532
Raw Data Points From Survey’s and Interview’s
SCAD
2024
Project Overview:
Writing is essential, but measuring progress is slow and subjective. Rune uses AI to give educators
real-time assessments and insights, helping every student become a confident communicator.
Team:
Max Bloom, Steven Vasil, Max Claride-Hook
Role
Lead UI Designer
Duration
10 Weeks
Year
2024
Responsibilities
Wireframing, Design Systems, Prototyping, etc.
our goal...
To create a gamified writing tool that improves handwriting for all students, while reducing hand strain and offering early support for children with dysgraphia through teacher insights.
My Role
Throughout the project, I was deeply involved in every stage, with a focus on translating insights into clear, actionable design solutions.
As the UI and Visual Design Lead, I led the creation of layouts, design systems, and final visuals ensuring that each screen was both user-friendly and visually cohesive.
The Problem
1 and 5 people worldwide could have dysgraphia and not even know it yet, most go undiagnosed in childhood, struggling for years without realizing why writing feels so much harder for them than others
How research and data guided our product decisions
Research Plan
35 Articles
32 Participants
8 Interviews
Secondary
Survey
Interview
Research
Insights
After analyzing the articles, we synthesized key insights, compelling data, and powerful quotes that shaped our initial understanding and guided our approach to the problem
5% to 20% of people have dysgraphia
Cleveland Clinic
1 and 3 (35.7%) of children struggle with writing
National Literacy Trust
Main Insight
Dysgraphia is often mistaken for carelessness in young students, underscoring the need for earlier recognition and broader support, especially since it's challenging for teachers to spot subtle struggles while managing a full classroom
Survey
To support our secondary research, we conducted a survey with 32 participants. Including educators and individuals with lived experience to gather firsthand insights into awareness, challenges, and support strategies.
At what age did you first realize or get diagnosed with dysgraphia?
Which writing challenges do/did you experience most?
Where your difficulties ever mistaken for laziness, lack of effort, or lack of intelligence?
What types of support (if any) helped you most?
If you could change one thing about how schools handle dysgraphia, what would it be?
Type your response...
Type your response...
before age 8
messy or illegible handwriting
yes
8-12
hand pain or fatigue
no
13-18
slow writing
not sure
18 and above
using to much pressure
avoiding writing altogether
other
8
58%
42%
Interviewees
have been diagnosed with dysgraphia
have worked with students diagnosed with dysgraphia
Interviews
To deepen our understanding and support our research, we interviewed 8 participants, including educators and people with dysgraphia, to hear directly about their experiences.
Problem Statement
1 and 5 people worldwide could have dysgraphia and not even know it yet, most go undiagnosed in childhood, struggling for years without realizing why writing feels so much harder for them than others
Writing difficulties in a classroom setting often go unnoticed or are misunderstood, affecting students confidence, academic performance, and engagement.
Target Audience
elementary school students
ages 7–10
elementary school educators
Personas
We used insights from our primary research to develop detailed personas and an empathy map that accurately reflect our target audience
CLASSROOM SUPPORT
XX
Nick Gloom: 11 years old
Elementary Student
Location: Alexandria, VA
Public school student with dysgraphia. Strives for academic success and social belonging.
Key Tasks
Completing in-class and homework assignments
Taking notes
Studying and taking tests
Building confidence in academics
Effective communication with teachers and peers.
Reliance on Technology
Inability to write freely
Perceived unfairness in academics
Overwhelming feeling
Expectations from others
Patience and understanding from teachers and peers
Accommodations on homework and tests.
Tasks in group work that highlight his skills.
Progress in his writing skills.
Academic Success
Love for Learning
Support from Adult Figures
Social Acceptance
Long-term Confidence
Expectations
Frustrations
Motivations
"Dysgraphia makes writing hard, but it doesn't stop me from sharing my ideas and showing how smart I really am."
Writing Pain
Memory to Motor
Need for Support
Patience Level
CLASSROOM SUPPORT
XX
Alicia Wilson: 31 years old
Executive Assistant
Location: St. Louis, MO
Diagnosed with dysgraphia later in life, uses assistive technology and strategies to excel in her career.
Key Tasks
Managing work load
Using assistive technology
Managing Adult responsibilities
Seeking emotional support
Late diagnosis
Limitations in writing intensive tasks
Organizing thoughts
Self doubt
Difficulty expressing ideas
Frustrations with technology
Understandings and expectations from employers
Acceptance from peers
Collaborative work environments
Practical and emotional support
Perfecting coping mechanisms
Succeeding in her career
Overcoming struggles
Seeking emotional fulfillment
Raise awareness and support others
Expectations
Frustrations
Motivations
Writing Pain
Memory to Motor
Need for Support
Patience Level
"Discovering my dysgraphia at 30 wasn't the end of my story—it was the beginning of learning how to thrive by embracing my strengths and finding new ways to succeed."
