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The Backstory
In 2023, I joined a team that had a big dream—To help kids learn math with joy, not stress. The goal:
Help kids fall in love with math while empowering educators to manage learning at scale
The team envisioned a personalized online course marketplace, where students could find age-appropriate math lessons and stay motivated with fun, gamified features. But the real challenge? Designing a platform that young kids could navigate independently, and that educators could actually use to drive results.
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My Role: more than just designing screens
As the UX Designer on this project, I wasn’t just wireframing interfaces—I was deeply involved in shaping how kids would feel while learning as they are our primary users.
From the very beginning, I wore many hats:
Listener – I spoke with stakeholders, kids and parents and truly tried to understand what frustrates them, what excites them, and what keeps them going.
Strategist – I helped define the learning journey—chunking large topics into bite-sized goals, planning engagement flows, and weaving motivation into every interaction.
Designer – I created wireframes, flows, and worked along with the UI Designer on screen designs that even a 7-year-old could navigate confidently on their own.
Advocate for kids – I constantly asked, "Is this fun? Is this friendly? Would a child feel proud after using this?" and iterated based on real reactions from kids and parents.
Learn from the market
Before designing, I looked at what platforms like Khan Academy, Duolingo, Brilliant, and BYJU’s were doing well—and where they fell short. This analysis inspired some key design decisions:
-- Add gamification loops like in Duolingo, but tailor them for math
-- Beautiful micro-learning paths in Brilliant.org
-- Rich content variety as in Udemy
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Our Approach: Motivation Through Design
We reimagined the learning experience using micro-learning and gamification principles. Every UX decision aimed to make learning feel like progress, not pressure or boredom.
Designing for Kids
The student UI was carefully designed with:
-- Kid-friendly fonts, visuals and language
-- Motivating phrases like “You’re almost there!”, “Great effort!”, Try again—you’re getting close”
-- Simple navigation for ages 6–10
-- Interactive feedback screens that celebrated effort
Educators got a clean dashboard to assign content, manage groups, and track students’ progress at a glance.
Student module
Student Purchased Courses
Search & Find Courses
Course/Test Questions
Rewards when completing a test/course
Completed Tests list
Rewards screen
Institution Module
Students List
Cart View
Purchased Courses
Test Details
Teacher Module
Groups List
Group - Courses list
Group - Tests list
Purchased Courses
Testing What We Built
Students (Ages 6–14)
-- 6 kids (3 within age 10 and 2 kids of age 12 and 14) tested a MVP version
-- 3 of 3 kids under age 10 done course/test independently
-- Loved the streak tracker and coin rewards
Tutors & Institutions
-- 2 tutors validated group management process
-- Suggested improvements that led to simplified course distribution among classes
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Quick Impact: Testing Wins
✅ 9/10 students returned daily to keep their streaks
✅ 7/10 kids said the “wrap for the day” message made them happy
✅ 40 class tests & courses assigned and completed through the educator interface in pilot
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What Changed Because of UX
✅ Before: Long, dull content
After: Bite-sized, gamified lessons
✅ Before: Low Engagement
After: 9/10 return rates through streaks
✅ Before: Confusing Interfaces
After: 93% self-navigation by young users
✅ Before: No motivation to return
After: Coins, rewards & end-of-day wrap ups kept them coming back
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Final Reflection
Great UX isn’t just usable—it’s motivating, age-appropriate, and habit-forming.
This project helped me craft an experience where students not only learned, but felt empowered, independent, and eager to return—every single day.
As a UX designer, I helped shape a system that inspired learning, not just delivered content.
As a UX designer, I helped shape a system that inspired learning, not just delivered content.
