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LifeTiles
Project Description​
LifeTiles was a business idea born from a design studio and participating in the National Science Foundation’s ICORPs program. The class only had one semester-long project assigned, and we were tasked to design around the word “accessibility”.
Team Members
Chloe Denuto, Aury Fernandez, Naomi Gaylor, Zoe Puno
Skills Used
Adobe Illustrator, Product Design, Curriculum Design, User Interviews, Prototyping
Process
LifeTiles began as an architectural concept: a mobile “third space” where high school students could explore creativity and entrepreneurship outside their standard curriculum. But as my team and I progressed through the NSF I-Corps program and conducted multiple rounds of customer discovery interviews, a different picture emerged. Administrators consistently shared concerns around adding new physical structures to school campuses, citing security risks and limited need for additional space. This feedback revealed a core insight: the barrier wasn’t the environment, it was the curriculum itself.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
As a team member leading much of the user interviewing, I synthesized insights from educators, administrators, and STEM program directors. A recurring theme surfaced: students were graduating without essential 21st-century skills including email etiquette, financial literacy, self-management, and basic “adulting” competencies. With this understanding, we pivoted away from an architectural solution and toward a learning tool that teachers could integrate directly into existing classes.
Our first direction was a board game, but after additional interviews and a consultation with a game studies professor, we learned that the depth and flexibility of our content aligned better with a card-based experience. This shift allowed us to emphasize discussion, reflection, and scenario-based practice rather than physical progression around a board.
During this phase, I took primary responsibility for the visual development of the product. Using Illustrator, I designed the game’s packaging, visual identity, and early card layout concepts. My goal was to create a clean, approachable aesthetic that would appeal to both students and teachers while communicating the game’s educational purpose. Alongside the graphic work, I helped shape the gameplay by analyzing user-testing sessions and interviewing educators to understand what formats kept students engaged.
The final concept became LifeTiles, a classroom-ready card game that prompts students to practice real-world skills such as writing messages, making small financial decisions, navigating interpersonal situations, and managing daily life tasks in a low-stakes, peer-discussion format.
Although I was unable to continue with the project during the next round of I-Corps due to academic commitments, I contributed significantly to its foundational research, early gameplay development, and full visual design direction.