Journey Map
Walking through a child’s experience with a classroom writing task helped us identify key emotional moments, actions, and pain points where support is most needed.
Features
Prompt Given
Preparing to Write
Writing
Struggle/ Avoidance
Submission/Response
Actions
Listens to the teacher's instructions
Looks at the board or worksheet
May ask clarifying questions
Grips pencil tightly
Adjusts posture, paper, or hand
Stares at the blank page
Starts forming letters slowly
Uses full arm movements
Erases often, applies too much pressure
Stops writing or zones out
Hides paper or tries to copy from a peer
Asks for help or crumples up work
Turns in incomplete or messy work
Avoids eye contact
Waits for feedback or watches others finish
“I hope this isn’t a long one.”
“Everyone else is already starting.”
“I don’t know how to spell that word.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“This already feels hard.”
“I hope I can keep it neat this time.”
“Why is this taking me so long?”
“My letters are all squished.”
“I just want to be done.”
“This is too hard.”
“The teacher probably thinks I’m lazy.”
“I hate this.”
“Mine doesn’t look like everyone else’s.”
“Maybe I’ll get in trouble.”
“I hope no one sees it.”
Anxious
Hesitant
Overwhelmed (before even starting)
Tense
Self-conscious
Nervous
Frustrated
Fatigued
Embarrassed
Defeated
Embarrassed
Isolated
Insecure
Relieved it’s over
Discouraged
Thoughts
Feelings
How might we...
create an engaging writing experience that helps all young learners improve their handwriting while giving educators better tools to support those with dysgraphia?
Final Deliverables
dashboard
+
physical product
+
vision video
Proposed Concept
A gamified writing tool designed to improve handwriting for all students, while specifically supporting children with dysgraphia by reducing hand strain and providing teachers with early insights.
35 Articles
Analyzed
We conducted a thorough analysis of a diverse set of articles from both academic and practical sources.
This included peer-reviewed journals, expert commentaries, and educational resources. We evaluated each article based on its credibility, relevance to our topic, and the depth of insight it provided.
Child Mind Institute
Science
https://childmind.org/article/understanding-dysgraphia
Separately, apart from these motor issues, there is a cognitive side to dysgraphia. The cognitive challenges include struggling with spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and overall written expression. A child with dysgraphia might have a hard time translating their ideas onto paper.
Insight
National Library of Medicine
Science
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7082241
Writing is a complex task that is vital to learning and is usually acquired in the early years of life. ‘Dysgraphia’ and ‘specific learning disorder in written expression’ are terms used to describe those individuals who, despite exposure to adequate instruction, demonstrate writing ability discordant with their cognitive level and age. Dysgraphia can present with different symptoms at different ages.
Insight
New York Times
Education
https://nylag.org/the-new-york-times-struggling-teenagers-left-out-in-new-push-to-overhaul-reading
Students with dyslexia have trouble looking at the written word and blending the sounds into language. The city has rolled out universal screening to help identify these children in elementary grades, officials said. But few older students have been assessed.
Insight
Physical Therapy
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02006
Developmental dysgraphia is a disorder of writing/spelling skills, closely related to developmental dyslexia. For developmental dyslexia, profiles with a focus on phonological, attentional, visual or auditory deficits have recently been established. Unlike for developmental dyslexia, however, there are only few studies about dysgraphia, in particular about the variability of its causes. Research has demonstrated high similarity between developmental dyslexia and dysgraphia.
Insight
Child Mind Institute
Science
https://childmind.org/article/understanding-dysgraphia
Separately, apart from these motor issues, there is a cognitive side to dysgraphia. The cognitive challenges include struggling with spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and overall written expression. A child with dysgraphia might have a hard time translating their ideas onto paper.
Insight
New York Times
Education
https://childmind.org/article/understanding-dysgraphia
Separately, apart from these motor issues, there is a cognitive side to dysgraphia. The cognitive challenges include struggling with spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and overall written expression. A child with dysgraphia might have a hard time translating their ideas onto paper.
Insight
Wireframes
We carefully developed and refined detailed user scenarios to fully understand the writing journey.
These insights were translated into thoughtfully crafted wireframes that formed the foundation for our
low-fidelity frame testing and informed key design decisions.
Flows
These flows helped us map out how teachers and students would interact with our system. By visualizing these key interactions, we identified core functionality, surfaced design gaps, and laid the foundation for prototyping both the dashboard and the smart pen experience.
