale: Balancing Goals and Gameplay.
Rationale: Balancing Goals and Gameplay.
Umi’s previous home screen prioritized lesson access but lacked structured guidance for continued engagement. Research shows the average student feels overloaded when presented with too much information, and gamers seek a clear path to rewards. Cognitive load theory explains that breaking information into small pieces helps people remember it better.
I simplified the home screen to display only the tasks users need to complete that day in order to meet their set goals — a student's need for structured clarity. And by introducing Daily Challenges with visible progress indicators and fish point rewards, Umi can tap into that motivation loops seen in gaming psychology. This not only reinforces daily habits but also creates a sense of accomplishment, making Umi a more engaging and rewarding experience.
Umi’s previous home screen prioritized lesson access but lacked structured guidance for continued engagement. Research shows the average student feels overloaded when presented with too much information, and gamers seek a clear path to rewards. Cognitive load theory explains that breaking information into small pieces helps people remember it better.
I simplified the home screen to display only the tasks users need to complete that day in order to meet their set goals — a student's need for structured clarity. And by introducing Daily Challenges with visible progress indicators and fish point rewards, Umi can tap into that motivation loops seen in gaming psychology. This not only reinforces daily habits but also creates a sense of accomplishment, making Umi a more engaging and rewarding experience.
Design Challenge
Design Challenge
A key challenge was designing the home screen experience to effectively blend the structured clarity that busy college students crave with the gamified, reward-driven approach central to Umi’s gamified brand. My research into student psychology showed learners thrive with clear daily objectives and manageable tasks, yet gamer psychology emphasizes ongoing motivation through visible progress and rewards. Balancing these insights meant carefully structuring daily goals and tasks without sacrificing the playful, motivating elements—like fish points and daily challenges—that define Umi’s unique appeal.
A key challenge was designing the home screen experience to effectively blend the structured clarity that busy college students crave with the gamified, reward-driven approach central to Umi’s gamified brand. My research into student psychology showed learners thrive with clear daily objectives and manageable tasks, yet gamer psychology emphasizes ongoing motivation through visible progress and rewards. Balancing these insights meant carefully structuring daily goals and tasks without sacrificing the playful, motivating elements—like fish points and daily challenges—that define Umi’s unique appeal.
04 Challenge
04 Challenge
Redesign visual elements and improve feature sets and flows. Build prototype that reflects a solution to business and user pain points.
Redesign visual elements and improve feature sets and flows. Build prototype that reflects a solution to business and user pain points.
01
01
H.M.W.
H.M.W.
Encourage users to explore features beyond lessons and engage more deeply with the app?
Encourage users to explore features beyond lessons and engage more deeply with the app?
02
02
H.M.W.
H.M.W.
Create a stronger daily habit that keeps users coming back consistently?
03
03
H.M.W.
H.M.W.
Make each session more engaging and rewarding to increase time spent in the app?
Warning: Daily streaks may cause addictive learning.
Warning: Daily streaks may cause addictive learning.
Warning: Daily streaks may cause addictive learning.
04.02
04.02
Progress you can brag about.
Progress you can brag about.
To strengthen users' daily habits and encourage consistent interaction with Umi, I designed a dedicated celebration component that appears each day after users complete their daily quests. A personalized message is shared highlighting their accomplishments, which they can share via social media or messages. Users can also effortlessly track completion of daily quests through clear progress bars, total average lesson scores, new vocabulary learned, and fish points earned—helping them stay motivated and connected to their language goals.
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04.02 Design Solution
04.02 Design Solution
Rationale: Celebrate. Share. Repeat.
Rationale: Celebrate. Share. Repeat.
Integrating social sharing, motivational messaging, and intuitive progress tracking into Umi's daily quest was guided by my research into the motivational differences between gamers and students. The option to share achievements taps into user motivation through gamified incentives and social accountability — aligning with insights on students benefiting from external affirmation and gamified incentives. Clear, interactive progress bars were incorporated based on cognitive load theory, giving students a structured overview of their performance without overwhelming them, motivating continued daily practice.
Integrating social sharing, motivational messaging, and intuitive progress tracking into Umi's daily quest was guided by my research into the motivational differences between gamers and students. The option to share achievements taps into user motivation through gamified incentives and social accountability — aligning with insights on students benefiting from external affirmation and gamified incentives. Clear, interactive progress bars were incorporated based on cognitive load theory, giving students a structured overview of their performance without overwhelming them, motivating continued daily practice.
