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Did you know that every two weeks a language dies with its last speaker?
Let’s Yum Cha! is an interactive mobile game designed to encourage young children to engage with the Cantonese language and embrace the richness of Cantonese culture.
I created Let’s Yum Cha! to address a key challenge: the limited availability of Cantonese-language content for young children in non-Cantonese-speaking communities, particularly during the crucial period of early language development.
User Research
User Research
I conducted surveys and interviews with over 200 British-Chinese families to explore barriers to Cantonese learning. Through this research, I identified key challenges, including a lack of engaging resources and traditional methods that failed to sustain children’s interest.
I also uncovered a strong demand for a more modern, interactive approach tailored to young learners’ developmental and cultural needs. Using these insights, I defined the direction of the solution and led the design of a gamified app focused on making language learning intuitive, engaging, and enjoyable.
Initial concept & Feedback
Initial concept & Feedback
I developed interactive prototypes of a Cantonese-learning game from low to high fidelity, using focus groups and usability testing to iteratively refine the experience. I also created original animations, sounds, and voiceovers to enhance immersion and reinforce learning, while designing an intuitive, child-friendly interface that supported independent use.
In parallel, I conducted market research to assess demand and viability, with findings showing strong interest and validating the concept.
Agile Approach & MVP Development
Agile Approach & MVP Development
I led a small team of four to adopt an agile approach, scaling down the original concept to define a simpler, more manageable MVP. I prioritised core features and avoided unnecessary complexity to support focused, incremental development. I also created a phased roadmap to guide release, enabling the product to evolve based on user feedback and technical capacity.
Marketing Strategy & User Engagement
Marketing Strategy & User Engagement
I led social media engagement to build a direct, organic audience, creating weekly original animations that combined Cantonese cultural insights with language learning. I encouraged user contributions and established a sustainable content format, while developing a website to share resources, updates, and capture email sign-ups.
I also coached a volunteer to support content creation, helping build capability within the team. These efforts grew a following of over 3,000 across platforms and generated 250 newsletter sign-ups, increasing visibility ahead of launch.
First Iteration and Feedback
First Iteration and Feedback
I facilitated co-design workshops with volunteer designers to shape the game’s narrative, ensuring story and characters were integral to the learning experience. I explored mini-game concepts through paper prototyping and, after evaluating complexity, cultural relevance, and development effort, defined a dim sum ordering game as the initial focus.
I mapped detailed user and game flows to guide development, and created a mid-fidelity interactive prototype in ProtoPie to demonstrate the first two levels. I then gathered feedback through usability testing and a public survey, using insights to refine game mechanics and interactions.
Development and release
Development and release
I collaborated closely with the developer, providing detailed game flows, interaction logic, and audio-visual assets to support implementation. I iteratively refined the design, introducing full-colour artwork, character design, core navigation (including menu and level selection), a revision feature, and 11 playable levels.
I led multiple rounds of testing, identifying and resolving bugs before releasing a stable version to volunteers, followed by a wider beta with 50 users across Android and iOS. The MVP launched in December 2023, alongside a feedback survey to support ongoing evaluation and improvement.
Project Summary
Project Summary
Designed and developed Let’s Yum Cha!, an interactive mobile game aimed at preserving Cantonese language and culture by engaging young children in non-Cantonese-speaking communities through gamified language learning.
Conducted extensive user research with over 200 British-Chinese families, identifying barriers and cultural needs to inform a child-friendly, intuitive app experience enriched with original animations, sounds, and voiceovers.
Led iterative prototyping and usability testing, from paper sketches to mid-fidelity interactive demos, refining game mechanics and story elements through co-design workshops and continuous user feedback.
Adopted an agile MVP approach, focusing on a simple, phased development of core features—including a food-ordering mini-game with dim sum—enabling incremental releases and improvements based on user input.
Implemented a targeted marketing strategy, building a strong social media following (3,000+ followers) and newsletter base (250+ sign-ups) through regular cultural content, alongside a community-driven website, contributing to the game’s visibility and successful MVP launch in December 2023.
Reflection
Reflection
A key challenge in Let’s Yum Cha! was balancing engaging game mechanics with the developmental needs of young children. Early prototypes were too complex, prompting a shift to an agile approach that focused on simplicity and prioritised core features through iterative prototyping and usability testing.
Building a strong social media presence and community early on also proved invaluable—not just for visibility, but for gathering ongoing user feedback. This project reinforced the importance of adaptability, user-centred design, and close collaboration with the target audience to create meaningful, age-appropriate learning experiences.
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