ReADLING: a Physical / Digital Ecosystem To improve early childhood literacy rates
Categories:
UX, UI, Research, Storytelling,
Graphic Design
Tools:
AfterEffects, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop
Downloads
Full design process document and 1-page overview (pdf)
Summary
It’s no secret that children from low-income households are at risk to begin school less ready to read than their peers. This has long-reaching consequences, and from as early as Kindergarten is a predictor of high school dropout rates. This expert-advised ecosystem of artifacts, seeks to provide solutions to this complex problem.
Goals
This project started with a very different problem hypothesis than it ended with. Originally, I wanted to create an ecosystem of early readers to help Kindergarten teachers close the literacy gap. But primary and secondary research soon pointed me to a child’s greatest tipping point: the pre-k years, and their parents, grandparents, and other primary caregivers.
Process
Link to in-depth process document
This highly iterative, 6-week project took me to libraries, inside of family homes, to the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum and PAEYC literacy experts. Following a standard design framework, this project began with secondary and primary research and then moved to quick prototyping and testing of concepts using methods such as storyboards and paper mockups, then narrowing onto one concept, iteration, and further testing of a more fully finished product ecosystem.
Outcomes and Takeaways
The project received an A in Ashley Deal and Raelynn O’Leary’s graduate-level Interaction Design class at Carnegie Mellon.