Crumbz
Crumbz is an interactive memory log that helps language learners in multilingual relationships to effortlessly capture, review, and learn their partners’ native language from their conversations and cultural experiences.
Team: Annie Song
Alex Chen
Peter Lin
Joanne Chang
Time: April - July, 2024
Duration: 4 months
My Role: Ux designer
Tool: Figma
I contributed to
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Collaboration Facilitation
Played a unique role in bridging the research and design teams, effectively facilitating communication throughout prototype development and user testing feedback.
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User Research & Synthesis
Managed participant recruitment, conducted dyadic user interviews, and synthesized key findings.
Problem Space
People learn languages for many reasons—work, travel, or living abroad—but the most compelling is connecting with people and culture, whether by re-learning a heritage language or exploring one that fascinates them.
Design Process
While exploring the problem space, my team reflected on shared language-learning experiences, including its challenges and joys. This reflection led us to question deeper dynamics within language learning, particularly in personal contexts. We wondered how multilingual romantic relationships influence language learning and the role of native speakers in this dynamic.
1 | Research
1-1 Market Research
I conducted market research and found that the language learning market was valued at $61.5 billion in 2023, with a projected annual growth rate of over 20% through 2032, driven by globalization.
Duolingo, the dominant platform with 60% of app usage, engages users with quirky sentences like 'The bear drinks beer.' While entertaining, such content has been criticized for its limited practical value, highlighting opportunities for more impactful solutions.
1-2 Generative Research
-Semi-structured dyadic interviews
We conducted 90-minute semi-structured interviews with both the participant and their partner to learn more about how multilingual romantic relationships affect language learning experiences. We focused on factors related to the romantic relationship that contribute to language learning experiences and outcomes.
👀 Check the Research plan here!
-Findings
Our research found that couples in multilingual relationships often learn each other’s languages as a way to connect and deepen their bond. Rather than focusing on language mastery, these couples prioritize building a stronger connection and understanding each other’s cultures.
① The close relationship between partners and learners places them in a favorable position to create natural and meaningful language learning opportunities.
② The partners complement the learners’ primary learning material by providing social, cultural, and situational contexts for language usage.
③ Partners face challenges in balancing effective communication with the quality of the learning experience, which can disrupt the natural flow of conversations and make them less engaging.
④ Learners learn the language to make their partners' families more accepting and to build a deeper connection with them through learning about their culture.
👀 Check the Research report here!
1-3 Design Challenge
From our research, we aim to use language learning as a medium to deepen couples' relationships. This led us to key challenges and opportunities to shape the design phase.
Challenges
Current language learning tools emphasize vocabulary, grammar, and generic usage, but they fail to align with the specific needs of users.
Opportunities
Partners are uniquely positioned to create organic and immersive learning opportunities for one another.
This led us to the following Design Challenge
How might we facilitate language learning for individuals learning their partner’s native language, so that couples feel more connected through the learning experience?
2 | Ideation
2-1 Diverse Ideation
Each team member generated 20 ideas to capture a wide range of concepts. Standout ideas included an interactive textbook, a shared memory journal, and an encoded love letter, exploring diverse formats, content, and interactions.
2-2 Aligning Design Principles
In the next ideation phase, we faced challenges as our design principles proved difficult to achieve. Our goal was to create a solution that seamlessly integrated into the learning process, adding joy and meaning to daily life and memorable moments while fostering deep emotional and cultural connections between learners, their partners, and their loved ones.
2-3 Final Idea
After many discussions, I shared a personal story from when I first came to the U.S. I’d often come across words I didn’t fully understand, and I’d feel this urge to figure them out. But it was hard to keep asking about every word or interrupting the conversation. “Instead of just enjoying the moment, I’d get stuck thinking about the words I didn’t know.”
Therefore, I suggested, "What if we could preserve the moment but delay our intervention until after the conversation?" This approach would give users the autonomy to choose when to revisit the content in a safe space, allowing them to fully enjoy the present moment when immersed in the target language.
2-4 Storyboards
Storyboards played a pivotal role in our design process, helping us envision how users might engage with our service across different scenarios. We developed three versions of storyboards, each serving a distinct purpose:
Version 1: Internal Alignment (check here)
Created to align our team internally, this version provided a holistic view of Crumbz's touchpoints and usage scenarios.Version 2: Concept Testing (see below↓)
This version was used to communicate the envisioned user experience during concept testing and helped gather user feedback.Version 3: Video (check here)
This version, built to integrate iterative functionalities and user testing feedback, incorporated the updated interface design into real-world scenarios, ensuring a seamless user flow.
