Didem Tereyagoglu
SkyKids – A Safe Digital Playground for Global Children, Miami Ad school, 2012
SkyKids was born out of the need to create a safe, engaging, and educational communication tool tailored for children living in multicultural, high-density cities far from their home countries. As urbanization shrinks physical play spaces and language becomes a barrier to connection, this app bridges emotional and educational gaps.
The platform empowers children to express themselves through visual communication, moderated chats, and playful educational tools like memory games and digital painting. All interactions are supported by a friendly in-app character that moderates conversations, teaches empathy, and rewards positive behavior.
The experience is designed to reflect a child’s ideal safe space—colorful, emotionally responsive, and creatively free—while providing families with peace of mind through content moderation, time limits, and controlled access.
To design a multilingual, moderated chat app that promotes emotional intelligence, language development, and creative play for children aged 8–13, especially those navigating cross-cultural life transitions.
SkyKids focuses on:
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Reducing loneliness and language barriers among immigrant or expat children
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Creating a safe environment for self-expression
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Promoting emotional learning through gameplay and positive communication tools
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Supporting families in managing children’s digital health
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Gamified Moderation: When inappropriate words are used, a fun and surprising animation (like a rocket splash!) gently corrects the behavior. Kids are encouraged to apologize, with the help of an on-screen character.
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Emotional AI Companion: A unique character plays with kids, explains social cues, and helps build emotional intelligence by reacting in fun, friendly ways.
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Playful Learning: Children engage in brain-training memory games and drawing tools that foster cognitive development and creative thinking.
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Cultural Sensitivity: Visual communication tools help bridge language barriers. Symbols, animations, and universal icons allow children to interact beyond words.
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Parental Control: Families choose the platform for safety. Screen time is limited by default to support digital well-being.
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SkyKids is not just a chat program—it’s a digital sanctuary. A place where play, education, and emotional growth come together, empowering young minds to connect, create, and thrive safely in a complex world.
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Children living in unfamiliar cities often experience language difficulties, cultural disconnection, and loneliness.
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Online chat environments can expose kids to unsafe content and unmoderated communication.
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Traditional education and entertainment apps lack emotional feedback, interactive social learning, and creative outlets in one unified system.
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Designed a full concept prototype, including UI, character interaction systems, and game logic.
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Developed a visual communication system to support multilingual and low-literacy users.
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Created a multiplayer drawing and memory game system that supports both fun and education.
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Delivered motion designs that visualize chat reactions, warnings, and positive reinforcement—turning moderation into a learning experience.
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