Product & Content Designer
LeafCycle
Role: Product Designer, UX Researcher
Team: Product Manager
Basic Process: Research > Ideate > Design >Prototype > Iterate
Timeline: Two weeks
Tools: Figma, Adobe Illustrator
Overview
LeafCycle is an interactive educational app designed to make learning about seasonal changes engaging and accessible for all students. With features like narrated lessons, real-time captions, and customizable content, the app supports learners with diverse needs, including those with visual or hearing impairments. LeafCycle’s high-contrast design, immersive visuals, and interactive character-driven experiences foster curiosity and ensure that every student, regardless of background, can confidently explore the natural world.
The Challenge
​This project challenged us to move beyond traditional design models that can unintentionally exclude users by simplifying or stereotyping their needs. Instead, we focused on creating inclusive learning experiences that celebrate diverse perspectives.
By exploring new approaches and technologies that support various physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities, we aimed to design an engaging and accessible educational experience. Working in small team of two, we created interactive lessons on seasonal changes, designed to captivate sixth to eighth-grade life science students in 5-10 minute sessions.
Research
Competitive Analysis
For the LeafCycle app, I conducted a competitive analysis of leading EdTech platforms to understand how they incorporate inclusive design approaches. I examined apps such as
Khan Academy, which excels in adaptive learning and provides subtitles and translation options, and Duolingo, known for its engaging, accessible interface that simplifies language learning through bite-sized lessons and visual cues. I also explored Google Classroom, which supports accessibility with features like screen reader compatibility and assistive keyboard shortcuts.
These examples helped me identify best practices for creating an engaging educational experience that accommodates diverse cognitive and sensory needs. This research informed my approach to designing LeafCycle, ensuring it prioritizes inclusivity and provides an interactive, enjoyable learning environment for all users.
Ideate
Inspired by the motivational success of characters like Duo from Duolingo, we created our own interactive character to foster a sense of attachment and encouragement for learners. This character plays a key role in making the educational experience feel personal and engaging, helping to motivate students as they explore seasonal changes in nature.
Design
Visual Architecture
For the LeafCycle app, I chose a nature-inspired green and brown color palette to create a calm and immersive learning experience that reflects the seasonal changes explored in the lessons. The warm, earthy tones foster a sense of connection to nature while maintaining visual contrast for accessibility. For typography, I selected a rounded and approachable sans-serif font that is easy to read across different screen sizes and supports learners of varying literacy levels.
This combination of calming colors and legible text ensures an inclusive and engaging environment that helps students focus on the content while feeling encouraged to explore and learn.
Onboarding
Onboarding focused on children who may never have experienced all four seasons. This customized the app to focus on the seasons the child was least familiar with.
Learning Activities
We focused on creating an accessible and engaging learning experience tailored to sixth through eighth graders. We prioritized visual impairment and hearing accessibility by designing narrated lessons with real-time captions to ensure students could follow along regardless of their sensory abilities. To make the content more relatable, we simplified the language used in lessons to match the comprehension level of our target audience.
Guided Lessons
After Lesson Quiz
Interactive Activities
Future Iterations
To enhance the LeafCycle app, future iterations could focus on expanding personalization options by allowing students to adjust playback speeds, narrator voices, and background themes for a more customized experience. Additionally, introducing interactive assessments with real-time feedback could deepen engagement and reinforce learning outcomes. To support a broader range of users, translations for non-English speakers and lessons adapted for regional climates could improve accessibility and inclusivity. Further user testing with diverse student groups would also help identify additional features that could make the app more intuitive and impactful for different learning needs.