Hanzi is an application that provides a new way of learning Chinese with the help of rewarding and gamified habits of study.
Chinese is now the most widely spoken language in the world, with its speakers accounting for approximately 12% of the world’s population. The market for Chinese learning is an open sea, and no other products offer what Hanzi proposes to provide.
Client
Hanzi
Period
June-December 2022
Team
Thiago Cruz, Product Designer
Rogério Santos Lima, Concept Artist & Illustrator
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1. TEACHING CHINESE THROUGH GAMIFICATION AND COGNITIVE REWARDS
Chinese is a complex language with a steep learn curve due to being a pictographic language with phonetics outside of Western scope. Hanzi’s purpose is to offer a mix of useful habits, cultural assets, cognitive rewards & triggers to boost learning. The products initial goals and statements were defined as:
2. COMBINING METHODOLOGIES
The Double Diamond
A problem-solving framework that emphasizes divergent and convergent thinking to explore and validate design solutions.
Elements of UX Design by J.J. Garret
A digital product methdology for creating user-centered digital products that are intuitive and engaging.
Gamification by Design
A concept toolbox that focuses on using game elements and mechanics to engage users, such as points, badges, and leaderboards.
3. Gathering data from competitors
While detailed demographic data for Mandarin language learners worldwide was limited due to the product’s early development stage, there was still room to analyze user and traffic information from similar platforms: Duolingo, HelloChinese, and Habitica.
These platforms closely align with the project’s goals and requirements, featuring gamification and socialization algorithms at a certain level. Using tools like Similarweb, which anonymously tracks website traffic, we gathered demographic insights for the period of a couple months.
User Demographics
Users aged 18-34, regardless of gender, are the primary targets.
Gender Distribution
Users are almost equally distributed between male and female profiles.
Interest by Region
U.S., Brazil, and Vietnam show high interest in gamified learning products.
Cross Platform
Users use multiple platforms at once, indicating opportunities for outreach.
Gaming Experience
Users may have prior experience with gaming and gamification strategies.
Technology Interest
Users display interest in technology-related topics and products.
5. Creating Personas
We wanted to go beyond with personas, so we included Bartle’s Archetypes, derived from Richard Bartle’s research in the 1990s, to hold a central role in this project.
These archetypes categorize players into four main types: Achievers, Explorers, Socializers, and Killers, revealing their motivations within online games. They are instrumental in shaping our project’s user personas and informing game design choices.
Dylan Mason
24 years old, United States
Computer Science Bachelor
Web Developer
"I need to understand the basics of chinese and cultural aspects so I can better engage with my chinese speaking colleagues at work"
Marina Castro
19 years old, Brazil
Foreign Language Student (EN, CN)
Research Intern
"I want to expand my chinese knowledge to both invest in my career and expand my research possibilities in college."
William Nguyen
30 years old, Vietnam/Britain
Management MBA
Project Manager
“I seek more information on Chinese culture, language and aspects to connect with my wife's family and her Chinese relatives".
6.Defining Functions and Requirements
Based on the discovery exercises, we were able to sketch and define the main aspects of the product. This step was important to understand what (and how) to prioritize items of the design roadmap.
Consistency
User concerns primarily focus on maintaining engagement in language learning. Users should have access to functionalities of consistency and progress.
Cultural Value
The Chinese language's cultural aspects offers untapped potential. Users should be able to interact and learn with Chinese tales, poems, history, etc.
Awareness
Users need to be aware of their progress and be constantly rewarded for their achievements. Users should be able to track and share their records.
Language
Based on available data, the product would benefit of internationalization. Users should be able to access the interface in English along with Chinese.
7. USER FLOWS AND SITE MAP
Building a sitemap helped us conceptualize the general structure of the platform while visualizing all the steps of the process. This artifact was extremely important to develop the first prototypes and test user flows.
8. LOW FIDELITY PROTOTYPES
Building a sitemap helped us conceptualize the general structure of the platform while visualizing all the steps of the process. This artifact was extremely important to develop the first prototypes and test user flows.
9. USABILITY TESTING and results
Focal Group: Ten Chinese language students who possessed prior experience with learning and gamified apps.
Test Objectives: Refine wireframes to ensure that the gamification principle would benefit the language learning experience.
Exercise Length
Users preferred smaller exercises. This aligns with the gamification principles of breaking down complex tasks into manageable, rewarding chunks, boosting motivation and showcasing process advancement.
Lesson Context
Users needed more details about the lesson content before going to the exercises. Unrecognized characters lead users to frustration, longer time to complete tasks, and higher overall drop rate.
Record Status
Users asked for a functionality to track progress and achievements to understand where they place in the learning journey. By showcasing user records and statistics, we may provide users with growth evidence.
10. AESTHETIC AND INTERFACE DESIGN
The visual process revolved around working with Chinese cultural elements and how to translate them into visual assets. Colors resemble the traditional tones: red and gold. The icons and graphics refer to natural elements and cultural symbols, as the festival lanterns and lucky charms.
11. Illustrations
Illustrations played a pivotal role in visually enhancing tales and stories used for the language classes. These drawings were made for the first study path, focused on the Chinese Zodiac. The study path takes course in 30 classes, in which the user may complete a class a day in average for a month. When completing certain milestones, users get rewarded with these illustrations as collectibles. The rewards carry over part of the tales, which enhances cultural knowledge and boosts engagement.
12. HIGH FIDELITY PROTOTYPES
Hanzi was finalized with the packaging of the high fidelity screens and interactive prototypes. In total, there were more than 50 screens with dozens of variations and items to be scaled into the roadmap.
Deliverables included:
- Low and High Fidelity Prototypes
- Styleguides
- Design Documentation
- Package of Assets, Fonts and Collaterals
13. Key Lessons Learned
- Exploring cultural aspects as a pathway to user engagement in language learning showed me the importance of considering the product’s context and environment on the content decisions.
- Understanding how to stimulate users cognitively to keep them on the learning path and properly rewarding them made me realize how it’s possible to user an “addicting logic” for a good end, properly adjusting dopamine to boost engagement, as common in the game industry.
- Leveraging data for in-depth demographic analysis and insights taught me that there is considerable value in general user traffic for competitors, showcasing how the users of current products are organized demographically and providing data inputs for personas.
