About
Math Space Adventures!
Time frame: January 2016 - February 2017
I was brought onto the Knowledge Initiatives team to help create a proof of concept for an interactive electronic textbook aimed at kindergarten children.
My goal was to make an experience that had children exploring and discovering answers for themselves and to steer away from simple rote learning.
My role
I was the sole UX/UI designer on this project. I worked jointly with the development team to nail down the themes used for the proof of concept and the section of the kindergarten curriculum that the content was to be based on.
I then conducted research, created wireframes, user flows, art assets and a "vertical slice" prototype of what a sample lesson would look like.
Challenge
Creating a learning experience that is compelling enough to maintain a child's attention can sometimes be tough. While math instruction often includes basic visuals, making connections, and the use of formative assessments, these methods generally don't spark a sense of wonder or excitement in children.
Research
I began my research by assessing who were our key competitors and creating a SWOT analysis for each of them. As for the visual design, I focused on creating an art style for our application that would make our app stand out from the crowd.
Ideation
I started out sketching out digital low-fidelity wireframes to acquire feedback from every stakeholder and then transitioned to fleshing out those concepts in mid-fidelity wireframes on paper.
Design
From nailing down a playful feel for the visual design to fleshing out the character of the adventure guide, I focused on creating an experience that would have children learning with delight.
Prototype
With all of the design planned out and art assets created, I moved on to creating an interactive prototype of the applications vertical slice.
In conclusion
Tackling this project was a fantastic opportunity for me, as a designer. I had never delved into building applications focused on educating children and working with educational materials to create content. It was also the first time for me to try and create something that fit the criteria of a patent and to work side-by-side by core stakeholders of that patent.
Using constant feedback from the development team (and their own kids), really helped give me the insight needed to build something fun and that could work to further prove the patents legitimacy.