Tongo

English Learning App

Tongo is an English learning app built for daily language practice and long-term engagement — in a market where most users quit within a week. I joined at an early stage and led the product from concept to growth, designing every core learning flow, gamification system, and monetisation surface from scratch while leading a team of designers.

Role

Product Design Lead

Year

2020–2021

Users

3M+

Platforms

iOS, Android, Web

Industry

Edtech

The core challenge was turning language learning into a habit users actually wanted to keep. The app had to build genuine habits through short, rewarding sessions while making vocabulary progress feel visible. With millions of users, small friction points in the UX translated into significant churn.

From the beginning, we made a deliberate choice: learning should feel fun, interactive, and genuinely engaging — not like homework. I named the product, created Tongo — an English-speaking corgi mascot who became the product's guide and tone of voice — and developed Tongo World, a cast of characters from different countries and professions that made every lesson feel like a real conversation. I led a small design team — two product designers and a motion designer — defined the UX strategy, and worked closely with product and development to build a scalable experience. Designed the full learning architecture from zero: vocabulary modules, story-based reading flows, dialogue-based exercises, and a progression system that gave users a sense of momentum every session. Shipped a redesigned gamification layer with streaks and rewards, and shaped the subscription paywall and overall monetisation strategy.

3M+ users · iOS, Android & Web · Led a team of 2 designers

Learning experience & core mechanics

Together, these systems created a learning environment where every session offered something different — keeping users engaged.

Structured courses

Step-by-step learning paths that combine vocabulary, grammar, and practical usage.

Dialogue-based learning

Chat-style interactive dialogues with Tongo and the world's characters, simulating real conversations users would actually have.

Flashcards & vocabulary

A flexible vocabulary system — flashcards, personal dictionary, and a daily "word of the day" — designed to build habits around small, repeatable actions.

Reading & comprehension

A library of free books with instant in-line translation and audio pronunciation.

Gamified exercises

Word matching, phrase assembly, and multiple choice — mechanics designed to make repetition feel like play.

Product concept, naming & Tongo World

I named the product Tongo — a playful remix of "Tongue," reflecting the idea of language as a living, everyday skill rather than something you study and forget.

To make learning emotionally memorable, I created the central character: Tongo, an English-speaking corgi who became the product's guide, mascot, and tone of voice all in one.

But one character wasn't enough. I developed the concept of Tongo World — a diverse cast of characters, each from a different country and profession, that Tongo interacts with across lessons.

This grounded every exercise in a real-life scenario and a real conversation — making practice feel like meeting people, not drilling grammar.

The world-building wasn't decorative. It was the engine that made the content system scalable, culturally inclusive, and genuinely fun.

Design system & visual ecosystem

Together with the design team, I built and evolved a multi-platform design system that kept the experience consistent and cohesive across iOS, Android, and Web.

Core design system

A unified component library used across mobile and web, with adaptive themes to support different usage contexts and improve visual comfort.

Tongo World character library

A structured library of characters and visual assets that powered storytelling, lessons, and gamified interactions throughout the product.

Reading & content visuals

A dedicated library of illustrations and book covers that gave the reading experience its own distinct visual identity.