“The success or failure of a product strongly depends on the user experience” By Rochelle Ogbole
I’m constantly amazed by my daughter Rochelle, and today was no exception 🤩. At just 8 years old, she’s already thinking up ideas for mobile apps, explaining them with a level of clarity that could rival a seasoned developer. But maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised—after all, she’s been coding on Scratch since she was 4! 👩💻
Recently, Rochelle came up with a brilliant concept: a kid-friendly mobile app that serves as a creativity canvas for children. Her idea? To unlock kids’ imaginations and bring their creativity to life in a fun, interactive way. We discussed what motivates her to create this app, and I was blown away by how well-thought-out her vision was 😲. It was like she had been planning this for years.
I didn’t expect the Twitter to X reaction
She wants kids to be able to share their creations on social media as a feature. The look on her face when I told her that Twitter is now called X was priceless—she was genuinely surprised. “Why would they do that? What does ‘X’ even mean?” she asked. Then she added, “Well, I’m going to stick with Twitter, Daddy.” I’ll respect her opinion on that!
Watch the trailer for yourself.
Wireframing Her Vision
To start the process, we wireframed her app on paper ✏️. Rochelle took charge, sketching out how the app would look and function. I then suggested she take the next step and design it using Figma 🖥️. I wanted her to get feedback from her friends and their parents, curious to see if they would pay for such an app 💡.
I created a Figma account for her, and then I headed off to the gym 🏋️♂️, giving her the space to experiment on her own. What happened next truly floored me 🤯. After just 1.5 hours, I returned to find that Rochelle had completely designed the app on Figma, and it looked fantastic! What’s incredible is that I didn’t even teach her how to use Figma—she explored the tool on her own, figured out all the controls, and took to it like a duck to water 🦆💦.
Polishing the Design
Once Rochelle finished her designs, I offered some guidance on refining them 💬. I introduced her to advanced concepts like components, instances, and prototyping (linking screens) without ever touching the mouse or keyboard. That’s one of my principles when teaching your kids to to code or work with computers, never take over the controls. I firmly believe that learning by doing is the best way for skills to stick 👌.
And I must say, Rochelle did an amazing job 👏. The app is designed with a user-friendly interface, perfect for kids. It’s colorful, intuitive, and fun—just what a creativity canvas for children should be 🖌️✨.
…without ever touching the mouse or keyboard. That’s one of my principles when teaching your kids to to code or work with computers, never take over the controls..
Sharing the Experience
One thing I emphasize a lot with my kids is the importance of communication. It doesn’t matter how brilliant your idea is if you can’t present it well. Whether it’s app design, coding, or any other project, being able to clearly articulate your ideas is key to success. So, after every project, we always make time for a formal presentation. Presentation skills are as crucial as the technical ones. Rochelle not only designed this app but also put together a full pitch—explaining her thought process, the user experience, and why kids would love it 🗣️. She’s learning that creativity and communication go hand in hand, and I couldn’t be prouder of how she’s developing these skills 🤗.
We even made a trailer to showcase her work! 🎥 I used iMovie to edit the video (though if anyone knows of a better or easier software for video editing, I’m all ears). Watch the full video.
This experience has truly been an eye-opener. The future is indeed bright 🌟, especially with kids like Rochelle who are so creative and capable at such a young age 💫. Watching her dive into the world of app design with such enthusiasm and skill has made me incredibly proud 💖. Who knows, maybe this app will be the next big thing for kids!
Stay tuned for more updates on Rochelle’s journey. I can’t wait to see where her creativity takes her next! 🚀
