LIFETOON
LIFETOON
Product Design
Product Design
UX/UI
UX/UI
AI
Subscription
AI
Subscription
AI
Subscription
Figma Suite
Figma Suite
01 Brief
01 Brief
Lifetoon is an AI-powered platform that turns lessons, product features, and brand messages into engaging comic-style stories. Redesign a more intuitive, streamlines, and playful user flow that reflects Lifetoon’s comic-inspired identity. Success is reducing friction, enhancing clarity, and delivering developer-ready files to help users easily create memorable visuals.
Lifetoon is an AI-powered platform that turns lessons, product features, and brand messages into engaging comic-style stories. Redesign a more intuitive, streamlines, and playful user flow that reflects Lifetoon’s comic-inspired identity. Success is reducing friction, enhancing clarity, and delivering developer-ready files to help users easily create memorable visuals.
02 Research
02 Research
User Interview Goals
User Interview Goals
To understand user goals when creating stories
User’s likes and dislikes when using Lifetoon
User’s preference on creative control & editing
Understand users’ current use / knowledge of Lifetoon and competitors
Understand existing behaviour when storytelling
To understand user goals when creating stories
User’s likes and dislikes when using Lifetoon
User’s preference on creative control & editing
Understand users’ current use / knowledge of Lifetoon and competitors
Understand existing behaviour when storytelling
User Interview Findings
User Interview Findings
User interviews revealed essential needs, challenges, and motivations, uncovering clear opportunities to enhance the Lifetoon experience. The key insights include:
Simplicity vs Detail: Finding the right balance between simplicity and detailed information
Customisation: Offering meaningful customisation options
Cost: Addressing cost as a significant barrier for users
Audience: Tailoring content to fit different audience needs
User interviews revealed essential needs, challenges, and motivations, uncovering clear opportunities to enhance the Lifetoon experience. The key insights include:
Simplicity vs Detail: Finding the right balance between simplicity and detailed information
Customisation: Offering meaningful customisation options
Cost: Addressing cost as a significant barrier for users
Audience: Tailoring content to fit different audience needs
Competitor Analysis
Competitor Analysis
The global market for creative storytelling and character customisation platforms is diverse, with several well-established players like DeviantArt, ArtStation, Pixiv, Artmo, and Redbubble. These platforms cater to different user needs, ranging from professional artists showcasing portfolios to casual users purchasing or customising artwork. Each competitor offers unique strengths, but many fall short in providing a fully seamless and customisable experience, particularly when it comes to ease of use and flexible editing after initial creation.
The global market for creative storytelling and character customisation platforms is diverse, with several well-established players like DeviantArt, ArtStation, Pixiv, Artmo, and Redbubble. These platforms cater to different user needs, ranging from professional artists showcasing portfolios to casual users purchasing or customising artwork. Each competitor offers unique strengths, but many fall short in providing a fully seamless and customisable experience, particularly when it comes to ease of use and flexible editing after initial creation.
The analysis shows most platforms have decent ease of use and clean UI but few allow editing after initial creation. Character customisation is generally limited. While Redbubble offers strong preview features and interface, many competitors lack editing flexibility and customisation—highlighting Lifetoon’s opportunity to stand out with intuitive editing, richer customisation, and a user-friendly design.
Key gaps for Lifetoon include:
The analysis shows most platforms have decent ease of use and clean UI but few allow editing after initial creation. Character customisation is generally limited. While Redbubble offers strong preview features and interface, many competitors lack editing flexibility and customisation—highlighting Lifetoon’s opportunity to stand out with intuitive editing, richer customisation, and a user-friendly design.
Key gaps for Lifetoon include:
Preview before purchase: Many competitors don’t offer a clear, real-time preview, which can reduce buyer confidence. Need to find a way to balance this without spending money on the AI software.
Preview before purchase: Many competitors don’t offer a clear, real-time preview, which can reduce buyer confidence. Need to find a way to balance this without spending money on the AI software.
Affordability: Limited options for users with smaller budgets restrict market reach.
Affordability: Limited options for users with smaller budgets restrict market reach.
