Learning & speech challenges
Learning disabilities and language or speech disorders.
Bayan Al Arabia · EdTech for families
turning screen time into learning time.
A parent–child learning app that helps children build Arabic language, listening and literacy skills — and gives parents clear, calm control over how screen time is spent.
2users with opposite goals — the child and the parent
5learning topics a child can choose from
10features in the MVP — and two deliberately left out
3design principles every screen was tested against
01Problem
Children already spend hours on screens. Very little of it helps them grow.
Modern children face real developmental challenges — and most of their screen time does nothing about them.
At the same time, parents often struggle to monitor and engage their children effectively in meaningful educational activities. Blocking apps creates conflict; allowing them creates guilt. Neither builds skills.
Poor listening skills
Attention drifts before meaning lands.
Reading & writing delays
Literacy milestones arriving later than they should.
Unproductive screen time
Hours spent scrolling instead of learning.
How might we
turn the screen time children already have into learning time — without turning parents into screen-time police?
02Target users
One product. Two users who want opposite things.
The child wants fun. The parent wants control. The product only works if both get what they came for.
That tension shaped the whole architecture: a playful, low-reading experience for children, and a calm, data-first experience for parents — connected by a shared family account.
Switch perspective
Who is this screen for?
Primary user
Learn through things that feel like play.
Children engage in activities such as vocabulary practice, listening to the Quran, storytelling, drawing and games.
ValueEnhance language expression, overcome learning challenges, and develop literacy skills.
Secondary user
See progress. Set limits. Stop negotiating.
Parents oversee and manage their children’s app usage, progress and screen time from one place.
ValueTrack learning progress and make sure screen time is educational and meaningful.
03Personas
Designing for Ahmed and Fatima.
Two personas kept every decision honest. If a feature didn’t help Ahmed learn or help Fatima trust the app, it didn’t make the cut.
A
AhmedChild · Age 7
Can I play now? I’ll do the word game first!
About
- Loves playing games
- Struggles with Arabic reading
Motivated by
- Fun, interactive challenges
- Guessing words and storytelling
Access DeviceLet’s PlayLet’s Tell a StoryPoints
F
FatimaParent · Age 35
I don’t want to take the tablet away. I want to know it’s doing him good.
Concerned about
- Ahmed’s screen time
- Tracking his learning progress
Appreciates
- Detailed dashboards
- Control over Ahmed’s activities
SettingsDaily limitsDashboardFamily account
04Prioritization
Deciding what not to build.
Every feature was scored on impact and urgency. Ten made the MVP. Two waited.
The MVP had one job: prove the core loop — a child learns, earns and plays; a parent sees it happen. Anything that didn’t serve that loop moved to “revisit later”, no matter how good it sounded in a meeting.
Interactive · click any feature
The prioritization matrix.
Impact →Urgency →
High impact · low urgency
High impact · high urgency — MVP
Included in the first release.
Low impact · low urgency
Revisit later.
Low impact · high urgency
ChildParentBoth
05Design strategy
Three principles, two audiences.
Every screen was checked against three principles before it moved to high fidelity.
The first and third are for Ahmed. The second is for Fatima. Where they conflicted, the rule was simple: children get simplicity, parents get depth — never the other way round.
Child-friendly UI
Bright colours, large icons and simple navigation that makes the app appealing — even before a child can read every word.
See the child app →Parent-centric controls
Clear, intuitive dashboards and robust settings for seamless child management — depth without clutter.
See the parent tools →Gamification
Rewards, points and progress trackers that make learning the thing a child wants to do next.
Try the mechanic →
Principle 02 · Parent-centric controls
Set up once. Stay informed without hovering.
Login, family setup and screen-time controls — designed for a busy parent who wants answers in seconds, not another app to manage.
Family group
A code, not another password.
A parent creates a child profile and gets a short code. The child enters it once to link their app — no credentials for a seven-year-old to remember.
Design choice — remove typing where it adds nothing.
Settings & dashboard
Limits per app. Answers at a glance.
Daily and weekly limits for each app sit in one list, with progress bars that show what’s left. One tap opens the detail: usage records, a timesheet of when apps were opened, and today / week / month statistics.
Design choice — the answer first, the detail one tap away.
Principles 01 & 03 · Child-friendly + gamified
Five ways to learn. One reason to keep going.
Big, picture-led cards so a seven-year-old never needs instructions — and a points system that turns learning into the path to the things they already love.
Select a topic
Pictures first, words second.
Let’s Draw, Let’s Express, Let’s Play, Let’s Discover and Let’s Tell a Story — each a large, photo-led card, with earned points always in view below the header.
Design choice — navigation a pre-reader can use.
Access Device · try it
Learn first. Then play.
Before a child opens a distracting app, Bayan asks one short question — a math problem, a Quran recitation, or guessing the meaning of a word. Answer it, earn points, unlock the time.
It reframes the parent’s “no” into the child’s “not yet” — the limit is still there, but now it’s a game Ahmed can win.
Design choice — make the rule feel like a challenge, not a punishment.VideosLocked · answer to unlock
Unlocked for 15 minutes
+10 points
06Wireframes
From brief to screen.
Three wireframes carried the most risk, so they were defined first — each with a clear job before any colour was added.
Parent dashboard
Wireframe briefKey metrics displayed visually — screen time readable at a glance.
Became: per-app limits with progress bars, and a detail view with records, timesheet and statistics.
Activity screen
Wireframe briefInteractive designs for topics like drawing, with tools for creativity.
Became: instruction up top, a full canvas, and a simple tool bar a child can reach with one thumb.
Child login & quizzes
Wireframe briefA playful interface with animated quizzes.
Became: a one-field code login, big tappable answers, and an instant score to celebrate every attempt.
07Arabic content
Arabic that feels native, not translated.
Quran verses and Arabic questions read right-to-left, so they needed more than a text-direction switch. Content hierarchy, alignment and even arrows follow the reader — while the product keeps one consistent identity.
Interactive · try it
One component. Two reading directions.
Welcome back, Ahmed3 lessons waiting today
Earned points1,246
RedeemRead Quran12 min
Guess the word8 min
Continue
Numbers show where the eye lands first — and they move with the reader.
Mirroring the pixels is easy. Mirroring the reading is the work.
Switch the language and watch what moves: the greeting anchors to the reader’s starting edge, chevrons and the primary arrow point the way the reader travels, and numbers switch to Arabic-Indic digits. Each one is a decision, not a flip.
- Navigationالتنقل
- Cardsالبطاقات
- Listsالقوائم
- Formsالنماذج
- Content hierarchyتسلسل المحتوى
- Calls-to-actionأزرار الإجراء
08What’s next
What we said “later” to — on purpose.
Advanced analytics and social sharing were valuable ideas, but neither was needed to prove the core loop. Once the MVP shows that children learn and parents trust it, these become the natural next layer — alongside adapting content to each child’s level and behaviour.
Advanced analyticsSharing progress with familyBadges & streaksAdaptive difficultyAI-personalised learning paths
09Reflection
What I carried forward
The best rules don’t feel like rules. They feel like a game you want to win.
- Two users with opposite goals need two experiences — connected by one shared account.
- Prioritisation is a design tool. Saying “later” kept the MVP about one loop: learn, earn, play.
- Gamification works best when the reward is something the child already wants.
Screen time isn’t the enemy.Bayan Al Arabia · Sarim Naeem
Meaningless screen time is.
Sarim NaeemLead Product Designer · Bayan Al Arabia Case Study
Let’s design, build and ship something useful together.