Design Challenge
Design Challenge
A key challenge was designing the visual daily progress indicators in a way that clearly motivates users to complete their daily quests, while also providing informative feedback on their performance. Balancing these required careful consideration of how progress information is presented to maintain deeper engagement. From my research on student psychology, I knew clarity and structured feedback were crucial, but gamer psychology emphasized the importance of visual gratification and incremental reward. The final design solution had to effectively merge these two principles—delivering informative, digestible progress tracking that's rewarding enough to sustain users' daily motivation.
A key challenge was designing the visual daily progress indicators in a way that clearly motivates users to complete their daily quests, while also providing informative feedback on their performance. Balancing these required careful consideration of how progress information is presented to maintain deeper engagement. From my research on student psychology, I knew clarity and structured feedback were crucial, but gamer psychology emphasized the importance of visual gratification and incremental reward. The final design solution had to effectively merge these two principles—delivering informative, digestible progress tracking that's rewarding enough to sustain users' daily motivation.
05
05
Reflections
Reflections
Lessons and Wins
Lessons and Wins
This self-initiated redesign of Umi deepened my understanding of how crucial it is to truly grasp user psychology when crafting meaningful experiences. I really enjoyed exploring the motivations of these two distinct groups—busy college students and gamers—and exploring ways to blend a structured learning paths with gamified elements for engaging yet intentful interactions. Although I wasn't able to validate my solutions through formal user testing, the process emphasized the value of a strong initial research and empathy-driven design decisions.
I became even more aware that the best design solutions come from deeply understanding what motivates users while carefully aligning with the company's goals and technical realities.
This self-initiated redesign of Umi deepened my understanding of how crucial it is to truly grasp user psychology when crafting meaningful experiences. I really enjoyed exploring the motivations of these two distinct groups—busy college students and gamers—and exploring ways to blend a structured learning paths with gamified elements for engaging yet intentful interactions. Although I wasn't able to validate my solutions through formal user testing, the process emphasized the value of a strong initial research and empathy-driven design decisions.
I became even more aware that the best design solutions come from deeply understanding what motivates users while carefully aligning with the company's goals and technical realities.
01
01
01
Project Brief
Project Brief
Project Brief
My Role
My Role
My Role
UI UX Designer
UI UX Designer
UI UX Designer
Timeline
Timeline
Timeline
Sept-Jan 2025
Sept-Jan 2025
Sept-Jan 2025
Deliverables
Deliverables
Deliverables
User Research
Task Flows
Interface Design
Feature Designs
Prototype
Testing
User Research
Task Flows
Interface Design
Feature Designs
Prototype
Testing
User Research
Task Flows
Interface Design
Feature Designs
Prototype
Testing
AI Tool for Small Business Owners
AI Tool for Small Business Owners
AI Tool for Small Business Owners
Gidens is a SaaS AI-enabled platform designed to support small business (SMB) owners by automating administrative tasks and providing actionable business advice - currently targeting small food-service businesses in Hawaii.
I worked directly with the founder, Vincent Brathwaite, and the engineering team to deliver an interactive prototype for Honolulu and San Francisco Tech Week.
This prototype helped secure investment, grew our waitlist by nearly 30% Hawaii, and laid the foundation for our 2025 Alpha Prototype launch. We are currently in Beta.
Umi is a gamified language-learning app that teaches words in context using short, real-world video clips from TV shows and movies. While their approach is innovative, there was low engagement beyond lessons and weak daily retention.
After discussing these pain points with the founder, I got curious by these challenges and took on a self-initiated redesign to explore solutions.
While my main focus was solving Umi’s engagement challenges through UX improvements, I also explored a refined UI direction to modernize the overall experience. Since this was a self-initiated challenge, I took creative liberties to showcase both my UX and UI skills. However, in a real-world setting, I would work closely with stakeholders to balance feasibility, technical constraints, and brand identity.
Umi is a gamified language-learning app that teaches words in context using short, real-world video clips from TV shows and movies. While their approach is innovative, there was low engagement beyond lessons and weak daily retention.
After discussing these pain points with the founder, I got curious by these challenges and took on a self-initiated redesign to explore solutions.
While my main focus was solving Umi’s engagement challenges through UX improvements, I also explored a refined UI direction to modernize the overall experience. Since this was a self-initiated challenge, I took creative liberties to showcase both my UX and UI skills. However, in a real-world setting, I would work closely with stakeholders to balance feasibility, technical constraints, and brand identity.