Customisation clarity: Existing platforms often lack straightforward, easy-to-understand customisation tools, making it hard for users to personalise effectively.
Customisation clarity: Existing platforms often lack straightforward, easy-to-understand customisation tools, making it hard for users to personalise effectively.
Audience Tailoring: Few competitors adapt features or content to suit diverse user needs or skill levels, missing opportunities to engage different customer segments.
Audience Tailoring: Few competitors adapt features or content to suit diverse user needs or skill levels, missing opportunities to engage different customer segments.
03 Define
03 Define
Personas
Personas
To ensure the design truly serves the users, I developed a primary persona that captures the core needs, goals, and challenges of multiple user types.
To ensure the design truly serves the users, I developed a primary persona that captures the core needs, goals, and challenges of multiple user types.
Archetype: Empathetic Communicator
Who she is:
Who she is: 34, psychology teacher balancing a heavy workload and family life, passionate about making complex concepts accessible.
Core needs:
Tools to create clear, engaging teaching materials
Affordable resources that fit her budget
Ability to personalise content for her students
What drives her:
Helping students understand difficult theory
Sharing knowledge in a meaningful, digestible way
Managing time efficiently while juggling work and family
Archetype: Empathetic Communicator
Who she is:
Who she is: 34, psychology teacher balancing a heavy workload and family life, passionate about making complex concepts accessible.
Core needs:
Tools to create clear, engaging teaching materials
Affordable resources that fit her budget
Ability to personalise content for her students
What drives her:
Helping students understand difficult theory
Sharing knowledge in a meaningful, digestible way
Managing time efficiently while juggling work and family
Experience Map
Experience Map
Building on Helen’s needs and motivations, I created an experience map that follows her journey from planning a lesson to delivering engaging content. This map highlights each step she takes, the emotions she experiences, and the challenges she faces - helping to pinpoint key moments where Lifetoon can provide real value and a smoother, more supportive experience.
Building on Helen’s needs and motivations, I created an experience map that follows her journey from planning a lesson to delivering engaging content. This map highlights each step she takes, the emotions she experiences, and the challenges she faces - helping to pinpoint key moments where Lifetoon can provide real value and a smoother, more supportive experience.
The experience map highlights Helen’s main challenges: limited budget for new tools, tight preparation time due to a heavy workload, and student disengagement. It guided us to focus on solutions that help Helen find affordable, high-quality resources, create engaging lessons efficiently, and keep students interested by making complex concepts more accessible.
The experience map highlights Helen’s main challenges: limited budget for new tools, tight preparation time due to a heavy workload, and student disengagement. It guided us to focus on solutions that help Helen find affordable, high-quality resources, create engaging lessons efficiently, and keep students interested by making complex concepts more accessible.
User Stories
User Stories
From the Experience Map, I distilled clear User Stories that capture Helen’s goals and pain points. These statements helped focus the design on what she needs to accomplish at each stage, ensuring Lifetoon’s features directly address her challenges and enhance her experience. Below are the key needs from Helen’s User Stories:
From the Experience Map, I distilled clear User Stories that capture Helen’s goals and pain points. These statements helped focus the design on what she needs to accomplish at each stage, ensuring Lifetoon’s features directly address her challenges and enhance her experience. Below are the key needs from Helen’s User Stories:
Key Needs
Key Needs
Wants to easily use AI tools to explain complex theory effectively.
Wants to create personalised visual aids that engage and connect with students.
Wants to communicate complex ideas simply and clearly to ensure understanding.
Wants to easily use AI tools to explain complex theory effectively.
Wants to create personalised visual aids that engage and connect with students.
Wants to communicate complex ideas simply and clearly to ensure understanding.
These clear user needs reveal key challenges we must address — forming the foundation for the Problem Statement.
These clear user needs reveal key challenges we must address — forming the foundation for the Problem Statement.
Problem Statement
Problem Statement
‘Empathetic Communicators’ need a way to communicate complex information and ideas that connect with their audience, because their primary goal is audience engagement and understanding.
This needs achieving with limited time and funding.
‘Empathetic Communicators’ need a way to communicate complex information and ideas that connect with their audience, because their primary goal is audience engagement and understanding.
