Digo

AI-powered Spanish-learning App Concept

Overview

I designed Digo, a conceptual, AI-assisted Spanish-learning tool geared towards conversational learning. Digo allows users to engage in natural, user-calibrated conversations curated to their interests and educational goals.
My Role
End-to-end UX/UI design
Platform
Mobile Application
Duration
2 months
Collection of different Digo screens showcasing branding, visual elements, and components of application.

The Problem

The current solutions for part-time Spanish learners lack sufficient opportunities to engage in real and consistent conversation, the necessary building blocks of language acquisition.In an increasingly global world, people are looking to learn second, third, or even more languages. Yet, finding a suitable solution can be difficult. Formal lessons can be costly, both in time and finances, and are not structured to the individual’s progress in a multiple-student classroom. While language learning applications are more personalized, they too fall short as they opt towards surface level, bite-sized exercises instead of actual dialogue that moves the needle closer toward proficiency. Consequently, learners rarely meet their desired speaking ability, as they become burnt out by inadequate progress and feelings of anxiety when trying to speak with natives. 

The Goal

To design a Spanish-learning solution that allows users that encourages meaningful improvement and development toward users' individual goals.

Our Roadmap

Research
Landscape Audit
Setting Objectives
Interviews
Analysis
Affinity Mapping
Personas
Ideation
Brainstorming
Site Map
User/Task Flows
Design
Lo-fi Wireframes
Visual Design
Hi-fi Wireframes
Testing
Usability Testing
Iterations

Research

Competitive Audit

Before jumping in and speaking directly with Spanish learners, I spent some time surveying the online-language learning landscape. It was important to determine if this was a solution that was even feasible to begin with. From a business perspective, it was clear that there was room for growth in the market; sources estimate that the market for online language learning was expected to grow from $28B to a staggering $91.6B between 2024 and 2030. This revelation confirmed my assumptions; in an increasingly global world, online language learning was here to stay.

With that out of the way, it was time to see who I was up against. A quick search generated dozens of different online solutions. I narrowed my scope on the most popular of services that seemed to dominate the market; these included Duolingo, Busuu, Babbel, and some others. These applications differed in some aspects, but aligned in others. They offered a structured curriculum geared towards learners who wanted to move at their own pace. Many of them provided free trials but kept most of their premium content behind a paid subscription wall.

I spent some time playing through their lessons to better understand how their lessons were structured, which provided useful information later on throughout this product design process.

Setting Objectives

From the get go, I established that designing a strategic solution to this problem would require an in-depth and fundamental understanding of language acquisition. I set out on my research goal:
To uncover how people effectively move closer to Spanish fluency.
I needed to learn not just what works and what doesn't, but additionally what factors kept people motivated and inspired. Learning a language is no quick feat, so a proper solution would need to not only advance users' proficiency, but be designed in a way that kept them engaged. I established the following objectives before setting out on the interview process.
  • Determine common motivations behind learning Spanish
  • Explore the tools and resources learners were relying on to learn Spanish
  • Identify common pain points in the Spanish learning journey
  • Identify factors that optimize students' learning

Interviews

I reached out to my network to schedule 45 minute interviews with 5 participants. I wanted a range of factors and life experiences to generate a well-rounded pool of data, so I limited my criteria to people who had at some point in their life spent at least a few years trying to learn Spanish. These participants had noteworthy range across their formal education, college majors, application use, and travel experiences.  

Some of the starting questions I included to stir conversation include: 
  • What tools have you tried using to learn in Spanish? Which have you used most and why?
  • How did you end up learning Spanish? What led you to that decision?
  • Do you have time set aside for learning? Tell me about these sessions.

Analysis

Affinity Mapping

The interviews were successful in generating meaningful discussion; now it was time to sift for patterns. I identified the following recurring topics. 
  • Efficacy of ‘Sink or Swim’ methodologies: All the participants directly or indirectly mentioned that situations where they were in some way obligated to speak Spanish felt the most beneficial to their progression.
  • Speaking anxiety: It was common for learners to feel demotivated from speaking in real life scenarios or in formal classes due to risk of embarrassment.
  • Individual calibration: Learners value educational solutions that match the level they are currently at. They felt frustrated by classes that were either too far ahead or too far behind their proficiency.
  • Conversational skills: All participants agreed that what mattered to them most was the ability to conversate effectively. It was made clear that this was their number one priority in learning Spanish. These skills were often reported as under prioritized in formal classes and popular applications
  • Structure: While conversational skills were most important, they also agreed that formal classes and apps were helpful in laying out structural linguistic rules e.g. grammar).
  • Applications are rudimentary: Participants often talked down on popular language apps as they were seen as too simplistic. At best, they were useful as supplementary tools for fun, but they did not advance their progression significantly, especially with regards to conversational skills.
  • Motivations: Participants could broadly be categorized into two pools. Learners were motivated by career goals in a more global job economy, or by cultural and travel aspirations which would benefit from understanding Spanish.

