Charli

Project Overview

Design a new mobile app to help broaden the horizons of a young user’s experience and education in a format that is easily accessible and safe from disruptive influences.

Problem

Children are increasing online looking for fun content which is not always safe. Platforms such as TiKToK and YouTube allow any user to post content which may not be appropriate for children.

Solution

Create a safe, fun and desirable educational content that is accessible to children. Deliver content on mobile devices most used by children under 13.

Role

UX/UI Designer

User Research

Graphic Designer

Tools

Figma, InVision, Miro

Research

Education is the 3rd most popular app store category.
Estimated industry growth by $46.88 billion - 2020-2024.
Focus on wearable tech.
May 2020 TikTok launched new #LearnOnTikTok platform.

Survey and Interview Highlights

Strong interest in educational apps.
Independent access to mobile devices
Interested in technology that supports hobbies (e.g., Art, Sports, and music).
80% of of participants desire to expand children's access to educational programs.
58% of participants responded that their child owns their own iPad/tablet.
57% of participants noted that their children primarily access Youtube and TikTok for entertainment.

Empathize

During our interview process, we discovered that users rely heavily on others personal experiences, thus needing to use multiple sources of information which are frequently inaccurate.

Therefore, we believe users need an accessible source of information and that we might be able to help if we provide a collaborative space for the dietary restricted community.

We might do this by creating an inclusive and efficient platform to professional knowledge and personal experiences. Doing this will allow our users to feel more at ease with their dining options and spend less time conducting personal research.

Defining Key Features

I want - freedom to learn anytime.
I need - accessible, quality learning options.
What If - homework didn’t exist.

Ideate

Wyatt wants to scroll through his favorites YouTube videos but his mom will not let him because she is worried about his safety. Wyatt's mom hears about a new app that is styled like popular social media apps but is curated content to ensure safety. Wyatt hears from his friends that the app is really cool and wants to download it. Wyatt downloads Charli on his personal iPad and can now watch his favorite channels and learn about new topics while his mom is no longer fearful of Wyatt being exposed to inappropriate content.

Colors

The goal was to create a fun and engaging palette to promote creativity and delight user.

Meet Charli!

The name Charli was chosen after researching a list of gender-neutral names.

Charli is meant to be a relatable friend of the user. In early drafts, Charli was drawn as an animal.

After conducting more user research, animal characters are thought of to be only for young users (2-8). Since our target users were thought to be 4-12, a human character was deemed more appropriate for such an age range.

As part of the onboarding process, users are able to choose an avatar. We created 8 avatars that are styled similar to Charli and include diverse options.