This needs achieving with limited time and funding.
04 Ideate
04 Ideate
Ideation
Ideation
With a clear understanding of the users’ needs and motivations, I moved into ideation to explore diverse solutions. Using the Crazy 8s method, I rapidly sketched multiple ideas focused on addressing key challenges and aligning with the core goals of users like Helen. This approach helped spark creativity and prioritise features that genuinely enhance her teaching experience.
With a clear understanding of the users’ needs and motivations, I moved into ideation to explore diverse solutions. Using the Crazy 8s method, I rapidly sketched multiple ideas focused on addressing key challenges and aligning with the core goals of users like Helen. This approach helped spark creativity and prioritise features that genuinely enhance her teaching experience.
Hypothesis
Building on my research insights, we developed a clear hypothesis to guide the design:
Building on my research insights, we developed a clear hypothesis to guide the design:
Complex to Clear
Complex to Clear
Generic to Bespoke
Generic to Bespoke
Expensive to Streamlined
Expensive to Streamlined
Complex to Clear
Generic to Bespoke
Expensive to Streamlined
The goal is to simplify complex information into clear, easy-to-understand content, tailor the experience to each user rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, and replace expensive, complicated tools with streamlined, affordable solutions.
The goal is to simplify complex information into clear, easy-to-understand content, tailor the experience to each user rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, and replace expensive, complicated tools with streamlined, affordable solutions.
Storyboard
Storyboard
Before starting detailed designs, I created a storyboard to map Helen’s journey, showing her key moments and emotions. It highlights how Lifetoon meets her needs and reveals opportunities to improve her experience.
The storyboard follows Helen from her initial hesitation over a language barrier, to discovering Lifetoon’s templates and community resources, and finally to engaging her students with personalised visuals. It shows how Lifetoon helps her save time, overcome challenges, and create impactful lessons.
Before starting detailed designs, I created a storyboard to map Helen’s journey, showing her key moments and emotions. It highlights how Lifetoon meets her needs and reveals opportunities to improve her experience.
The storyboard follows Helen from her initial hesitation over a language barrier, to discovering Lifetoon’s templates and community resources, and finally to engaging her students with personalised visuals. It shows how Lifetoon helps her save time, overcome challenges, and create impactful lessons.
User Flows
User Flows
To bring these ideas to life, I designed a user flow for the storyboard creation on Lifetoon. This flow outlines each step users take, ensuring the experience is clear, intuitive, and tailored to their needs throughout.
To bring these ideas to life, I designed a user flow for the storyboard creation on Lifetoon. This flow outlines each step users take, ensuring the experience is clear, intuitive, and tailored to their needs throughout.
Future Opportunities: Expanding Lifetoon’s Potential
Future Opportunities:
Expanding Lifetoon’s Potential
During the design process, I identified a valuable opportunity to expand Lifetoon’s capabilities beyond the original brief. The new concept centres on allowing users to easily copy and customise existing storyboard templates, rather than starting from scratch each time. This feature addresses challenges like language barriers and limited time by providing ready-made, editable comic-strip templates sourced from a community database. Importantly, it also offers a more affordable option for teachers like Helen, who want to use the platform but face budget constraints. By enabling users to make smaller edits at a lower cost than creating new panels, this approach makes Lifetoon more accessible to those with limited funds. I created an additional storyboard and user flow to bring this idea to life, which I shared with the stakeholder as a potential next step. This solution not only streamlines content creation but also encourages wider adoption by making the platform more accessible and collaborative.
During the design process, I identified a valuable opportunity to expand Lifetoon’s capabilities beyond the original brief. The new concept centres on allowing users to easily copy and customise existing storyboard templates, rather than starting from scratch each time. This feature addresses challenges like language barriers and limited time by providing ready-made, editable comic-strip templates sourced from a community database. Importantly, it also offers a more affordable option for teachers like Helen, who want to use the platform but face budget constraints. By enabling users to make smaller edits at a lower cost than creating new panels, this approach makes Lifetoon more accessible to those with limited funds. I created an additional storyboard and user flow to bring this idea to life, which I shared with the stakeholder as a potential next step. This solution not only streamlines content creation but also encourages wider adoption by making the platform more accessible and collaborative.
