SproutEd
How can we help young adults learn valuable "adulting" skills with the help of AI?
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
48 Hours
Team
4 Designers
Platform
Mobile App
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Summary
Becoming an adult is stressful. SproutEd helps solve that problem.
For many young adults, navigating tasks like budgeting, taxes, and insurance can feel stressful and overwhelming.
At the 2025 UCI Design-a-thon, my team created SproutEd, a gamified app that uses an AI coach and personalized action plans to make "adulting" feel less intimidating.
My primary role was in research synthesis and leading wireframing to shape the initial user experience.
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Summary
Becoming an adult is stressful. SproutEd helps solve that problem.
For many young adults, navigating tasks like budgeting, taxes, and insurance can feel stressful and overwhelming.
At the 2025 UCI Design-a-thon, my team created SproutEd, a gamified app that uses an AI coach and personalized action plans to make "adulting" feel less intimidating.
My primary role was in research synthesis and leading wireframing to shape the initial user experience.
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Summary
Becoming an adult is stressful. SproutEd helps solve that problem.
For many young adults, navigating tasks like budgeting, taxes, and insurance can feel stressful and overwhelming.
At the 2025 UCI Design-a-thon, my team created SproutEd, a gamified app that uses an AI coach and personalized action plans to make "adulting" feel less intimidating.
My primary role was in research synthesis and leading wireframing to shape the initial user experience.
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Challenge
"Make the future more human."
The prompt challenged us to navigate uncertainty, making the future less overwhelming and more human.
We realized young adults face this uncertainty in everyday tasks, from managing finances to household repairs.
Procrastination, decision paralysis, and lack of centralized education became our core problem to solve.
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Challenge
"Make the future more human."
The prompt challenged us to navigate uncertainty, making the future less overwhelming and more human.
We realized young adults face this uncertainty in everyday tasks, from managing finances to household repairs.
Procrastination, decision paralysis, and lack of centralized education became our core problem to solve.
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Challenge
"Make the future more human."
The prompt challenged us to navigate uncertainty, making the future less overwhelming and more human.
We realized young adults face this uncertainty in everyday tasks, from managing finances to household repairs.
Procrastination, decision paralysis, and lack of centralized education became our core problem to solve.
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Discovery
We interviewed fifteen young adults.
In almost every one of our fifteen interviews, we found common themes of emotional distress, procrastination, and the desire to be self-reliant when it comes to learning new tasks.
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Discovery
We interviewed fifteen young adults.
In almost every one of our fifteen interviews, we found common themes of emotional distress, procrastination, and the desire to be self-reliant when it comes to learning new tasks.
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Discovery
We interviewed fifteen young adults.
In almost every one of our fifteen interviews, we found common themes of emotional distress, procrastination, and the desire to be self-reliant when it comes to learning new tasks.
“Sometimes I feel overwhelmed and then I have to self motivate to get started on task.”
Interviewee #1
"My chest literally tightens and I feel useless but it still somehow isn’t enough to get me to do it."
Interviewee #2
"I try to look for guides or people online that did the same task before me so I have something to follow."
Interviewee #3
We needed to handle things carefully.
Effective support would need to feel reassuring and guided, not instructional or overwhelming. With that in mind, we set ahead with our core problem:
We needed to handle things carefully.
Effective support would need to feel reassuring and guided, not instructional or overwhelming. With that in mind, we set ahead with our core problem:
We needed to handle things carefully.
Effective support would need to feel reassuring and guided, not instructional or overwhelming. With that in mind, we set ahead with our core problem:
The main challenge:
How might we help young adults build confidence in essential life skills without feeling overwhelmed?
From this, we developed three core design goals:
From this, we developed three core design goals:
From this, we developed three core design goals:
Motivate action through gamification
Reduce procrastination and decision paralysis by transforming overwhelming tasks into rewarding, goal-oriented challenges.
Empower self-reliance
Equip users with the confidence and tools to independently navigate new challenges by offering clear, adaptable guidance.
Simplify complex information
Convert intimidating real-world responsibilities into manageable milestones through intuitive, easy-to-follow content like tutorials or checklists.
