Idea & Concept

I started by choosing a higher goal that I want to achieve with this App — creating knowledge and empathy for all kinds of animals, domestic to exotic.

Therefore I wanted to create an app that tells interactive stories about these animals and includes comparisons between them and humans, to involve the user directly and increase their attention and interest in it.

The app should have a minimalistic and realistic design, so that the animal stays in the front.

"little explorer"

My first prototype was called „little explorer“ and the user had a little friend that helped them around in the app and would have explained the first steps. By tapping an animal on the home screen its story started with a voice over, in the back was the animals habitat and fitting background noises, to create a feeling of being there.

The app was already in a minimalistic design but way to light, so that the animals blended into the background. The stories on the home screen also had a bit confusing and chaotic arrangement.

Further Versions

In my second prototype I tried a new color palette and added a multiple choice quiz after every story, that would have unlocked new and hidden animal stories.

In the third version of „little explorer“ I was still figuring out a fitting color palette and tried multiple styles.

The story screen has been updated to include a full-screen picture of the main animal and a zoom-in effect on each special feature. The quizzes at the end got crossed out.

Additionally, the assisting raccoon was deleted to get a less childish appearance.

Finally, the fourth prototype featured a color scheme that made the animals stand out, as well as a new name: Thola. This is Zulu and means to discover. 

The App got a meerkat with binoculars as the new assisting animal to get around in the app. 

There is a new arrangement for the story library that is less cluttered and more lucid. Additionally, the stories have been redesigned to make the text easier to read.

Thola — Final Version

The fifth and final version combines all the previous versions.

Thola is an interactive storytelling gaming app for children with a minimalistic but still captivating design. As this app focuses on the animal, the coloring, arrangement, and details all contribute to the appeal.

Throughout the development of this app, I worked most frequently with the tiger, so I decided to make the tiger's eye the Thola logo.

Below is a video that provides a more complete overview of the app's structure and functionality.