An educational, game-based mobile app for overseas Taiwanese children
Gamified LearningMobile App · AUS
Hanzi Playground
Hanzi Playground is a specialized educational mobile App that utilizes gamified learning to teach Mandarin and Traditional Chinese literacy to children aged 5–10.
Platform
IOS
Duration
4 Weeks
BUSINESS IMPACT
Value Added
Problem
The client wanted to create a simple and engaging learning experience for overseas Taiwanese children aged 5–10 to practice Traditional Chinese characters and Zhuyin. The challenge was to turn the learning content into an experience that felt more like a game than a traditional lesson.
Solution
We built a game-based learning experience using Flutter, with lessons and quizzes powered by a structured local content system and dart custom animations. This allowed the first release to be delivered within 4 weeks while keeping content flexible for future updates.
Business Impact
The first release received positive feedback from children and parents, with parents requesting additional lessons and content. This feedback helped shape plans for Version 2 and future learning experiences.
OUR ROLE
The Team Behind the Product
We helped turn the client's product idea into a practical, engaging digital experience.
Tanzeel R.
Product Strategy & Experience Design
Translated the client's requirements into the app's learning flow and user experience, shaping lessons, quizzes, and interactions for young learners.
FOCUS
Product PlanningLearning FlowUX & UI DesignFeature Planning
ME
Muhammad Ejaz Ullah
Technical Architecture
Designed the technical architecture and guided the development approach, ensuring the app could be delivered quickly while keeping its content structure flexible for future lessons.
FOCUS
System ArchitectureTechnical PlanningContent Structure
T
Team
Developers
The wider development team handled implementation under Ejaz's technical direction, bringing the product to its first release in 4 weeks.
CHALLANGES
Key Challenges
Turning a learning concept into an engaging experience for young learners within a tight timeline.
01
Making Learning Feel Like Play
Traditional language-learning content had to be transformed into interactive game mechanics that could keep children engaged without losing the educational purpose
02
Designing for Young Learners
Designed for kids aged 5–10, the app uses bright visuals and instant feedback to make learning easy and frustration-free.
03
Custom Interactive Animations
The app required custom game interactions and animations built directly in Flutter using Dart, without relying heavily on expensive third-party assets.
04
Delivering in 4 Weeks
The first release had to be completed within a tight 4-week timeline, requiring focused scope and an efficient development approach
TECH STACK
Technologies Used
Flutter
Dart
Flutter Hive DatabaseKEY SCREENS
Main Features
01
Mandarin Topics & Lessons
Lessons are organized into easy-to-follow topics. Each lesson introduces a Chinese character, demonstrates it in a sentence, and visually explains its origin to improve understanding and memory.
02
Learn Mandarin Characters
Each lesson guides children through a character, its pronunciation, real-world usage in sentences, and visual origin story. Integrated audio lets kids hear accurate pronunciation as they learn.
03
Lesson Quiz
Every lesson ends with a short interactive quiz that reinforces character recognition, pronunciation, meaning, and sentence usage through immediate feedback.
CLIENT FEEDBACK
Quick turnaround, professional, and clear in explanations.
—
— Jennifer Chaou
Upwork
LET'S BUILD TOGETHER
Have an idea for your next digital product?
Whether you're building an educational app, customer-facing platform, or a completely new digital product, we help turn ideas into engaging, intuitive software from strategy to development.
This is for you if
- You have an idea but need help turning it into a real product
- You're looking to create a more engaging digital experience
- You need a reliable team from strategy to development
- You want to build a product that can evolve with your users
Not the right fit for
- Tiny one-off tweaks or quick fixes
- Copy-paste template work
- Projects with no defined direction
- Lowest-bid shopping
Co-founders
Tanzeel R. & M. Ejaz
Response time
Within 1 business day