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Ideation
The clock was ticking.
With only 48 hours on the clock, we focused on features that directly solved our users’ most pressing challenges. After some brainstorming, we came up with three primary features:
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Ideation
The clock was ticking.
With only 48 hours on the clock, we focused on features that directly solved our users’ most pressing challenges. After some brainstorming, we came up with three primary features:
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Ideation
The clock was ticking.
With only 48 hours on the clock, we focused on features that directly solved our users’ most pressing challenges. After some brainstorming, we came up with three primary features:
Feature 1 was gamification.
Users earn experience through completing real world tasks, unlocking customization options for their personal AI coach avatar.
The goal here was to turn friction into motivation, and give users a reason to do the tasks they've been putting off.
Feature 1 was gamification.
Users earn experience through completing real world tasks, unlocking customization options for their personal AI coach avatar.
The goal here was to turn friction into motivation, and give users a reason to do the tasks they've been putting off.
Feature 1 was gamification.
Users earn experience through completing real world tasks, unlocking customization options for their personal AI coach avatar.
The goal here was to turn friction into motivation, and give users a reason to do the tasks they've been putting off.
Ed, your personalized AI coach, was up next.
Putting the "Ed" in "SproutEd", I led the wireframing for this feature, imagining an AI support coach that could guide users through difficult tasks, including:
Generating customized action plans for broad, complex goals
Voice chat and interaction to communicate hands-free
Camera processing to guide users through physical tasks
Ed was intended to serve as a friendly coach that was available, kind, and step-by-step when tasks felt overwhelming.
Ed, your personalized AI coach, was up next.
Putting the "Ed" in "SproutEd", I led the wireframing for this feature, imagining an AI support coach that could guide users through difficult tasks, including:
Generating customized action plans for broad, complex goals
Voice chat and interaction to communicate hands-free
Camera processing to guide users through physical tasks
Ed was intended to serve as a friendly coach that was available, kind, and step-by-step when tasks felt overwhelming.
Ed, your personalized AI coach, was up next.
Putting the "Ed" in "SproutEd", I led the wireframing for this feature, imagining an AI support coach that could guide users through difficult tasks, including:
Generating customized action plans for broad, complex goals
Voice chat and interaction to communicate hands-free
Camera processing to guide users through physical tasks
Ed was intended to serve as a friendly coach that was available, kind, and step-by-step when tasks felt overwhelming.
Feature 3 was a quick access instruction booklet.
Our instructional booklet provides structured, quick access to more common adulting tasks such as renting an apartment or filing taxes, with video tutorials and easy-to-follow steps.
When you just needed a reliable place to look something up, rather than get customized help, this would serve as the go-to resource.
Feature 3 was a quick access instruction booklet.
Our instructional booklet provides structured, quick access to more common adulting tasks such as renting an apartment or filing taxes, with video tutorials and easy-to-follow steps.
When you just needed a reliable place to look something up, rather than get customized help, this would serve as the go-to resource.
Feature 3 was a quick access instruction booklet.
Our instructional booklet provides structured, quick access to more common adulting tasks such as renting an apartment or filing taxes, with video tutorials and easy-to-follow steps.
When you just needed a reliable place to look something up, rather than get customized help, this would serve as the go-to resource.
Next, we connected our features with a user flow.
With our core features established, I mapped out a user flow, addressing the need to connect these three disjointed product features into one seamless journey.
Next, we connected our features with a user flow.
With our core features established, I mapped out a user flow, addressing the need to connect these three disjointed product features into one seamless journey.
Next, we connected our features with a user flow.
With our core features established, I mapped out a user flow, addressing the need to connect these three disjointed product features into one seamless journey.
We wanted SproutEd to feel like a helping hand.
I took the lead in finalizing the style guide's color palette and typography, ensuring it aligned with our research and brand identity.
We wanted the visuals to feel helpful and friendly, and the "Sprout" mascot and sprouting plant motifs symbolized the growth and confidence young adults would gain from using the app.
We wanted SproutEd to feel like a helping hand.
I took the lead in finalizing the style guide's color palette and typography, ensuring it aligned with our research and brand identity.
