United Christian Broadcasting (UCB) is a media charity whose mission is to offer every person the opportunity to engage with life lessons and bible teachings. They have reached thousands with their radio stations and publications but were missing out on connecting with a younger generation.
We were brought in to develop a new daily devotional-based app for 11-13-year-olds…
We supported them in their journey to launch UCB Spark; an app which would reach a younger audience of 11-13-year-olds. After combing through their market research and our own target market survey, we developed and built an app that we felt ticked all the boxes. Designed with interactivity in mind, the app pairs gamification features alongside bright, strong visuals.
It was clear to our team that Spark would need its own identity, to look and feel different to its parent brand and suit a younger audience. Our general approach to identity design has been to design something that can move with the times. This generation is fast-paced, and colours in particular can fall in and out of fashion quickly; Spark was designed to reflect this environment and be adaptable, versatile, and vibrant.
Our vision for UCB Spark was a solid, simple and versatile foundation, styling can change around as needed. Spark is new and different, so we leaned into that with bold styling and colour choices. If we learned one thing while researching our gen alpha, 11-13 year olds, it was ‘don’t be afraid to be bold’.
With sharp angles and abstract shapes, the imagery feels reminiscent of a lightning bolt. Bright, purposefully almost clashing colours feel daring and individual. This is a brand that embraces ‘different’ - it is inclusive and authentic.
We felt it was important to create an icon which felt strong and impactful when used in isolation. Because of this, we explored simple geometric shapes centred around the idea of a ‘spark’. These icons can be layered to create patterns, creating an eye-catching and intentionally ‘busy’ design.
Because of our User research, we knew that it is important for this age group to feel agency. Our approach to the app was to ensure we created something that was engaging on every level, allowing the user to choose their path through the content. This encourages engagement and interaction both in terms of what users see but also how they interact with the app. By having a focused point each day, as well as different browsable categories, the user can choose to be led down the suggested route or explore on their own.
Tom and James used the designs to build the videos and games. The complex part of this build was making the app feel interactive for a user while retaining a smooth experience. They used different development packages to generate this feel allowing the eye-catching designs to take life.
Our team had to account for the options available to the user, mixing together video content, drag-and-drop games, and multiple-choice questions (amongst others) to make the app truly engaging. Users are able to browse categories or be ‘surprised’ when picking a devotional, each of which is put together by the team at UCB using our handy admin area.
We worked with UCB in the design stage to create the ‘types’ of activities they needed, such as video content, games, questions and more. This means the user experiences tailored devotionals which change daily. We ensured the devotionals are user-friendly, ensuring the intuitive design features, such as a clear progress bar, skip buttons and an ‘x’ button to help users guide themselves through the day's activities.
Our, design, UX and Build teams worked hard to build an app that would appeal to Gen Alpha. Together they developed a fun, eye-catching app, that encourages young people to engage with the devotional series and to return for each day's fresh new content. Why not check it out on Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
