I've been a loyal user of Duolingo since I was 14. When I first made my account in middle school 8 years ago, I was so excited for a fun way to do what I always do anyway: learning languages in bitesize pieces wherever my schedule allows it.
Through my learning, Duo has been one of my biggest supporters. Since first meeting in 2014, Duo and I have grown together in a way, and changed a lot. For one, our hair and feathers are very different – and we are both much cuter now.
But, through time, two very important things have stayed the same: my love for learning languages, and my love for Duo! 💚
Naturally, as a designer now, I'm obsessed with Duolingo design – it's genuinely one of my greatest inspirations. Not only does it create a positive learning environment for its users, but it does so in a playful, accessible, and beautiful way.
Being the curious person I am, I researched the design system that the Duolingo team created, and decided to make my own illustration following it.
But, what to make?
As the dedicated Duo fangirl that I am, I decided to make self-insert fan art. So, here is my fan art process, from skeleton to animated GIF!
Following Duolingo Design guidelines outlined here, I stuck to simple shapes that captured my most standout physical features. Mainly, these are my way-too-long black hair, my curtain bangs, my looong legs, and my constant turtleneck-wearing.
Alongside me, of course, is a lovely illustration of Duo, found here.
Inspired by Lily's monochromatic look, I gave myself an all-turquoise outfit – my favourite colour! This also allowed me to keep the colour palette simple, while still having it stand out.
I also used a soft black for my fair, so it's clearly black but fits with the soft Duolingo colour palette.
I loved the illustration alone! But, with all the adorable transition screen animations I see on Duolingo, I had to try making one myself. To do this, I created a duplicate frame with a few changes in their expressions as the second state of the animation.
Then, using Figma's godsend feature Smart Animate, I joined my two frames together to create this looping GIF of me and Duo!
From this process, I learned a lot more about Duolingo's design system, and how integral design systems are to creating strong brand design. This has inspired my own work in creating design systems, and has given me ideas on documenting, justifying, and presenting them.
Working on this illustration was also a lot of fun – I immediately made it my new Duolingo avatar! I'll definitely be making more of these in the future. I'm excited to experiment with more dynamic poses and expressions to show off my personality like the rest of the characters.
As a designer, I love to learn and experiment with new methods and types of design. I'm a learner, and am not afraid to ask difficult questions, investigate, make mistakes, and push forward – and I don't shy away from challenges. I believe in fostering a positive learning environment for myself and others, and making learning fun. I'm also a strong advocate for accessible design – I am passionate about accessibility, and dedicate a lot of time and care into learning and applying accessible design principles wherever I can.
At Duolingo, I can see my values being reflected in all the work that is done, which is very important to me both as a user and designer. Having seen Duolingo evolve through the years, I'm invested in this product, and can't wait to see what comes next.
