ABOUT THE PROJECT

Singtel wanted to develop a companion application for primary school children to learn to speak Chinese in their spare time and at their own pace. The result was to game-ify the learning experience by leveraging off the current Ministry of Educations curriculum but adding a compelling storyline with engaging characters and fun visuals to make the learning experience fun.

THE RESULT

I worked as part of a small agile team to design, develop and market a web based game from the ground up into a compelling and immersive learning experience. As the Senior Designer and Illustrator in the team I took charge of the visual style creating bright, friendly and engaging characters and scenery that could be utilised in a variety of scenarios to deliver impact to the story. The characters themselves were designed to enhance the story by providing uniqueness to each chapter by giving the child a relatable, engaging character that they can learn from. The characters where one component of the overall visual experience, there was also the creation of the scenery backgrounds, as well as buttons and game components that make up the game itself. The scenery needed to provide a world for the character to live in with competing with them for attention, this was achieved by removing the outlines for the scenery yet leaving them on the characters. However interesting and complex the background the characters, by virtue of their style would always stand above the background and remain the focal point for the learning experience.

I also worked closely with the team to develop the initial story and guide the interactions through the game screens, login and registration flow leading into the game to provide a more enriching experience. Together with this I designed the Return from China marketing website and greater marketing presence through Facebook and their other social media channels Return from China is a visually rich and unique learning experience that is both engaging and informative allowing children to learn at their own pace.