The challenge was to create educational games that were not only educationally effective but also engaging and intuitive for children. We needed to design interfaces and experiences that were suitable for K-5 kids, each with different learning styles and tech literacy levels. Balancing educational content with fun and challenging gameplay mechanics was key to achieving both engagement and learning outcomes.

To ensure the success of each project, we conducted a combination of user research, paper playtesting, prototyping, and user testing. These tests allowed us to calibrate the game mechanics and find that perfect balance of fun while making sure we were achieving our learning objectives.

As the Art Lead I worked closely with the illustration team to define the visual style of the game projects. This involved creating mood boards, concept art, mockups, and eventually final assets.

Working with the Game Designers I mapped out user journeys, wireframes, and built interactive prototypes. We iterated on designs based on feedback from educators and playtest sessions with students.

The UI design had to be kid-friendly and intuitive, with colorful, animated elements that could easily scale across different devices and run efficiently on low-end devices.

As a Technical Artist, I worked closely with engineers to integrate and optimize assets into the game engine, ensuring that animations, transitions, and interactive elements ran smoothly and efficiently.

Filament’s publishing partners include companies like McGraw-Hill and Macmillan. With those partners our curriculum enhancing games have reached millions of students around the country. And with LMS integration our games have empowered teachers with data-driven insights and assessments on a student-by-student basis.

iCivics, another Filament Games partner, is a nonpartisan organization founded in 2009 by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. iCivics uses gameplay based learning to advance civic education so young people have the confidence to shape the world around them. Our projects with iCivics are used by 145,000 active teachers across all 50 states, reaching over 9 million students with over 150 million meaningful gameplays.

Cool Choices, a game-based platform for promoting sustainability in the workplace resulted in a 3.1% reduction in energy usage than the same period a year prior, compared to 3.5% more electricity usage than the same timeframe in workplaces not using the platform. Overall, players that have participated in the Cool Choices card game have saved more than $730,000 annually and avoided more than 7.5 million pounds of annual CO2 emissions.

• User-Centered Design: Focusing on the needs and behaviors of the user (children in this case) was central to the success of each game project.
• Collaboration is Key: Working closely with different teams (artists, developers, educators) ensured that the games met both educational and user experience standards.
• Iterative Design Process: Constant user testing and iteration helped refine the product to best meet the needs of the children and educational goals of our clients.