Giggle

Tree

UI/UX

Three smartphones displaying a children's activity app interface with colorful fantasy landscapes, showcasing welcome screens, activity tracking, and storytime features, set against a scenic mountain and river background with vibrant autumn foliage.

INTRODUCTION AND GOAL

Designed for parents seeking friendly, interactive tools for emotional learning, GiggleTree had a simple but bold mission: help children articulate their feelings while making the process fun, inclusive, and accessible.

Family Feedback: Interviews spotlighted emotional roadblocks and sibling skirmishes. Parents needed real-world solutions that fit busy routines.

Educational Perspectives: Teachers underscored the importance of playful engagement and robust parental oversight, especially for younger learners.

RESEARCH PHASE

IDEATION PHASE

I sketched an ecosystem combining relatable storytelling, personalized avatars, and a parental dashboard. The guiding principle: embed emotional education seamlessly into daily life, making it an activity kids look forward to.

Flowchart titled 'User Journey Map' depicting two paths: one for 'Child' starting from 'Login Screen' to 'End Child Area', involving 'Mood Tracker', 'Map Exploration', 'Select Activity', and 'Record in Memory Results'. It includes decision points like 'More Activities?'. The other path for 'Parents' goes through 'Role Selection', 'Check Activities', 'Check Suggestions', and 'Settings and Customization', leading to 'End Parent Area' with a decision point 'Adjust Settings?'.

DESIGN PHASE

Whimsical UI & Gamification: Child-friendly iconography, short quest-like tasks, and micro-rewards spark children’s curiosity and reinforce positive behavior.

Parent-Focused Tools: Emotion logs and progress dashboards highlight daily wins and ongoing challenges, nudging parents to stay actively involved.

Colorful child-friendly app interface for EmoPlay with a balloon background. Features a setup form for name and email, avatar selection options, and activity preferences for mindfulness and stories.
Screenshot of an app interface from GiggleTree. It welcomes the user John and asks about their current mood with five different smiley faces. The app suggests activities like Mindful Morning and Mindful Night, and offers Explore Activities such as Emotion Tracker, Empathy Games, and Story Time. Icons represent each activity.

(Lo-Fi Wireframes)

+40% Improved Emotional Articulation: Kids actively labeled and discussed feelings within the app environment.

+30% Rise in Empathy: Small but meaningful changes (like siblings helping each other) bolstered the project’s core aim.

High Engagement: Average session times near 20 minutes indicated the app’s balance of fun and depth.

FINAL PRODUCT AND OUTCOME

CONCLUSION

By blending playful storytelling with purposeful UX, GiggleTree strikes a chord with families, proving that digital experiences can shape healthier emotional landscapes for children.