STUDY SYNCDragonfly (AI)
AI-powered K-5 literacy instruction
Dragonfly sparks curiosity and builds foundational skills through vibrant design, engaging lessons, and interactive AI-driven content. The program uniquely blends playful digital interactions with tangible learning activities.
MY ROLE: PRODUCT DESIGN, AI WORKFLOWS & SCALABILITY, CROSS-FUNCTIONAL DESIGN & TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT
Where Learning Takes Flight
Our research with K-5 students revealed that digital platforms need to offer variety to maintain engagement. When studying how children interact with screens, we discovered they respond best to interactive elements that give immediate feedback and celebrate small victories.
The Dragonfly digital platform evolved directly from watching students use technology in classrooms. Children showed higher motivation when digital activities connected to their physical world, which is why our platform bridges online reading exercises with real-world applications. The platform's accessibility features were designed based on inclusive research showing that multiple pathways to content benefit all learners, not just those with specific needs.
“I don’t like seeing the same thing every year.”
“I can’t tell what I need to do over.”
AI-Driven Content
I had such a blast leading our AI-driven media creation! I got to play with some amazing tools like RunwayAI and Stable Diffusion (ComfyUI), and even developed custom LoRA models to make our visuals truly special. The AI tools were game-changers for our platform - they allowed us to generate customized illustrations that perfectly matched our learning objectives without the time and expense of traditional artwork. We could quickly create diverse characters and scenarios that represented all our students, something that would have taken months with conventional methods.
New Delhi to New York
Working with teams across different countries was incredibly rewarding—we figured out how to streamline our workflows. The AI workflows I generated, helped bridge the distance by generating consistency in design while maintaining our core design principles.
I generated process guidebooks to help maintain consistency across multiple teams and continents. The most exciting part was developing our adorable mascots and visual themes alongside my teammates and stakeholders. With AI assistance, we could rapidly prototype different character designs and get feedback, allowing for much more iteration than traditional processes. Our platform became more dynamic and responsive because we could generate new visual content on demand, keeping the learning experience fresh and tailored to individual student progress. Seeing our brand guidelines come together and watching educators respond positively to them made all those late-night design sessions worthwhile!
Embracing AI for Scalability
By bringing tools like ComfyUI and Runway into our video production process, I was able to create dynamic scenes that would have taken weeks using traditional methods. Midjourney became my main tool for designing custom characters that perfectly matched our learning objectives—each with their own personality that students could connect with.
I could sketch out a character concept in the morning and have dozens of variations to choose from by lunch. This let me produce hundreds of assets for our large-scale production while maintaining a consistent style that still felt handcrafted.
Working closely with our education experts was the most rewarding part. Together, we refined our vision through friendly brainstorming sessions where everyone contributed ideas. I made sure to listen carefully to their educational goals so the technology always served the learning experience. By bringing together cutting-edge AI tools with our team's teaching expertise, we created content that wasn't just visually stunning—it actually helped kids learn better!
“The process involved a collaborative approach to establish a unified brand identity, combining research-driven insights and cutting-edge AI tools to create engaging, scalable content for K-5 learners. By aligning the efforts of diverse teams and integrating innovative technologies, I ensured consistency and quality across all aspects of the project.”
Sketching In Code
Using react-based components and prototypes allowed us to get a better feel for the app and interactions beyond a 2D experience. I used CodeSandbox.io to assemble our component libraries with animations and interactions beyond the basics to truly engage young learners.
Combining animations, 3D elements and code-based interactions, I was able to streamline collaboration between design and development. The handoff process went much smoother for allowing the engineering team to have assets and code samples for faster integration.
Better Together
I'm so proud of what our team accomplished! We developed comprehensive brand guidelines featuring adorable character mascots and vibrant visual themes that really speak to K-5 students. Creating designs that work beautifully in both print and digital formats was challenging but so rewarding when we saw how kids responded to them.
One of my favorite achievements was setting up AI workflows that helped our international teams create consistent, high-quality visuals no matter where they were working. I spent time creating training materials to make sure everyone felt confident using these new tools, which really paid off in the quality of our final product.
The React-based app we built brings everything together in such a magical way! Seeing the interactive media, videos, illustrations, and sound elements work in harmony to support literacy learning makes all those long development sessions worthwhile. What makes me happiest is knowing we've created something truly inclusive that helps both students and teachers have a better learning experience.
Well Received
Dragonfly leveraged AI to revolutionize literacy education, enhancing student engagement and improving reading proficiency with interactive, visually captivating content and tailored learning tools.
“This program has completely transformed the way my students engage with literacy. The vibrant characters, interactive media, and hands-on lessons make learning fun and accessible for all skill levels. It’s amazing to see how much more confident my students are in their reading abilities, and the tools provided make it so easy for me to support each learner’s unique needs.”