Turning Usability Crisis into Child-Friendly Experiences by Ocean Fung

Turning Usability Crisis into Child-Friendly Experiences

Ocean Fung

UX Designer

UI Designer

Inclusive Designer

Figma

MindNode

Miro

Client | Dreamwriters

Industry | Education, Creativity tool (Storybooks)

Duration | 5 months

Devices | Responsive Web-based

My Role | Lead UX/UI Designer (End-to-End: Research, Strategy, Interaction Design, Prototyping)

Overview

Reimagining Storytelling as a Game for Kids

In 2021, Dreamwriters was launched as an online tool for children aged 4 to 12 to create storybooks, read peers' works, and print copies.

It's a design tool much like Canva, but aimed at children to create their own storybooks.

Impact I made

As the lead UX designer, I reimagined the platform to address critical usability gaps, resulting in:

35% increase in active users

42.3% reduction in churn rate

Overwhelming praise from parents and educators for its child-first design.

The Challenges

How might we create an intuitive, engaging, easy-to-use storytelling experience for young children?

High abandonment: 90% of kids left the platform after one session due to confusing navigation and lack of guidance.

Parent friction: 6-step signup and low-transparency checkout processes led to incomplete subscriptions.

Creative blocks: Kids felt stuck without prompts, relying heavily on parental help.

The Process

1. Research: Uncovering Why Kids Felt “Stuck”

Conducted 8 usability tests with kids and interviews with parents/English teachers to identify friction points.

Discovered key issues:

The text was too complex for the target age group

Navigation was confusing due to a lack of visual cues and clear instructions on what to do next

Lengthy signup process significantly hindered onboarding completion

3.Tackling the navigation problem

Improve platform navigation using simpler words and visual cues to create a more intuitive experience, allowing young children to use it independently.

Significantly improved conversion rates by simplifying the signup and checkout processes.

4.A fun & engaging learning experience

Designed a user-friendly drag-and-drop storybook editor that gives users more flexibility to customise their books. With a built-in "My Story Planner" tool, it provides guidance and prompts to overcome creative blocks.

5. Gamifying Creativity

Designed an engaging reward system featuring in-app currency that children can earn and exchange for rewards like digital stickers and fun daily missions (such as a "1-page story challenge"), encouraging consistent app usage.

Developed a dedicated Story Buddy Hub to cultivate a collaborative writing community. This feature allows children to work together on stories and receive feedback from peers, fostering a sense of community and shared accomplishment.

The Results

From ‘Help Me!’ to ‘Look What I Made!’

My son used to beg me for help every 2 minutes. Now he’s writing stories about dinosaurs and robots—all by himself.

– K, Mother of a 6-years-old user

I bought some new stickers! I'm gonna write a fantasy book with them in my next book!

– C, 8-years old user

35% surge in active users post-launch, with 25% longer session times.

42.3% lower churn rate attributed to the gamified community.

✨Let’s Collaborate! ✨

I design beyond visually appealing UI and specialize in:

Inclusive, User-Centric Design for Diverse User Groups

Transform complicated workflows into intuitive, visually cohesive experiences

Design with a mind on balancing user desires, business goals, and technical constraints seamlessly

Let’s create something that delights users and drives growth.

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Posted Jan 24, 2025

I revitalized a children's storybook learning platform, tackling frustrating navigation and a confusing user experience. The result? A 35% jump in active users.

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