TALi Train App

Designing a cognitive training app to help improve attention in children.

Client:

TALi Health

My Role:

Creative Director
Product Designer
UX/UI Lead

Our challenge

TALI Digital approached me to lead and design an app for their cognitive training program, with the goal of enhancing children's attention skills.

Key goals

Design the structure, flow, and user journey for the app.
Transform repetitive training exercises into rewarding activities for kids.
Preserve the scientific framework while keeping the experience engaging.
Encourage long-term compliance.
Create an intuitive, inclusive experience for all children, including neurodivergent and visually impaired users.
Design for both neurodiverse and neurotypical children, as well as parents and clinicians.

My role

As Lead Designer, I headed up the project, leading a cross-functional team of engineers, UX/UI designers, animators, writers, and sound engineers, ensuring alignment with the overall vision. I took full ownership of the UX/UI, visual design, and engagement elements, including the story, characters, and game design. My responsibilities included:

Developing the design strategy and vision for the app.
Leading all UX work, from planning and research to wireframes, storyboards, journey mapping, and user testing.
Crafted a cohesive story and designed characters and storyboards.
Producing all the art assets, including character designs, UI, backgrounds, animations, and overall visual style.
Directed a cross-functional team to ensure alignment and execution.
Taking full responsibility for the app's success and ensuring its delivery on time and within scope.

Results

95% of children maintained or improved their attention skills.
Significant increase in compliance and user engagement.
Winner - Red Dot Design Award .
Best Classroom/Behaviour Management App - TechEdvocate Awards (USA).

By making the training program more kid-focused, we transformed an otherwise dreaded task into an activity that kids looked forward to.

Pirate Cove

The training program revolves around several themes that help keep the experience fresh. In the Pirate theme, players must help Grubby O’Patches save Pirate Cove from being torn to smithereens by a squad of scuttling squid.

Players hone their attention skills across four key areas by guarding treasure from sneaky pirates and monkeys, recruiting a new first mate, stopping the rampaging buccaneers, and firing the cannons to defend the cove.

After each training session, players can explore and unwind in their tropical island paradise, uncovering hidden treasures and enjoying the pirate life.

Selective Attention: Players must find all the fish that matches Grubby's description.

Inhibition: Catch the monkeys while ignoring the distracting pirates.

Sustained Attention: A memory game where players must remember which buccaneers have the real treasure.

Conflict: Tap the cannonball that matches the colour of the marked cannon.

Brave Haven

In the Fantasy theme, players must help Jenn the Knight restore order to the kingdom of Brave Haven after the destruction caused by Huff Puff the Cranky Giant.

To earn the Queen’s trust and gain entry to the castle, players must prove their worthiness by completing a series of challenges. These include rounding up the Queen’s horses, rescuing the captured knights from mischievous trolls, bringing good fortune by feeding gems to a mystical dragon, and outsmarting the cheeky elves.

Conflict: Feed the right gems to the rainbow dragons to bring good luck.

Inhibition: Rescue the captured knights and avoid the tricky trolls.

Sustained Attention: Don't get distracted by these cheeky elves and get your gems back.

Selective Attention: Find all the queen's horses and return them quickly.

The Golden Circus

In the Circus theme, players join Ringo the Ringmaster on a mission to restore The Golden Circus to its former glory after a fiery mishap. Maverick, the fire-breather, accidentally torched the Big Top—and Ringo’s eyebrows—during a particularly unfortunate case of hiccups.

To rebuild the Circus, players must harness their Tali’s powers, which require focused and concentrated training. This involves helping out with various tasks around the Circus, such as repairing the Duck Gallery, feeding Elvis—the BIG star of the show, rescuing rabbits stuck in magical top hats, and waking up the slumbering animals.

Sustained Attention: Rescue the rabbits trapped in the magician's hats.

Conflict: Feed Elvis, the circus star, his favourite popcorn by watching which one he likes.

Inhibition: Wake up the elephants for rehearsal and let the other animals sleep in.

Selective Attention: Tap on all the right ducks as quick as possible.

Focus Prime

In the Space theme, players team up with Gizmo to repair her spaceship after her clumsy brother, Gadget, mistook the hyper-gravity commutator for a toaster, causing catastrophic damage..

Beamed up to the distant planet of Focus Prime, players embark on a mission to get the duo ready for their journey back home. This involves finding their missing captain, pinpointing their home planet, rounding up Gadget, and fixing the chaos he’s left in his wake.

Sustained Attention: Set all the cows free from those cheeky aliens.

Inhibition: Find Gadget hiding amongst his friends and bring him home.

Conflict: Help track down the Captain and bring him back to the ship.

Selective Attention: Identify the right planets to help navigate home.

Character design

Since the story played such a crucial role in engaging kids through repetitive and often monotonous training exercises, we focused on creating compelling, memorable characters that kids would genuinely care about helping.