Overview
A gamified learning experience created for Sinqia to boost engagement, motivation, and completion rates in corporate training.
Through intuitive UX flows and playful UI elements, this project transformed internal learning into an interactive, reward-driven journey.
My role spanned research, user experience, gamification strategy, and final interface design.
Role
Junior Product Designer
Duration
February - December of 2023
Team
Employee Experience
Tools
Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva
Objectives
Increase onboarding task completion and activation rate.
Improve short-term retention via rewards and progress mechanics.
Create reusable components for future features.
Key Results
Engagemente and Completion
Increased onboarding completion rates from 38% to 72% in the first 3 months after launch.
Knowledge Retention
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Improvement in recall of company values and benefits.
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Some employees reported feeling more connected to Sinqia's culture.
HR Efficiency
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Fewer repetitive questions about benefits and career plans during the first month.
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Onboarding sessions shortened by 25%, freeing staff for other priorities.
Employee Satisfaction
Comments highlighted the experience as "fun and very different from other jobs' onboardings."
Insights
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Gamification works when directly connected to learning goals, not just aesthetics.
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Personalization, like avatars and ranking, is a strong motivation.
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Pixel art provided a balance of low production cost + high engagement.
Design Process
01
Personas and user stories
02
Qualitative UX Research
03
User flow
04
Style guide and components
05
Final UI and handoff
06
Feedback and takeaways
Personas
#1 The Fresher Learner
Name: Ana Luiza Ribeiro
Age: 19
Role: Newly hired intern (Technology)
Experience Level: Beginner / first corporate job
Tech Familiarity: High (mobile-first user, learns fast)
Motivation: Wants to prove herself, grow quickly, and feel part of the company culture
Goals
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Understand her responsibilities and learn core tools fast
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Complete training modules without feeling overwhelmed
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Track her progress and stay motivated
Pain Points
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Too much information at once, causing cognitive overload
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Long or boring training content
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Difficulty staying motivated without structure or milestones
Behavior and Learning Style
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Prefers micro-learning and interactive content
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Checks progress often (likes dashboards and visual indicators)
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Motivated by rewards and friendly competition
Why Gamification helps this persona
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Points and badges give her instant feedback and motivation
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Levels and progress bars reduce anxiety by showing what’s next
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Challenges and missions help break content into smaller steps
#2 The Experienced Analyst
Name: Eduardo Martins
Age: 37
Role: Senior Operations Analyst
Experience Level: 9+ years
Tech Familiarity: Medium (comfortable but not highly tech-driven)
Motivation: Wants smoother training, time efficiency, and clear visibility of his performance
Goals
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Complete mandatory training quickly and without friction
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Access learning materials in an organized, easy-to-navigate system
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Track his progress and know exactly what’s pending
Pain Points
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Training platforms that feel cluttered or time-consuming
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Long modules with no clear reward or milestone
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Difficulty keeping track of what was completed
Behavior and Learning Style
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Prefers practical, straightforward content
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Uses desktop more than mobile for training
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Motivated by completion, progress tracking, and time-saving tools
Why Gamification helps this persona
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Progress bars and checkpoints make training feel shorter and more structured
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Points and badges create small boosts of motivation to keep going
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Challenges and levels help break down longer modules into manageable steps
User Research
Methods
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6 semi-structured interviews with new hires, interns, and mid-level employees
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Content analysis of existing learning materials
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Short usability walkthroughs of the previous training platform
Objectives
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Identify barriers to completing training modules
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Understand how employees prefer to learn
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Explore opportunities for increasing motivation and retention
Insights
#1 New employees preferred interactive learning over long PDFs.
“I can’t absorb anything when it’s just PDF after PDF. I wish it was more interactive.”
#2 Playful metaphors resonated strongly (games, space, exploration).
#3 Gamification was perceived as highly motivating
Gamification could solve a core problem: training didn’t feel meaningful before.
With points, levels, badges, and missions, users could feel rewarded, guided, and encouraged to continue.
