My CLOUDY Emotions

My CLOUDY

MY CLOUDY EMOTIONS

Empowering children to self-regulate emotions through autonomous, zero-text UI.

PROBLEM

Young children (ages 4–10) often experience intense emotions but lack the verbal vocabulary to articulate them, a communication gap that leads to significant frustration and behavioral outbursts for both the child and the parent. While parents want to support their children, they aren't always present or equipped during the "emotional peak" of a tantrum.

My CLOUDY acts as an autonomous digital bridge, giving children the tools to identify, label, and communicate their internal state through interactive visual metaphors, reducing friction for the entire family.

SOLUTION

Empowering Self-Regulation Through Visual Storytelling. My CLOUDY is an interactive emotional application that empowers children to self-regulate when words fail them. By transforming abstract internal feelings into tangible, interactive characters, the app provides a safe, independent space for emotional labeling.

Key Features of the Solution:

Visual Emotion-Builder: Allows kids to "construct" their feelings using colors and shapes instead of complex text.
Autonomous Navigation: A simple interface designed for the cognitive abilities of 4–10 year olds, reducing the need for parental mediation.
The Communication Bridge: A simplified summary screen that a child can show a parent to instantly communicate their "cloudy" or "sunny" internal state.

USER RESEARCH

I researched kids and parents.
Most of the interviewed kids reported feeling frustrated when they cannot express what they are feeling clearly. Also, interviewed adults reported feeling frustrated when they didn't know how to help their kids realize what was happening to them.

Critical Insight: "Independence equals Engagement" During initial user testing with children aged 4–7, I've observed a significant drop in engagement whenever a parent stepped in to explain a feature.

The Pivot: I realized that for the app to be effective, it couldn't just be a teaching tool; it had to be a private sanctuary. I pivoted from a "Guided Learning" model (where parents and kids work together) to an "Autonomous First" design. This led to a complete redesign of the UI to feature large-scale touch targets and purely icon-based navigation, ensuring the child felt fully in control of their emotional exploration.

"I would like to make my parents understand what happens to me quickly"

Anna is a happy five years old girl.
She feels frustrated and hits her parents or brother when she can't express herself with words. She uses drawing and dancing to release her frustrations.

Interests:

Click to view the User Journey Map

TARGET USER

REQUIREMENTS & NEEDS

Tried to find the common denominator between the participants to develop a solution to fit them all.

Project 2 - Affinity Diagram EMOTIONS APP (2).jpg

Click to enlarge

PARTICIPANTS

PAIN POINTS

"Why I can´t play and learn?"

They get bored when they sit and learn from an adult.

"I want to use it and play without my parents"

The kids prefers to be able to interact with the device and play with the platform by themselves

"I'm not sure how explain to my parents my feelings"

The kids wants to receive more tools and information to understand better themselves and be able to explain their emotions.

Crazy eights exercise My CLOUDY Emotions

Allow the users to learn about their emotions while playing in a "Build your own" facial emotional expression face.

Making an intuitive experience and interaction for the kids.

Giving the kids the possibility of comparing themselves with some emotions can help with emotional learning through empathy.

COMPETITIVE AUDIT

Feature

My Cloudy

Headspace

GoNoodle

Primary Methodology

Core User Interaction

Primary Use Case

Visual Language

Parental Involvement

Platform Focus

Market Gap Filled

Active Creation: Building emotions through visual metaphors.

Autonomous Builder: Kids interact directly with a zero-text UI.

Real-time Regulation: Used when a child is "in the moment."

Playful & Illustrative: Custom cloud-based emotional avatars.

Low: Designed for independent child exploration.

Cross-platform (Mobile/Tablet/Desktop).

Child Independence: Solving the "I want to do it myself" friction.

Passive Listening: Guided mindfulness and meditation.

Guided Audio: Requires focused listening (often parent-led).

Routine/Sleep: Used for winding down or scheduled focus.

Minimalist & Clean: The signature abstract Headspace brand.

High: Usually requires a parent to select and monitor sessions.

Mobile/Tablet App.

Premium Wellness content.

Kinetic Learning: Movement-based emotional regulation.

Video Follow-Along: Group or individual physical activities

Energy Breaks: Used in classrooms to reset energy levels.

High-Energy Animation: Character-driven, "cartoon" style

Medium: Often facilitated by a teacher or parent.

Web/Classroom-focused.

Physical activity & Classroom engagement.

While competitors like Headspace and GoNoodle offer excellent guided content, they often require adult supervision or specific environments (such as bedtime or classrooms). My CLOUDY fills the gap for a truly autonomous, real-time emotional builder that kids can use independently during emotional peaks.

USABILITY STUDY

Unmoderated usability study

5 participants:

2 girls (6 and 10 years old), 1 boy (5 years old). 1 father from the girl of 6 years old and 1 mother from the boy of 5 years old.

Israel, remote

20 - 30 minutes session

FINDINGS

FUN

COMPARISON

VISUAL

UNDERSTANDING
THE FLOW

Tried to simplify the flow so the kids could use it without the assistance of an adult