Ollie

Three questions to the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
Designing Ollie posed a unique UX challenge: creating a platform that nurtures emotional intelligence while remaining accessible and engaging for preadolescents. Striking a balance between gamification and educational rigor required empathy-driven decisions, ensuring the interface resonates with young users and supports parents and educators alike. Additionally, tailoring the experience to diverse emotional needs and cultural contexts meant crafting a design that adapts to various environments without losing its core purpose. Through iterative testing with preadolescents and psychologists, we overcame these challenges, delivering a platform that feels both intuitive and deeply personal.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
The most memorable highlight was witnessing preadolescents interacting with Ollie for the first time. Seeing their excitement and hearing how they connected gamified activities to real emotional experiences was incredibly rewarding—it made the vision tangible. The 'aha!' moment came when a user reflected on how a story activity helped them understand their feelings better, reaffirming Ollie’s potential impact. However, there was a challenging moment early on when usability testing revealed that initial designs were unintuitive. It felt like a setback, but it became a pivotal lesson: collaborating deeply with users and experts would guide us to create a truly impactful solution.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
In five years, I envision Ollie as a cornerstone in emotional education, integrated into schools, homes, and communities worldwide. The platform will have expanded its reach through partnerships, offering new tools and activities to support emotional growth across diverse cultural contexts. Personally, I see myself continuing to push the boundaries of design and technology, leading projects that create meaningful change. Ollie’s journey will remain at the heart of this vision, growing into a network of solutions that empower preadolescents to navigate their emotions confidently and build a more empathetic world.