Bringing Immersive Communication to Duolingo
MOBILE & SMART TV · UX/PRODUCT DESIGN
This project involves…
Responsive, Atomic Design Systems
Thoughtfully Targeted User Research
Multiplatform Accessibility
Duolingo has been hailed by many as the future of education, but as somebody who’s passionate about learning, I still wanted to expand the product by developing strategic implementations that would address the concerns of disengaged users.
User research revealed that the most effective method for enticing inactive users was to provide a more immersive language experience, that prioritises anonymous, interpersonal communication, so that’s what I addressed.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
MY ROLE
UX Designer · UX Researcher · Product Designer · Interaction Designer
THE TEAM
This was a solo project, but I built off from the work of the Duolingo team
TIMELINE
January - March 2023
1/3
I provided users with a ‘Play’ feature, providing mini-games which allow for anonymous, inter-personal communication. The game designs use frameworks that are adaptable to the user’s progress in Duolingo’s education structure, so can be used to train any recently completed lesson topics.
The ‘Play’ tab has been added to the navigation bar. From here, users can view their turns, initiate new games, and view their fluency points (more info further below).
By dividing the games by the 5 W’s (Who, What, Why, Where, When), I ensured all language vocabulary can be utilised in-game, no matter the subject.
Game options cater to variety in user investment. Turn-based options allow users to play their turn and go, while others are live and must be played within a lobby of other players.
Navigating to a New Game
‘Who: Mystery Faces’
‘What: Sketch & Guess’
Introducing…
I adapted Duolingo’s design system to develop a brand-new TV App. It uses API Content Embedding & AI to apply user success metrics to realistic language exchanges.
2/3
⚒️ Duolingo’s tested & proven educational language-teaching frameworks
🌎 Audio-visual streaming content in almost every language
API Content Embedding of streaming services, that allows media to be securely streamed from within the Duolingo TV app
AI-Powered subtitle recognition which applies correctly-timed learning exercise frameworks to streaming content
🤿 Language Immersion
🛋️ Passive Learning
🌿 Holistic Education
Content Acquisition
Duolingo Watch uses API Content Embedding to display the content of streaming services, and uses AI to apply Duolingo’s existing edu-frameworks to the media content.
STREAMING sign in
HOW IT WORKS
Using AI & Subtitle Metadata to provide exercises on colloquial exchanges
DUolingo watch
With Duo Learning enabled, the user will be periodically tested on the speech content. After a countdown appears, the user will be presented with a question, which follows a format that Duolingo’s regular user will be familiar with.
type 1: SPEECH RECOGNITION
type 2: SENTENCE BUILDING
Accessibility for low-vision users
DUolingo watch
While exercise input functions are mapped to the TV remote’s keypad, the small size of the buttons may pose some usability challenges to certain users. To combat this problem, I implemented a TV remote functionality into the Duolingo mobile app. This allows for a more user-friendly and accessible experience for low-vision users.
3/3
Fluency Points
Fluency points, much like XP, are a user success value. The difference is that they can only be earned through the new immersive, communicative additions.
Duolingo once had a fluency percentage. I discovered that users found the percentage arbitrary due to inaccuracy. FP however, serves function equal to XP.
Integrating FP into Duolingo’s existing gamification system
On user profiles, leagues now take a higher precedence over other statistics, as more of Duolingo’s functions serve towards them. Fluency Points replace the spot on profile statistics, and also conjoin with XP in the leagues as ‘Points’, ensuring that even less-fluency conscious users are incentivised towards the new additions.
FLUENCY POINTS
PROFILES
leaderboards
CLICK TO JUMP
JUMP TO STAGE
PROBLEM STATEMENT
As of 2021, Duolingo’s next day user retention rate sits at 55%. I tasked myself with developing appropriate improvements to Duolingo that will address the concerns of the 45% disengaged users, and to stimulate their interest in the product.
Reviewing Duolingo’s Existing Onboarding Experience
ONBOARDING REVIEW
I started a new account and documented my findings from the standpoint of a new user in order to discover what 45% of users feel is lacking.
⭐️ The user experience was seamless and well-optimised
🌱 My path to fluency was clearly being considered
XP boosts fed right into the leagues. This combination of gamification features was a very effective hook. I subsequently activated the free trial.
Before long, I was spelling, listening, arrange sentences and translating. Speaking exercises were off by default, but what I had learned could be exercised in frameworks designed to ensure that I had taken in what I’d learned.
👏 Users receive plenty of success and progress reassurance
I was regularly reassured of my progress with multiple success parameters. Duolingo’s once-present ‘fluency percentage’ has been replaced by more tangible and accurate metrics.
