MIT LaunchX is a top high-school entrepreneurship summer program, bringing together a highly-curated group of promising young entrepreneurs from around the globe to take a startup from idea to impact.

During MIT LaunchX, I collaborated in a team of three to create and pitch our startup before an entrepreneurial panel of judges. Conducting market research in Boston and working together with experienced investors/startup coaches, we created EMORO: a mobile app designed for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in order to facilitate improvement in recognition and response to non-verbal communication cues. As the designer of the team, I was in charge of creating the brand identity of the company and the UI/UX design of the mobile app, at times facing the challenge of creating final designs under intense time constraints.

EMORO is an edutainment app for children ages 4-8 who are on the autism spectrum for non-verbal difficulties. This app uses simple, compelling stories that combine contextual information with images of facial expressions to help children improve emotion differentiation.

^LOGO

EMORO’s identity is embodied by the logo, a combination of a puzzle piece (the symbol for the ASD community) and a puppy (a child’s best friend). Our objective was to create a logo that a child would feel comfortable with and that a parent would trust, sending an overall message of approachability and trustworthiness to both children and parents.

^{CHARACTER DESIGN}

Belle the Bunny was one of the first characters showcased in EMORO’s stories. These narratives combine contextual information with images of facial expressions to help children improve emotion differentiation.

#ADOBE-ILLUSTRATOR
#USER-INTERFACE
#USER-EXPERIENCE
#MOBILE-APP

^{UI/UX DESIGN}

To interact with the mobile app, click begin to select a character and episode. You will hear narration accompanied by text. Once a scene finishes, a multiple choice question will appear asking you to indicate the character’s emotion based on context, facial expression, and key words. EMORO includes a hint feature which focuses your attention to specific parts of the character’s face in order to encourage holistic observation. At the end of a scenario, you will receive feedback on which emotions need more practice. As you progress through the narratives, you will advance through difficulty levels where instead of observing storybook characters, you will observe images of human faces and encounter more complex emotions.