“If I could see my progress visually, it would motivate me way more.”
Conclusion
The insights made it clear that the previous learning experience was too passive and text-heavy, especially for younger employees.
A gamified solution aligned perfectly with their expectations, learning habits, and motivational triggers, supporting both business goals (higher completion and participation) and user needs (clarity, motivation, and interactivity).
User Stories
"As a new employee, I want short tasks that teach me key features, so I can start working faster."
"As a player, I want to track my progress and earn rewards, so I feel motivated to continue."
"As a manager, I want employees to complete onboarding tasks, so turnover decreases and activation increases."
User Flow
Style Guide and Components
Colors
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Primary:
#FA4616, #FFB059, #742153
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Neutrals:
#343434, #000000
Typography
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Title:
Dogica Bold Uppercase
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Subtitle:
Dogica Bold Titlecase
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Body:
Dogica Regular Titlecase
Buttons
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Primary:
Width: 436px, height: 58px. Color orange with white text (16pt).
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Primary (Hover):
Width: 436px, height: 58px. Color yellow with black text (16pt).
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Neutral:
Width: 436px, height: 58px. Black with white text (16pt) and 1px white border.
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Neutral (Hover):
Width: 436px, height: 58px. Dark gray with white text (16pt) and 1px white border.
Input
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Default:
Label: white text 27pt. Value box: w: 421, h: 60, 1px white border.
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Error:
Label: white text 27pt. Value box: w: 421, h: 60, 1px orange border, information icon (24 x 24 px).
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Checkbox:
White rectangle (w: 15px, h: 15px, border: 1px) and white text (20pt)
Forms
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#1 Field: Email
Label: white text 27pt. Value box: w: 421, h: 60, 1px white border. Mandatory.
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#2 Field: Password
Label: white text 27pt. Value box: w: 421, h: 60, 1px white border. Mandatory.
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Forget Password:
White link (14pt).
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Sign In Button:
Width: 436px, height: 58px. Color orange with white text (18pt).
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Stay Signed In:
Rectangle Checkbox (15 x 15 px) and white text (16pt).
Final UI
1. Home / Start Screen
Users see their current mission, progress bar, and next steps.
The goal is to give a quick overview of where they are in their onboarding journey.
2. Login
Simple, distraction-free login that keeps the focus on entering the platform smoothly.
3. Create Avatar
New employees customize their avatar with colors, hairstyles, and outfits, building early engagement and personal connection with the gamified experience.
5. Avatar Created
A quick success screen confirming the avatar is ready and linking directly to the onboarding journey.
6. Welcome to the Game
Introduces the narrative (space exploration) and sets the mood for the gamified onboarding experience.
7. Planets/Levels
Users see the galaxy map with only their current planet highlighted. This directs focus and avoids cognitive overload.
Current Level
All Levels Unlocked (Final State)
The user will only see this screen once they finished all the 9 challenges.
8. Welcome to the Level/Planet
A brief intro to the specific challenge, explaining the mission in simple, actionable terms.
9. Planet/Level Challenge
Where users complete quizzes, tasks, or scenario-based challenges using playful, interactive elements.
10. Goodbye Screen
A final message that thanks the user, celebrates completion, and reinforces the brand’s friendly onboarding tone.
11. Ranking Screen
Displays rankings among new employees, adding a healthy competitive aspect and encouraging engagement.
Final Delivery and Handoff
Delivered:
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Figma component library.
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Interactive prototype link with annotated flows.
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Handoff doc with behavior specs (animations, timeouts, event names).
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CSV of recommended telemetry events to track.
Feedback
HR Manager:
“The mission-based onboarding made activation visible and measurable.”
User/player:
“I finished the whole onboarding in one sitting. It felt rewarding.”
Takeaways
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Gamification works when tied to meaningful user value and clear rewards.
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Reusable components speed up production and ensure consistency.
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Early analytics planning is essential to validate impact.
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Cross-functional alignment is key to shipping measurable features.
