Bridging Family Gaps for Deaf Teens

This is the beginning of my my development for "Sign Pals". My first major task was creating a polished introduction to set the right tone for the application. I realized that a professional opening and navigation system could dramatically improve the player experience. Designing the Scene Structure For all scenes in my game, I established a standard canvas setup to ensure consistent display across different devices: Screen space overlay render mode for UI elements Canvas scaler configured to work with my reference resolution (1920x1080) Proper anchoring and layout components for responsive sizing This standardized canvas setup is used throughout all scenes in the game, providing a consistent foundation for the UI. With this structure in place, I created a dedicated "OpeningLogo" scene to begin the game experience. Creating Opening Landing Page Elements For the Sign Pals logo, I needed several elements to create an engaging intro: The main "Sign Pals...

After establishing the core branding and character design for Sign Pals, I turned my attention to creating the foundation for the overall user interface. In this blog, I'm sharing the UI design process that took this sign language learning application from concept to reality. User Needs Before diving into visual design, I take note on what users would need from the interface: Clear instructions for learning sign language gestures Intuitive navigation between different game modes and features Visual feedback to confirm when signs are performed correctly Progress tracking to motivate continued learning Accessibility for users with varying abilities With these needs identified, I began the wireframing process to map out the user experience. Wireframe Sketches: Mapping the User Journey Before diving into high-fidelity designs, I created a series of wireframe sketches to map out the user journey and interface layout. These initial sketches helped me: Visualize the overall f...

Design Before Development Before the actual development of my sign language learning game, I invested significant time in designing the visual identity and user interface. This upfront design process proved invaluable as it helped me clarify my vision, establish a cohesive aesthetic, and create a user experience that would be both engaging and accessible. Today, I'm sharing my design journey for Sign Pals, including the iterative process that led to the final branding and UI elements. What I'm Going For The first step in my design process was to define the core purpose and audience for Sign Pals. As a game designed primarily for hearing family members and friends who want to learn sign language to communicate with deaf loved ones, I needed a visual language that would be: Friendly and approachable : To reduce anxiety about learning something new Playful but not childish : Appealing to both younger and older family members Clear and intuitive : Supporting the educational go...

After experimenting with 3 different approaches, I realized that fully implementing them would be too risky. Each required a deep technical understanding and advanced knowledge of complex systems that I don’t yet possess. While the concepts were promising, I ultimately decided to take a more practical route that aligned with my current skills and ensured the project would be functional and deliverable within my timeline. Luckily, when I decided to broaden my research and look into more practical solutions, I came across a fascinating YouTube tutorial on building a hand sign detection system specifically for American Sign Language (ASL) alphabets that offered a more systematic approach. Learning From Mr. Murtaza The tutorial I discovered from the YouTube channel called "Murtaza's Workshop - Robotics and AI" presented a comprehensive step-by-step guide for building a robust hand sign detection system using ASL alphabets A, B, and C. What caught my attention was its two-step...