Word to World

I interviewed 10 families in the US, China, and Germany to understand how early-childhood education and entertainment fit into daily life. The differences in screen habits, safety expectations, and educational value reshaped our personas and content decisions; together with the founder and strategist, I used these findings alongside competitor and gaming research to define the product direction and business model.

Together with the founder, I designed the 1.0 gameplay around a limited speech recognition and animation system. Each book contains 10 to 15 sentences and branching routes; children progress by saying supported keywords, then collect the words they used. Each card carries knowledge, sound, and action, while shells and badges reward completion and unlock more books. Based on this core loop, we defined business models for the early, middle, and later stages of the product.

Building on our research, we created 20 rich interactive voice books for the first phase, each with its own theme, learning context, and story world. I worked with the team on the content approach and writing, translating research findings into stories, supported words, and interactions that felt engaging for preschool children. We tested the early books with children and families, then used their feedback to refine the content and experience.

I designed the collection system to show what a child has actually said and discovered. Up to 20 word cards, badges, and shells can be earned in each story; together they turn vocabulary progress into a visible collection and make replaying a route, or opening the next book, feel worthwhile.