We wanted the visuals to feel helpful and friendly, and the "Sprout" mascot and sprouting plant motifs symbolized the growth and confidence young adults would gain from using the app.
We wanted SproutEd to feel like a helping hand.
I took the lead in finalizing the style guide's color palette and typography, ensuring it aligned with our research and brand identity.
We wanted the visuals to feel helpful and friendly, and the "Sprout" mascot and sprouting plant motifs symbolized the growth and confidence young adults would gain from using the app.
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Solution
Bringing it all together.
At the end of the 48 hour designathon, we came away with a full high-fidelity prototype that directly addressed our user's core problem: anxiety and a lack of motivation.
With a clean, calming interface, helpful assistance from our AI coach, and a gamified task system that rewards progression, we were able to turn a difficult topic into a positive, engaging experience.
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Solution
Bringing it all together.
At the end of the 48 hour designathon, we came away with a full high-fidelity prototype that directly addressed our user's core problem: anxiety and a lack of motivation.
With a clean, calming interface, helpful assistance from our AI coach, and a gamified task system that rewards progression, we were able to turn a difficult topic into a positive, engaging experience.
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Solution
Bringing it all together.
At the end of the 48 hour designathon, we came away with a full high-fidelity prototype that directly addressed our user's core problem: anxiety and a lack of motivation.
With a clean, calming interface, helpful assistance from our AI coach, and a gamified task system that rewards progression, we were able to turn a difficult topic into a positive, engaging experience.
On our landing page, talk directly with Ed or view today's tasks!
On our landing page, talk directly with Ed or view today's tasks!
On our landing page, talk directly with Ed or view today's tasks!
See upcoming and ongoing tasks on the tasks page!
See upcoming and ongoing tasks on the tasks page!
See upcoming and ongoing tasks on the tasks page!
View your skill progress on the profile page!
View your skill progress on the profile page!
View your skill progress on the profile page!
Gain XP from completing tasks to unlock customizations for Ed!
Gain XP from completing tasks to unlock customizations for Ed!
Gain XP from completing tasks to unlock customizations for Ed!
Here's one user flow I created that shows how Ed can turn a broad goal like "make a budget" into a manageable, step-by-step action plan.
Here's one user flow I created that shows how Ed can turn a broad goal like "make a budget" into a manageable, step-by-step action plan.
Here's one user flow I created that shows how Ed can turn a broad goal like "make a budget" into a manageable, step-by-step action plan.
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Reflection
What were the outcomes?
As my team's first designathon, the 48-hour deadline challenged our ability to time manage and make quick yet informed decisions. Despite these challenges, we successfully delivered a full hi-fi prototype and a cohesive visual identity.
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Reflection
What were the outcomes?
As my team's first designathon, the 48-hour deadline challenged our ability to time manage and make quick yet informed decisions. Despite these challenges, we successfully delivered a full hi-fi prototype and a cohesive visual identity.
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Reflection
What were the outcomes?
As my team's first designathon, the 48-hour deadline challenged our ability to time manage and make quick yet informed decisions. Despite these challenges, we successfully delivered a full hi-fi prototype and a cohesive visual identity.
What did I learn?
Learning to prioritize critical problems and high-impact features first
Trusting the team to make quick, thoughtful decisions and collaborate effectively.
Embracing iteration to create a more refined and user-centered final product.
What did I learn?
Learning to prioritize critical problems and high-impact features first
Trusting the team to make quick, thoughtful decisions and collaborate effectively.
Embracing iteration to create a more refined and user-centered final product.
What did I learn?
Learning to prioritize critical problems and high-impact features first
Trusting the team to make quick, thoughtful decisions and collaborate effectively.
Embracing iteration to create a more refined and user-centered final product.
Next steps?
For next steps, I would conduct more extensive user testing to further validate our design decisions and explore additional gamification features to increase user engagement.
Next steps?
For next steps, I would conduct more extensive user testing to further validate our design decisions and explore additional gamification features to increase user engagement.
Next steps?
For next steps, I would conduct more extensive user testing to further validate our design decisions and explore additional gamification features to increase user engagement.