05 Prototype
05 Prototype
Building on my research and key priorities, I began prototyping to bring the user journey to life - emphasising trust, accessibility, and simplicity. These designs demonstrate how Lifetoon creates a seamless, user-friendly experience tailored to the needs of the core users.
In my designs I prioritised:
Building on my research and key priorities, I began prototyping to bring the user journey to life - emphasising trust, accessibility, and simplicity. These designs demonstrate how Lifetoon creates a seamless, user-friendly experience tailored to the needs of the core users.
In my designs I prioritised:
Editable character creation for personalised storytelling
Editable character creation for personalised storytelling
Editable character creation for personalised storytelling
Real-time preview of layout throughout the design process
Real-time preview of layout
throughout the design process
Real-time preview of layout throughout the design process
Clear credit tracking to monitor usage and costs
Clear credit tracking to monitor
usage and costs
Clear credit tracking to monitor usage and costs
Progress tracker to guide users
step-by-step
Ability to specify target audience demographics
Transparent credit commitment
upfront to set expectations
Progress tracker to guide users step-by-step
Progress tracker to guide users step-by-step
Ability to specify target audience demographics
Ability to specify target audience demographics
Transparent credit commitment upfront to set expectations
Transparent credit commitment upfront to set expectations
Low- Fidelity Wireframes
Low- Fidelity Wireframes
With the core flow defined, I moved into low-fidelity wireframing to outline how Helen would create a storyboard using Lifetoon. These early sketches focused on structure over visuals - mapping the essential steps, testing the logic of the journey, and ensuring the process felt simple.
With the core flow defined, I moved into low-fidelity wireframing to outline how Helen would create a storyboard using Lifetoon. These early sketches focused on structure over visuals - mapping the essential steps, testing the logic of the journey, and ensuring the process felt simple.
With the core ideas sketched out, I shifted into low-fidelity digital wireframes—bringing the flow to life in a clearer, more structured format ready for testing.
With the core ideas sketched out, I shifted into low-fidelity digital wireframes—bringing the flow to life in a clearer, more structured format ready for testing.
06 Test
06 Test
The tests highlighted what wasn’t working, from clarity issues to moments of friction in the flow. This feedback informed the changes made in the next iteration. Key points included:
The tests highlighted what wasn’t working, from clarity issues to moments of friction in the flow. This feedback informed the changes made in the next iteration. Key points included:
Need an option to keep storyboard private
Need an option to keep
storyboard private
Break up flow into smaller steps
Break up flow into
smaller steps
Would be helpful to see preview build throughout
Would be helpful to see preview
build throughout
Ensure minimum word count to
avoid step being skipped
Option to go back to
previous stages
Need option to choose original
version after character edit
Ensure minimum word count to avoid step being skipped
Option to go back to previous stages
Need option to choose original version after character edit
07 Iterate
07 Iterate
With the first digital wireframes complete, I refined the flow to improve clarity, flexibility, and user control. Early insights highlighted where creators like Helen might hesitate or feel limited, so the updates focused on reducing friction and strengthening confidence.
Key improvements included:
Option to keep a storyboard private
Smaller, more manageable steps
Live preview of the storyboard as it’s built
Minimum word count to prevent skipping key inputs
Ability to move back to previous stages
Option to revert to the original character after editing
With the first digital wireframes complete, I refined the flow to improve clarity, flexibility, and user control. Early insights highlighted where creators like Helen might hesitate or feel limited, so the updates focused on reducing friction and strengthening confidence.
Key improvements included:
Option to keep a storyboard private
Smaller, more manageable steps
Live preview of the storyboard as it’s built
Minimum word count to prevent skipping key inputs
Ability to move back to previous stages
Option to revert to the original character after editing
08 Deliver
08 Deliver
This final high-fidelity prototype integrates all the research, insights, and iterations, delivering a polished, user-focused experience.
This final high-fidelity prototype integrates all the research, insights, and iterations, delivering a polished, user-focused experience.