3 | Concept Testing
3-1 Methodology
1-hour Concept Evaluation testing over Zoom
4 participants + 1 pilot testing
Individuals currently in a multilingual, romantic relationship who are currently learning or have previously learned their partner’s language
Research Goals
Examine Crumbz concepts
Identify top barriers and pain points
Study Overview
Part 1: Design Feedback on specific features
Part 2: Feedback on value proposition
👀 Check the Research plan here!
3-2 Prototype feedback
What worked
■ Personalized content from real-life examples
“The premise is very simple, but in my opinion, very effective and very based on how I learn in real life…And it's like almost creating a personalized lesson for myself” -P4
“I like the idea of using real-life examples” -P2
■ System-generated naming & categorizations
“I like the auto-generated categories because anything that lowers the effort makes me feel like I would use it more” -P3
“Categorizations is good because that's probably better than me naming them” -P1
What didn’t work
■ Lack of user agency to edit and customize content
“Having some editing abilities can be really nice...It could also just be a little nuances of the family like ‘we always say this particular phrase’ ‘this is kind of like an inside joke’” -P2
“Feel like you should also be able to tell the app which cards you already know, so they don't keep on coming up” -P3
■ Disconnection between two main features
“One thing I would expect is a place where I can see all the cards from all conversations. So I could go to a place where I just want to see nothing but cards, a collection from all the conversations that I've had and recorded” -P4
4 | Final Design
Crumbz leverages everyday interactions between couples and their families or friends to transform delightful moments into personalized language learning experiences. Our service facilitates:
Capture Moments
Participants in the conversation can opt out of the recording at any time—before, during, or after it takes place. Powered by Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Voice Separation technology.
Privacy protection
Crumbz automatically detects when the target language is in use. With a simple tap of their fingers, users can start recording or create a timestamp.
Organic capture of meaningful moments
Most participants initially had privacy concerns about Crumbz, but after ensuring that people are prompted during recordings, they felt reassured that these issues were effectively addressed.
" I think my biggest concern with something like this, on a more general note, is ensuring that people are prompted whenever a recording is happening." -P2
Access to Conversation
Learning from real-life conversations in full text
Users can revisit and analyze conversations in detail, leveraging real-life language usage, context, and expressions for more practical and meaningful learning.
Quick access to timestamps for decoding context
Providing users with easy navigation to specific points in recording and transcript. This helps them better understand the content by allowing them to revisit exact moments quickly, making it easier to clarify meaning.
" I would if there's some way with Option A to combine, you know, to be able to show more highlights as well as show a decent amount of preview conversation. For me, that would be like perfect." -P4
Personalized content management
Empowering users with the autonomy to highlight, comment, translate, and add content to their personal card collection as needed.
" Can I name a good topic myself? " -P1
" It (system) might not have like a generational like, phrase. I was like, oh, only really grandparents say this and it doesn't really get captured. " -P2
Learning Cards
Deeper understanding beyond language learning
Learn language concepts with curated learning cards crafted from captured memories, enriched with cultural insights and practical use cases.
" Because it draws data from my recorded conversation, I want to know where and when it was used in the conversation. " -P1
Participants appreciated the flexible learning experience provided by the learning cards but found it difficult to navigate between the full conversation text, timestamps, and learning cards.
Rather than accessing learning cards from the conversation's main info page, users can navigate them through segmented controls in the conversation view and access the original audio for full context.
" I would use this a lot more because sometimes I don’t know the origin of the idioms or phrases I’m using. It’d be cool if, through our conversation, it captured concepts and then provided the backstory. " -P3
User Testimonials
“If Crumbz becomes a reality, I'd rank it highly because it offers a neutral and flexible learning approach. Unlike Duolingo, it doesn’t force me to learn through gamified methods or structured lessons, making it more relevant to my needs.” -P1
“Having dinner with my in-laws motivates me to improve communication with them, and I want lessons specifically tailored to this. This product effectively addresses that need with a teaching method similar to how my wife teaches me Spanish.” -P4
Reflections
Failing Fast and Adapting Quickly
During the research and ideation phase of Crumbz, I learned how important it is to embrace quick failures and adapt. We started with a solid research plan, but as we progressed, we realized the need to pivot to stay on schedule.
I also valued the freedom to share early, unpolished ideas, which often sparked valuable discussions and inspired creative thinking within the team. By creating a safe space for experimentation and rapid iteration, we were able to refine our ideas and develop a stronger solution for Crumbz.
