How poppy Became an Internet Superhero E-book

UX, Illustration & Interactivity Combined to Teach Online Safety — With Tailored Experiences for Students and Educators Across Devices

Role: UX/UI Designer · User Researcher · Learning Experience Designer · Visual Design Illustrator & Project Owner

Audience: Primary school students & educators.

User Testing: 30–40 students & 5 educators

Research Methods: Activity-based testing · Observation · Moderated Sessions

Duration: 3 months

Platform: Web + Tablet

Tools: Figma · FigJam · Procreate · Adobe Photoshop

Stakeholders: Educators & Senior Members of the eSmart Team

Overview

How Poppy Became an Internet Superhero is an interactive educational experience designed for the Alannah & Madeline Foundation to help primary school students develop safer online behaviours through storytelling, gamified learning, and accessible digital design.

Students’ tablet version

Key Contributions

  • Conducted moderated user testing with students and educators

  • Designed activity-based research methods for younger learners

  • Created interactive eBook experiences

  • Designed illustrations and visual storytelling systems

  • Simplified complex online safety concepts into child-friendly learning content

  • Iterated designs based on behavioural observations and educator feedback

  • Designed accessible and engaging digital learning experiences

The Challenge

Online safety education can easily become overly instructional or fear-driven for younger audiences.

The challenge was to design an engaging learning experience that could:

  • simplify complex online safety concepts,

  • keep younger students engaged while introducing difficult online safety topics

  • support real classroom environments,

  • and encourage safer online habits without relying on fear-based messaging.

The experience also needed to balance educational outcomes with an approachable and visually engaging interface suitable for primary school students.

User Research & Testing

I conducted moderated testing sessions with:

  • 30–40 primary school students

  • 5 educators

Because the students were very young, traditional UX interviews were less effective. Instead, I designed activity-based testing sessions where insights were gathered through:

  • observation,

  • interactive activities,

  • behavioural responses,

  • and casual conversations during engagement.

This helped identify:

  • which storytelling approaches resonated most strongly,

  • where students became disengaged or confused,

  • and how effectively the experience could hold students’ attention in real classroom environments.

Educator feedback focused on:

  • classroom suitability,

  • educational clarity,

  • accessibility,

  • and overall engagement within teaching environments.

Insights from testing directly informed:

  • interaction refinements,

  • content simplification,

  • and visual communication decisions throughout the experience.

Students’ tablet version content example display (real world illustration style): simpler language & more interactive actions for kids to finger long-press

Design Approach

  • Story-led Learning

    Used character-driven storytelling to make online safety concepts easier for children to understand.

  • Gamified Interaction

    Designed interactive activities to encourage participation and keep younger students engaged while introducing difficult online safety topics

  • Accessible Communication

    Prioritised simple navigation, age-appropriate language, and clear visual hierarchy.

Outcome

The project became part of a broader digital safety education initiative supporting Australian students and educators.

The experience received positive feedback for its:

  • engaging visual storytelling,

  • child-friendly and emotionally supportive learning experience

  • and the ability to translate complex online safety topics into child-friendly learning experiences.

This project strengthened my experience in:

  • educational UX,

  • behaviour-focused design,

  • participatory research,

  • and accessible digital learning experiences.

Real-World Reflection

This project highlighted how designing educational experiences for younger audiences often requires adaptive research methods, observation-based facilitation, and emotional engagement rather than relying solely on traditional usability testing approaches.

Educators’ laptop version content example display (digital world illustration style): could see the interactive animations when hovering the hand tool

Educators’ laptop version