Soro Mi
Yoruba Language Learning Reimagined
ROLE
End-to-end designer
TOOLS
Figma (Plugins), Maze
DURATION
100 Hours
INDUSTRY
Educational Technology
THE PROBLEM:
There is a lack of accessible, user-friendly digital tools for learning Yoruba, leaving many Nigerians disconnected from their heritage and struggling to communicate with loved ones. Non-native learners also face limited resources, relying on static materials like textbooks or videos. To preserve and promote the Yoruba language, engaging and culturally relevant educational tools are essential.
THE SOLUTION:
"Soro Mi," meaning "talk to me" in Yoruba, is a mobile application designed to offer a comprehensive, interactive, and culturally immersive learning experience, tailored to learners of all skill levels.
Design Process
User Research
To gain a well-rounded understanding of user needs, I conducted user interviews with fluent Yoruba speakers to gather cultural and linguistic insights, ensuring the app's content would be authentic and contextually accurate.
User Interviews
“I think what prevents people from learning Yoruba will be one if they don't really have anybody to communicate with. [Without that] the interest will not be there to learn it”
“There are very limited opportunities for Yoruba learners and Yoruba teachers. I think there's very little attraction for any anybody teaching Yoruba or trying to lend Yoruba out there.”
User Surveys
Additionally, I sent out a user survey to 8 individuals interested in learning Yoruba and other languages to identify common challenges, motivations, and preferences in language learning.
This combination of qualitative and quantitative research provided a balanced perspective, aligning the app’s design with user expectations and cultural relevance.
Key insights:
Pronunciation Pitfalls
Learners struggle with Yoruba's similar spellings and varying pronunciations, making accurate pronunciation a key challenge.
Cultural Context is Key
Enrich learning by integrating cultural elements like etiquette and storytelling for deeper engagement.
Interactive Engagement
Enhance learning with interactive visuals, multimedia, and conversational practice featuring real-time feedback.
Structured Learning is Preferred
Ensure users progress confidently and reinforce their learning effectively.
Competitor Analysis
I identified a gap in the market for language-learning platforms that offer Yoruba alongside cultural context. While Duolingo and Rosetta Stone excel in interactive lessons and mobile accessibility, neither incorporates cultural content or Yoruba as a language option. Afrolingo provides Yoruba but lacks interactivity and accessibility, highlighting an opportunity for a more comprehensive solution.
Who are we solving for?
User Personas
Prioritization & Ideation
Research revealed that consistent encouragement is crucial for language learners. To address this, I prioritized goal setting during account creation to boost motivation and retention.
User interviews highlighted listening and pronunciation as key challenges, leading me to focus on exercises targeting these pain points.
Future iterations of Soro Mi will explore social features for community learning and gamification to enhance engagement.
Maintaining the Minimum Viable Product
During the early stages of designing Soro Mi, I explored an AI-powered conversation practice tool. The feature would simulate real-time Yoruba conversations, offering learners a controlled environment to practice listening, speaking, and pronunciation.
Why It Didn’t Work for the MVP —
While promising, I identified key challenges:
Technical Complexity: Building an AI tool that could deliver natural and accurate Yoruba conversations turned out to be too resource-heavy for the MVP.
Core Focus: Prioritizing essential features for the MVP, such as vocabulary building and interactive exercises, took precedence over advanced tools.
Key Takeaways —
Realistic Prioritization: I learned the importance of balancing ambitious ideas with practical deliverables for an MVP.
User Value: This tool has strong potential for engagement and immersion, making it ideal for a future iteration once the app’s core experience is validated.
How might we?
How might we?
How might we increase Yoruba language proficiency through a structured approach?
Sitemap & Flows
Understanding the importance of structured lessons for my users guided the overall design of the app.
I prioritized creating a Lessons page that tracks user progress, ensuring a clear and organized learning journey.
The Practice section serves as a hub for quick learning activities, focused on improving pronunciation and listening skills.
The profile section allows users to edit personal details, set goals, and track their learning achievements, fostering a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
Incorporating a language proficiency assessment helps personalize the user's starting point, addressing feedback from interviews about diverse learner needs.
Lessons are broken into smaller activities (speech, listening, and grammar) to align with user preferences for bite-sized learning.
This flow offers flexible engagement for users who may not have time for a full session but still want to practice specific skills. Users can choose specific activities like speech or listening practice, empowering them to focus on areas where they feel less confident.
Building the blueprint
Sketches
This wireframe outlines the onboarding flow, designed to introduce new users to the app and highlight its key features.
The dashboard provides quick access to lessons and progress tracking, addressing user feedback about needing clear next steps.
At this stage, I focused on designing the layout for learning Yoruba basics, such as vowel sounds.
I explored ways to incorporate audio and speech elements for better pronunciation practice, as well as visuals to provide cultural context—drawing directly from insights gathered during my user research.
I included a progress bar on each lesson screen to keep users motivated and informed about their learning journey.
Low-fidelity Wireframes
I made adjustments to spacing to improve readability and visual hierarchy.
This process taught me the importance of balancing white space with content density to maintain clarity while keeping the design engaging and user-friendly.
I incorporated larger touchpoints and clear text placement to ensure accessibility for all users.
The primary color draws inspiration from traditional Yoruba aesthetics, balancing modern appeal with a connection to heritage.
Logo ideation
App logo - meaning "talk to me" in Yoruba.
Typography selection: the boldness and simplicity of Space Grotesk compliments brand values
The design library ensures a cohesive visual language across the app, keeping users oriented. Colors were tested for contrast to meet WCAG standards, enhancing accessibility.
High-fidelity Wireframes
Validating the Experience
Methodology
I conducted unmoderated usability testing with participants interested in learning Yoruba to evaluate the app's usability and overall user experience. The key test flows included onboarding, completing a lesson, and navigating a quick practice session.
Testing Insights:
Users felt engaged with the learning experience, appreciating the interactive lessons and motivational features.
A 63% misclick rate revealed that users struggled to navigate to the quick practice screen and start exercises.
Iterating for Impact
I iterated the dashboard to include a way to directly begin a practice session in order to minimize the risk of misclicks
When a category is pressed (Family, Basic Verbs, etc) User will have the option to begin listening or pronunciation exercise
Feedback from my usability testing revealed that users are feeling connected to the different learning methods and would appreciate diverse interactive elements like typing in the correct answer
Reflections
When developing this app, I aimed to fill a gap in language learning resources for Yoruba, creating a platform that not only teaches the language but also connects learners with their cultural heritage. The app was built with a deep understanding of the challenges people face when trying to learn Yoruba, with the goal of making the process both accessible and fun.
A major design challenge was creating a dashboard that guides users smoothly through the app’s different sections. The goal was to ensure navigation feels intuitive, keeps users engaged, and doesn’t become repetitive or overwhelming. Striking the right balance between user interface design and experience strategy was crucial here.
Designing an app end-to-end for the first time has been a challenging yet rewarding experience. From user research to final prototypes, I've had to balance many roles—researcher, designer, and project manager—all while keeping the user’s needs at the forefront. Juggling these responsibilities required adaptability and constant problem-solving. The process taught me the importance of time management, prioritizing tasks, and staying focused on the bigger picture.