I tasked 5 acquaintances of mine to trial Duolingo. They all fit the same criteria of already being interested in learning a language, and one was an ex-user.
I recorded their behaviour and noted when they decided to stop using the app.
So why were Duolingo losing potential users?
IDENTIFYING USER drop-off POINTS
TEST RESULT INSIGHTS
Onboarding
🤔 Trigger
The First Exercise
🤸 Action
Exercise Results
🎁 Variable Reward
Homepage Roadmap
🎯 Investment
Every user passed the trigger stage and no problems arose during testing.
2/5 users stated that they felt there was too much praise to have to ‘accept’ and continue with.
Most users weren’t interested on what was on the post-excercise reward screen.
3/5 Users stated that they are unlikely to return and continue with lessons. Often cited was:
“It’s good but not for me”
🚨Drop-off HOTSPOT🚨
ONBOARDING REVIEW INSIGHTS
I still had questions so, I engaged in conversation with ex-users in online language-learning communities.
I had 41 respondents to round 1, and 18 to round 2, which was a follow-up investigation of new information gathered along the way.
LOCATING THE LOST 45%
🫂 The culture of an alternate product is of high importance to certain users
👁️ Visibility of user profiles on message-based alternatives can lead to harmful interactions
💎 Alternate products provide a valuable service via an inferior UX
💬 81% of ex-Duolingo Users still wanted to learn a language.
👥 18% of ex-Duolingo user respondents turned to digital alternatives, and 45% to non-digital.
🔎 It can be difficult to find a learning partner on alternate services that depend on it
INVESTIGATION INSIGHTS
OUTREACH
QUESTIONNAIRE
ENGAGEMENT
Investigating what made ex-users leave, & their alternative solves to the user need
💡 User Intentions Don’t Align with Product Goals of Digital Alternatives
Communication-based products can have a negative product culture, with issues such as unsolicited messages, scams, and difficulty finding partners.
📖 Most Ex-Users Resorted to Multi-Media (books, movies) to Learn Instead
Many users struggled to find a product that they found worked for them. They turned to other media forms, such as books, movies, and TV shows.
🌼 A Holistic Teaching Experience Fosters User Motivation
The learning experience must ensure the user feels that all aspects of their development are being addressed, specifically beyond in-app success.
Because digital conversational alternatives allow the user who to interact with, based on their profile.
Because users want to find themselves becoming fluent, rather than to watch the prescribed parameters fill.
Because a more varied and immersive experience can be found in the non-educational structure of multimedia.
Stage 1
STAGE 2
Asking Why
A Revamped Fluency Metric
Anonymous Mini-Game Interactions
TV App Media-Based Exercises
STAGE 4
Arriving at Solutions
SYNTHESIS
Process for synthesising insights into solutions
To address the problems behind my themes, I followed up with a rigorous, lateral thinking brainstorming session to challenge assumptions and break out of established patterns of thinking - followed by divergent idea warping & exploration.
STAGE 3
Finding Solutions
Finding Themes
Defining the solutions’ informational contexts
BRINGING CONCEPTS TO LIFE
I imagined how the additions would work and determined how they would fit into the existing product.
Organising information into wireframes
With my architecture determined, I took to pen and paper to start sketching screen layouts and also to determine how to redesign Duolingo for a new platform.
Building an atomic design system from Duolingo’s assets
By studying Duolingo’s product and their brand guidelines, I re-developed a responsive, atomic design system. This would ensure a high level of consistency, both within my designs and the wider scope of Duolingo.
Validating concepts with draft prototypes…
I returned to two of my original participants and gave action prompts while supplying them with my prototype, after having applied the design system to my wireframes.
🗺️ “New screens lacked signposting”
BEFORE
FIX
💔 UI suffered from visual inconsistencies
…and addressing usability pains.
non-verbatim feedback:
🤷 “Fluency Points appeared inconsequential”
🌩️ “Input for the TV App was unclear”
USER TESTING
BEFORE
FIX
BEFORE
FIX
BEFORE
FIX
The real deliverable is stakeholder satisfaction.
Speedy Success
Happy Learners
Having addressed Duolingo’s drop-off points and provided solutions to the pain-points of alternate solutions, I’d be driving our market share at full speed.
I returned to my 5 acquaintances. 80% said that these are features that are likely to make them want to return to Duolingo.
New Wave Tech
In the same week as this project came to an end, Duolingo MAX was unveiled, which uses conversational AI to emulate language immersion and inter-personal exchanges - very similar to what you see here.
But even with happy stakeholders, a product is never finished.
The next steps would be to expand the scope of the new additions by fabricating their deeper, educational workings - and ensuring that their impact on the quality of the user experience is always minimal.
Read my thoughts on this project & much more over at my blog.
THE IMpACT
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