Launch an AI-Powered Digital Penpal App for Kids
An early-stage concept developed in direct collaboration with the founders to digitalize the penpal experience for children, creating a playful and educational journey enhanced by AI. The initial goal was to test market interest, generate leads, and quickly move toward a functional MVP.
At a Glance
Timeline: 2025 – Q1 (Brand & Landing Site) / Q3 (MVP launched in 2 months)
Role: Founding Product Designer
Team: 2 Founders + 2 Developers (front & back)
Phase 1 – Visual identity & showcase website
The first phase focused on designing the visual identity and logo, as well as building a showcase website. The website aimed to generate leads and validate market interest. Results quickly indicated clear demand and a defined target audience, laying the groundwork for the next phase.
Phase 2 – MVP & product experience
Subscription workflow
The subscription workflow was designed to collect the necessary information to set up the child’s penpal and encourage subscription. Each step was crafted to be intuitive for parents while capturing essential data.
Parent dashboard
A dedicated dashboard for parents allowed them to track penpal exchanges, manage information, and monitor sent and received content. The goal was to make the experience simple, transparent, and engaging.
Children’s app
The children’s app provides a playful writing experience for the penpal with gamification mechanics. The more the child writes, the more items they unlock (stamps, badges), while also exploring cultural aspects of their penpal’s world. This encourages learning, engagement, and curiosity.
AI-powered visuals & content
For the MVP, both the visual assets and the penpal correspondence experience were enhanced and managed using AI. This required extensive research to craft effective prompts and build a visual database for AI training. The AI workflow accelerated production by using Lovable and Bolt to quickly test and validate concepts.
Impact
It is still early to gather full feedback, as the product is in the final stages of development.
Personal takeaways
I really enjoyed working on this project. It was a true challenge to build a brand and an MVP from scratch in a short amount of time. This experience pushed me to think creatively and work efficiently under pressure. I also had the chance to explore and implement new workflows, especially by leveraging AI tools, which significantly improved the overall design process.
At a Glance
Timeline: 2025 – Q1 (Brand & Landing Site) / Q3 (MVP launched in 2 months)
Role: Founding Product Designer
Team: 2 Founders + 2 Developers (front & back)
Phase 1 – Visual identity & showcase website
The first phase focused on designing the visual identity and logo, as well as building a showcase website. The website aimed to generate leads and validate market interest. Results quickly indicated clear demand and a defined target audience, laying the groundwork for the next phase.
Phase 2 – MVP & product experience
Subscription workflow
The subscription workflow was designed to collect the necessary information to set up the child’s penpal and encourage subscription. Each step was crafted to be intuitive for parents while capturing essential data.
Parent dashboard
A dedicated dashboard for parents allowed them to track penpal exchanges, manage information, and monitor sent and received content. The goal was to make the experience simple, transparent, and engaging.
Children’s app
The children’s app provides a playful writing experience for the penpal with gamification mechanics. The more the child writes, the more items they unlock (stamps, badges), while also exploring cultural aspects of their penpal’s world. This encourages learning, engagement, and curiosity.
AI-powered visuals & content
For the MVP, both the visual assets and the penpal correspondence experience were enhanced and managed using AI. This required extensive research to craft effective prompts and build a visual database for AI training. The AI workflow accelerated production by using Lovable and Bolt to quickly test and validate concepts.
Impact
It is still early to gather full feedback, as the product is in the final stages of development.
Personal takeaways
I really enjoyed working on this project. It was a true challenge to build a brand and an MVP from scratch in a short amount of time. This experience pushed me to think creatively and work efficiently under pressure. I also had the chance to explore and implement new workflows, especially by leveraging AI tools, which significantly improved the overall design process.
At a Glance
Timeline: 2025 – Q1 (Brand & Landing Site) / Q3 (MVP launched in 2 months)
Role: Founding Product Designer
Team: 2 Founders + 2 Developers (front & back)
Phase 1 – Visual identity & showcase website
The first phase focused on designing the visual identity and logo, as well as building a showcase website. The website aimed to generate leads and validate market interest. Results quickly indicated clear demand and a defined target audience, laying the groundwork for the next phase.
Phase 2 – MVP & product experience
Subscription workflow
The subscription workflow was designed to collect the necessary information to set up the child’s penpal and encourage subscription. Each step was crafted to be intuitive for parents while capturing essential data.
Parent dashboard
A dedicated dashboard for parents allowed them to track penpal exchanges, manage information, and monitor sent and received content. The goal was to make the experience simple, transparent, and engaging.
Children’s app
The children’s app provides a playful writing experience for the penpal with gamification mechanics. The more the child writes, the more items they unlock (stamps, badges), while also exploring cultural aspects of their penpal’s world. This encourages learning, engagement, and curiosity.
AI-powered visuals & content
For the MVP, both the visual assets and the penpal correspondence experience were enhanced and managed using AI. This required extensive research to craft effective prompts and build a visual database for AI training. The AI workflow accelerated production by using Lovable and Bolt to quickly test and validate concepts.
Impact
It is still early to gather full feedback, as the product is in the final stages of development.
Personal takeaways
I really enjoyed working on this project. It was a true challenge to build a brand and an MVP from scratch in a short amount of time. This experience pushed me to think creatively and work efficiently under pressure. I also had the chance to explore and implement new workflows, especially by leveraging AI tools, which significantly improved the overall design process.