Capstone Project
Duolingo AR
AR (augmented reality), a new feature for Duolingo, keeps user’s motivated and immersed in their language learning journey.
Role Solo UX Designer
Timeframe 4 weeks
What is the problem?
Learning a language is a journey that can be difficult, time-intensive, and mentally taxing for users. Duolingo is one of the leading language learning apps with free and paid subscriptions. Reporting over 500 million registered users across the globe, roughly 1.9 million were paid Duolingo Super Users, with a conversion rate of 0.38%.
I sought to address Duolingo’s conversion rate from free to paid and users’ motivational dip.
Can a new feature such as AR help motivate users to avoid the motivation dip and increase the daily, monthly, and paid subscribers?
What’s the goal?
My goal was to uncover what users want most out of their language-learning apps and how they feel about staying motivated. Using those insights, I designed a new feature, Duolingo AR, that allows users to explore their environment with guided vocabulary lessons, scavenger hunts, and free exploration.
Duolingo is the world’s #1 way to learn a language
Research
Full transparency, I initially had an idea of the AR solution being a beneficial feature for Duolingo because of its novelty. However, the research needed to support the hypothesis.
I began by conducting secondary research: reviewing academic studies regarding AR in education and comparing other language-learning apps’ features.
I found an excellent literary review that shared some great benefits for AR in language learning.
What are the users saying?
I shared a survey via a language learning forum, and 14 participants responded. 50% of respondents were between 25-34 years old. AR was identified as a feature that users would be interested in.
Great news! My initial hypothesis that AR benefits language learners are supported by users.
What did I find out during the user interviews?
6 participants
5 female, 1 male
Ages Range: 18-45
Target Languages: Spanish, German, Italian
“When I get bored, I look around the room and name the item in my target language. It helps me to learn words with context.”
— Interviewee #2
Who are the competitors?
There are a ton of language learning apps to compare to Duolingo. I selected apps that are the most popular and those that use gamification or offer unique features.
I conducted 6 user interviews to gain a deeper understanding on the needs of users. Most people mentioned they use multiple apps to learn a language. Duolingo is popular because they provide a free option.
Define
Who are the users?
I created a user persona using what I’ve learned from my research and with this new feature in mind. Referring back to this persona during the design process kept me aligned with the user goals.
How should we visualize this interaction with the new feature?
I created a storyboard to visualize how users would interact with the Duolingo AR feature. This helped to further empathize with the user and begin thinking about AR's unique challenges. I selected the kitchen because there is a lot of opportunity for vocabulary and future lessons.
AR Considerations
How much space will users need to experience AR?
What type of environments will users use the AR feature?
How will low-light situations be handled?
Ensure users can pause or save progress. Users can become more fatigued.
How will we encourage users to move around their space?
Many AR filters focus on realism to facilitate immersion; however, I used Duolingo’s cartoon design style to stay on brand.
User flow
I created a user flow for a user accessing the new AR feature to complete a lesson. With AR, it is crucial to set the stage and onboard the user appropriately. It requires specific environmental conditions to work correctly.
2 of 3 screens from the Duolingo AR storyboard. Sara opens her phone and interacts w/ Duo
During the ideation phase there were more considerations to take into account for the design.
Snippet for the onboarding screens for the user flow. The use of effective copy is crucial
Design
Duolingo has a strong brand identity and provides details on utilizing its logo, fonts, imagery, and characters.
I created a couple of character reactions and an AR character based on Duolingo's character guidelines. This part of the design was a lot of fun. It is hard not to smile when looking at Duo (Duolingo's Mascot).
I knew I wanted to leverage Duolingo's existing Stories homepage because users are accustomed to it and they do a great job of categorizing the lessons. My initial thought was to have four types of AR lessons. 1) Free roam where the user can point their phone anywhere and learn vocab 2) Scavenger Hunt where the user looks for specific items based on prompys 3) Room/Location where the user has lessons based on their location 4) Expand your world where the user can travel to different countries right at home
Sketches
Test
Next, I created a simple prototype using Figma and conducted user testing to test the AR feature's clarity, completion, and comprehension. I also wanted feedback from the tester about how the new screens fit into the Duolingo branding.
How was the usability?
I conducted a small usability study with 4 individuals who had previous experience using Duolingo. The users were tasked with completing the Explore Your Space flow.
GAINS
All testers noted that the UI was consistent with the Duolingo brand.
Most testers shared that they thought the feature was cool and would be useful.
“I would love to have this feature within Duolingo. I would definitely use this.”
One user mentioned they are glad that there is still an option for “can’t speak right now”.
PAINS
Two testers mentioned they would like to have a test question to confirm they are using the camera correctly.
Most testers asked about logistical questions such as “What happens when I turn my phone horizontal?”, “what happens if it is too dark?”
The AR indicator is faint on the white/lighter background.
2 of the testers mentioned that the navigation bar was close to the bottom of the phone.
Lessons Learned
Remember the timeline
My initial goals were to create an AR filter via SparkAR or Unity. Due to time constraints, I could not complete the filter with those programs. I spent my time on research, thoughtfully making the user flow and the 2D UI elements. My future goal is to upskill in AR development and create the filter.
Existing brand
This project taught me how to work within the constraints of an existing product and design within a current system.
AR is fun
I enjoyed learning about AR and all the potential tools and possibilities. With that being said, it started to become overwhelming because I wanted to learn and create everything around AR.