Personas

With a better understanding of who my users were, and what they were looking for, I assembled 2 personas to provide an easy-to-digest summary that could be referred back to going forward.  
Persona summary for Global Gabby. Global Gabby is a career motivated Spanish learner who wants to learn Spanish for the sake of advancing her career aspirations. She works in a white collar setting. Persona summary for Latin Lover Lily. Lily is a world traveler who has spent a lot of time adventuring around Latin America.

Ideation

Brainstorming

Now that I had a clearly-defined picture of the situation, it was time to come up with preliminary solutions. I employed 2 different creative thinking techniques (Time Constraint sessions and Playing with Opposites) to conjure up impactful food for thought in response to the major issues I discovered.
At this point, this product's initial concept was starting to take shape. With these ideas floating around, I gravitated towards the solutions that most directly satisfied the problems outlined. Learners seemed to be stuck in a tricky Catch-22; they benefitted most from actual conversation, but felt socially compromised when it came to speaking in public. I settled on working towards a Chat Box-oriented solution that made dialogue the central focus of learning, but matched the level and comfort of the user. Then I drafted some storyboards sketches to illustrated how this solution could help users achieve their goals.

Site Map

I had a clear direction, but now I needed to give it some structure. After narrowing down the content of this product, I conducted an open card sorting session with 5 participants through Optimal Workshop to identify relationships between relevant topics. Using these results, I then assembled my initial Site Map.

User/Task Flows

With the architecture set up, it was time to create user flows and task flows. These pathways further advanced the design process by laying out the sequences by which users would accomplish goals. Working through this activity provided a foundation for future steps in the design evolution and also allowed me to find potential pitfalls and issues earlier on that would’ve been more costly had I identified them later.

Design

Low Fidelity Wireframes

The flows I created served as a guide for my initial wireframes. I followed the sequence outlined prior and referred to similar sequences from other applications to ensure these cadences felt intuitive and made sense.

Visual Design

Before polishing the prototypes, I needed to give the product some personality. I figured the best place to start was by clearly defining what the brand should be and feel like. To do this, I thought back to personas and interviews and reflected on what would most appeal to them. My participants expressed an appreciation for learning Spanish that was based on 2 different values: utility and fun! Despite how difficult it can be to learn a new language, everyone I spoke to expressed a sense of wonder in what it could bring to their lives. It opens up a new world from them, break down barriers, expose them to new cultures and opportunities. It's hard work, but I didn't need to convince them that it could be worth it.

With this understanding, I knew what my product needed to communicate to them. This application had to be efficiency and trustworthy; users need a solution they can be confident will work. But there was also room for it to evoke excitement, vibrancy, and a sentiment of wanderlust. Learners weren't just adding a new skill to their toolbelts, they were bridging gaps between them and other parts of the world. I outlined the following brand values:
*Include values*
In terms of look and feel, the course was set. Here is the final style tile I assembled.
Luckily, there was a lot of source material to inspire these creative decisions. In choosing a color palette, I looked to the Spanish flag. Not it only was it thematically connected, but the vivid red and yellow served as a natural fit for the brand's more adventurous side. Lato and Poppins were selected as the combination harmonized well together and offered me plenty of flexibility; Lato with its clear, simple, yet friendly disposition and Poppins with it's loud but inviting nature.  

High Fidelity Wireframes

After assembling the look and feel of Digo, it was time to breathe some life into the wireframes.  
* Include imagery of Site Map and Card Sorting*

Testing

Usability Testing

I conducted usability tests with 5 participants who to research user journeys across the prototypes for the 2 task flows. In addition to qualitative responses, I measured against the following criteria:
  • Success rate - 100%
  • Time taken to completion - Avg. under 1 minute
  • Sentiment rating - Good
  • Quantity of errors - Avg. of 1
Users were pleased with the experiences overall. Both tasks had perfect completion rates. This test was valuable in identifying a common issue regarding navigation - many users would incorrectly tap on other menu options to complete task 2 before selecting the correct 1.

Iterations

To improve upon the common error uncovered through the usability testing session, I pushed the Quick Practice functionality up into the main menu. This decreased the amount of confusion generated by eliminating the need to cycle through several menu labels to locate it. It also made sense given the nature of the functionality; a 'quick' session initiator should be more accessible from the get go.
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