myKIDS a mobile for kids to have fun

My son was having some difficulties learning the Arabic language. After analyzing the situation, my wife and I realized that his limited vocabulary was the primary obstacle. To guide and support him effectively, we started designing Duolingo-style exercises tailored specifically to his needs.

That inspired me to build a dedicated mobile application where I could create new lessons, customize learning games through an admin account, and leverage local data storage so the app works completely offline. I successfully developed the app and installed the .apk onto our tablet for him to use. Just click here to download. If you’re a developer, check out the GitHub repo of the project—don’t forget to star the project, please, it would help a lot! 😉

Character Design & Art Style

I drew the characters myself because I wanted something unique. I tried to create them with AI, but it couldn’t capture the exact look I was aiming for.

The characters are constructed primarily from geometric shapes (rectangles, triangles, and circles) with soft, rounded corners. To maximize their childish and friendly appeal, I gave them oversized features paired with expressive cartoon emotions.

To mimic the charm of a real hand-drawn illustration on physical paper, the characters use a warm colored pencil aesthetic layered with subtle grainy textures.

For navigation, I wanted Gamified UI map paths—similar to the node-based progression tree famously used in the Duolingo app. To bring this to life, I integrated isometric UI assets inspired by designs like betterfly.

Meet the Characters

How Are Lessons Schematized?

To keep learning structured yet engaging, I organize lessons around 4 core pillars that represent a complete learning module:

1. Learn: Core lesson delivery through introductory videos or explanatory text cards.
2. Try: Guided practice exercises to reinforce new vocabulary.
3. Test: Evaluation checkpoints where performance results are recorded for progress statistics.
4. Play: Mini runner-style games designed to keep the child motivated.

The frist version of the app:

References & Further Reading:

• GitHub repo of the project — don’t forget to star the project please, it would help a lot! 😉
• Tools for learning to read other writing systems
• Tyler Eldridge betterfly UI design