Start a Handwriting Session
Start
Session
Students
Complete
Task
Login to Dashboard
Select
Class/Group
Choose Handwriting Activity
Letters
Shapes
Words
Early Dysgraphia Detection
Teacher
Receives
Report
Report Offers
Suggestions
Pen Tracks Stroke Behavior
System
Compares
Results
Dashboard Highlights
Outlier
Delayed Formation
Grip Pressure
Inconsistencies
Real-Time Gamified Handwriting Game
Points for
Dashboard
Leader
Students
Complete
Task
Start a Timed Challenge
Students
Receive
Prompt
Students Write Using Physical Pens
Glows Green = Correct
Red = Retry Prompt
Visual Idenity
Primary Typography
Aa
Poppins
Medium, Semi-Bold, Bold
20pt
18pt
16pt
16pt
Poppins - Bold
Poppins - Semi-Bold
Poppins - Medium
Poppins - Bold
Heading 01
Heading 02
Body
Numbers
Brand Colors
#3563E3
#626262
#F3F8FF
#FFFFFF
Physical Product
Simultaneously we dedicated time to developing and testing our physical product, focusing on refining its design, improving functionality, and ensuring it met both user needs and quality standards.
Learn how our physical product came to be!
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User Testing
We used Maze to run multiple rounds of user testing, collecting actionable feedback on usability and design. The insights helped us identify pain points, validate decisions, and make targeted improvements to enhance the user experience.
Post Testing Iterations
Based on insights from Maze testing, we made several targeted refinements to our product. These included improving usability, adjusting design elements, and addressing user pain points to ensure a more seamless and intuitive experience.
Game Flow
The Game Flow section lets educators control the pace of each lesson with ease adjusting questions, viewing live responses, and guiding students in real time for a smooth, engaging experience.
Library
The Library is a central hub for all lessons, activities, and resources. It’s easy to browse, organize, and launch content giving educators quick access to everything they need to teach effectively.
Reports
The Reports section offers a streamlined overview of class performance, lesson outcomes, and individual progress. Designed for clarity, it helps educators make quick, data-informed decisions without the clutter.
Students
The Students section provides a clear, organized view of each student’s progress, participation, and activity. With easy access to names, performance insights, and engagement levels, educators can quickly identify who needs support and who’s thriving all in one place.
Final Screens
Integrated Features
Privacy
Insights
Quick Interactions
Gamification
AI Driven Data
Transparency
Humanizing
34/40
Class Accuracy
Capitals of the World:
Students proved their excellent knowledge of the topic with an outstanding average score
16 Players
10 Questions
15 Minutes
Privacy
We designed our system to prioritize student privacy while still accurately displaying class data. Names and details are shown only when needed, ensuring users get the right information without compromising confidentiality.
Each lesson generates clear, actionable insights to help educators track student understanding and engagement. This makes it easy to spot trends, adjust instruction, and support learners more effectively.
Insights
Play
Play
Play
George Crosses the Delaware
George Crosses the Delaware
George Crosses the Delaware
Answer questions related to the revolutionary war and george washingotns role in the founding of the United States of America
Answer questions related to the revolutionary war and george washingotns role in the founding of the United States of America
Answer questions related to the revolutionary war and george washingotns role in the founding of the United States of America
Gamification
We added gamified elements to boost student motivation and participation. Points, badges, and progress tracking make learning more fun and engaging.
A
1
2
3
We streamlined the writing process with quick prompts and intuitive tools, making it easy for students to share ideas and interact without friction.
Quick Interactions
Barack has been holding the pen with a range of grip pressure, which might be causing hand fatigue. His writing angle has improved, but he struggles with maintaining consistent speed.
Showing no signs of Fine Motor Regression
Slow Writer
Heavy Grip
Misshapen Letters
Reversed Letters
Hand Fatigue
AI Driven Data
Our AI analyzes student input in real time to deliver smart insights, track progress, and highlight learning gaps giving educators data that’s actionable, not overwhelming.
Class 1
Connected
Alex Parker
Pen 3
Taylor Morgan
Connected
Jordan Lee
Connected
Pen 2
Pen 1
We built transparency into every layer students and teachers can clearly see progress, feedback, and performance data, fostering trust and accountability.
Transparency
We added fun, personalized Memojis to make the experience more engaging and relatable bringing personality and connection into every interaction.
Humanizing
Vision Video
Take a look at how we’re making handwriting fun and accessible for everyone in our vision video!
Process Book
Want to know more ? Learn how our project came to be!
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