LEAD UX/UI DESIGNER
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PLAY THE GAME, LEARN THE LINGO.
A gamified Duolingo extension designed to encourage language learners to practice diverse skills and build balanced fluency.
getting started
Learning languages differently...
Duolingo Bingo motivates language learners to practice diverse skills through daily challenges. The extension presents learners with bingo cards filled with tasks across reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
By getting a bingo, users develop balanced fluency while making varied practice feel rewarding, achievable, and help them move up to new levels.
User Needs
A new language learner wants an engaging and interactive way to practice vocabulary, sentence-building, and speaking in order to become fluent in a language.
Solution
A Quick Preview
The bingo grid encourages variety across reading, writing, listening, speaking.
problem
How might we encourage language learners to practice diverse skills rather than repeating comfortable exercises?
Many language learning apps rely on repetitive lesson structures that encourage users to stick with familiar, comfortable exercises. Limiting exposure to diverse skill types like reading, writing, listening, and speaking - which are essential for building well-rounded fluency.
Research
Why Bingo?
According to Real Life Language, playing bingo creates an "instant total physical response (TPR)," because it requires learners to physical respond to the target language. This reinforces comprehension and retention since users hear or see the language, then select matching words or visuals on their card. For Duolingo Bingo, this means learners actively engage with diverse practice types rather than passively clicking through repetitive lessons, making skill variety feel natural and rewarding.
Competitive Analysis
To better understand what drives engagement and what opportunities could exist for innovation, I analyzed the three leading learning language platforms that use gamification; Duolingo, Memrise, and Busuu.
All three platforms excel at building daily habits and driving engagement through competition or progress tracking. However, none specifically reward diverse practice across different learning practices.
User Journey Flow
A finalized organized Design System for DuolingoBingo showcasing four screens of a hi-fi prototype.
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Characters to maintain Duolingo's friendly & inviting tone.
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Layout & Typography strictly from Duolingo's branding,
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Button styles created to follow the same bubbly texture. Different button style types that span from being highlighted to unpressed/unfinished.
Branding
The Design Decisions
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A messy moodboard collection from looking at Duolingo's app.
Content strategy
Voice & Tone
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Encouraging, not pushy: Celebrate progress without pressure ("Nice! 8 more to go" vs "Complete your card")
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Action-oriented: Use active verbs that feel playful ("You've got this!" vs nothing)
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Clear, no jargon: Simple language for all proficiency levels
UI Design
Lo-Fi Prototype
Med-Fi Wireframes
