Finding Product-Market Fit by Transforming a Typing App into a Modern Learning Platform

Project Overview

Typezap began as a gamified touch-typing platform designed to help children develop typing skills in a fun, interactive way. While early testing showed kids enjoyed the typing experience, insights from parents and schools revealed typing alone wasn't compelling enough to make them invest long-term.

This led to a data-driven journey of evolving Typezap into a platform focused on essential but often-overlooked subjects, positioning it as a modern educational solution. The project included extensive research, multiple phases of user testing, and continuous iteration—each decision shaped by real feedback and grounded in the goal of achieving product-market fit.

My Role: Product Designer

As the Product Designer on the team, responsibilities included:

• Leading the design strategy, from initial concepts to polished, production-ready interfaces.
• Establishing a scalable design system with reusable components for consistent user experience.
• Designing the platform's visual identity, including color systems, typography, layouts, and interaction feedback.
• Creating the mascot Leorio, developing its character and visual integration into the platform.
• Conducting research and user testing, analyzing behavior and feedback from both online campaigns and live events.
• Working in close loop with developers to translate design iterations into fast, responsive releases.

Initial Idea & Design Foundations

The first concept aimed to make touch-typing engaging for kids through gamification and playful visuals. To achieve this:

• A bright, energetic color palette balanced fun with readability.
• Rounded, legible typography created a friendly but mature look.
• An 4pt grid system with consistent spacing supported quick iterations and scalable updates.
• Micro-interactions and subtle animations were integrated to provide responsive, satisfying user feedback.

To build a recognizable identity, the crocodile mascot Leorio was created. Leorio served as an in-app guide, celebrating milestones, offering encouragement, and making the learning experience memorable. A physical mascot costume of Leorio was even produced for events, helping boost sign-ups by ~25% at demos.

Testing & Feedback Phases

Once the initial platform was developed, testing was organized at schools and public events:

• Live observation sessions allowed analysis of how kids interacted with the platform, highlighting challenges like frustration when speed dropped during proper typing technique.
• Physical events and demos gathered valuable insights directly from children, parents, and educators, confirming high engagement among kids but limited enthusiasm from parents about typing alone.
• Interviews revealed parents prioritized educational topics that would give children practical, future-ready knowledge.

These findings showed that, despite the platform's strong visuals and enjoyable typing experience, the business direction needed to evolve.

Learning & Strategic Shifts

The first response to feedback led to Learn-o-Type, a feature combining typing practice with learning short educational facts—aiming to bridge the gap between engagement and parental value.

However, second rounds of testing revealed that typing while learning distracted kids and parents were still more focused on meaningful educational content than typing proficiency.

Interviews with parents and discussions with schools surfaced a significant gap in traditional education: children rarely learn practical life skills such as AI basics, cybersafety, law, etiquette, and cultural awareness.

Pivoting to a Modern Learning Platform

Based on these insights, the decision was made to fully reposition Typezap as an educational platform teaching subjects that matter but are often overlooked. Typing was retained as one learning module, but it became part of a broader offering.

This pivot transformed Typezap from a niche typing tool into a platform truly aligned with parents' and schools' priorities.

Launching Olympiads

To boost adoption and make Typezap easy for schools to integrate, Olympiads were introduced as a familiar competition format aligned with existing school practices.

Olympiads became a scalable way to reach more students and establish credibility with schools.

Outcomes & Product-Market Fit