Contact

Contact

Role

Product designer

tasks

Research
Application design
Website design

timeline

1 year

Contents

What is enguru?

What is enguru?

What is enguru?

The why, The What and The Who

The why, The What and The Who

The why, The What and The Who

The outcome

The outcome

The outcome

How did we do it?

How did we do it?

How did we do it?

What is enguru?

A live English language learning application

Enguru is a mobile-first English learning platform based in India. The platform offers live interactive classes, self-paced lessons, and gamified learning activities to help people improve their fluency and confidence in English. As of August 2022, Enguru had over 16 million downloads across India.

In early 2023, OpenEnglish, a leading online English-learning platform in Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market, acquired Enguru. This acquisition marked Open English's entry into the Indian market, aiming to meet the growing demand for English learning in India.

Project brief

To redesign the existing application to align with evolving goals and needs

The business teams wanted better conversions since the numbers had stagnated. Our teachers noticed that students weren’t fully using the enguru resources they were paying for. The customer support team flagged recurring complaints about unclear task flows. And overall, there was a shared need to refresh the app, make it look modern and clean while keeping things simple.

Redefining the brief

Why?

To improve conversions, enhance usability, and refreshed the app, hence, the user experience.

Redesign goals

What?

Boost self-learning, enhance overall experience, improve conversion and retention.

Boost self-learning, enhance overall experience, improve conversion and retention.

Boost self-learning, enhance overall experience, improve conversion and retention.

Business objectives

  • Boost free-trial usage and improve retention after users' subscriptions end.

  • Increase in-app engagement for both paid and free users.

Education objectives (from the teachers)

  • Integrate self-learning more effectively into the learning process.

  • Simplify task flow and activities for better visibility and usage.

Design objectives

  • Intuitive and refreshed UI.

  • Accessibility compliance with WCAG standards.

Our users

Who?

College students, home makers, parents trying to connect with the foreign in laws, and everyone in between.

College students, home makers, parents trying to connect with the foreign in laws, and everyone in between.

College students, home makers, parents trying to connect with the foreign in laws, and everyone in between.

Our users came from every corner of life. From 16-year-olds to seniors over 60, each had their own reason to learn. Our challenge? To build an app that met them all where they were and helped them move forward.

The outcome

In the first 90 days after complete release

21%

increase in self-learning activity engagement

470+

new paid users aged 30 and above

19%

higher conversion from free trial to paid users

27%

increase in existing users subscribing to annual plans

So, how did we do it?

Our assumptions

Users find our gamified self-learning content too light and informal, and our subscription too expensive.

  • Gamified content is boring and not challenging enough.

  • Gamified content is perceived as informal and unimportant.

  • Users who do not urgently need to improve their English don't prioritize practice.

User research

We interviewed 46 users and they had a lot to say

68% said they loved live classes. Instant feedback from the teachers helped

41% felt the games were disconnected from daily class topics

We used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to understand users' perspectives on enguru, their behavior and task flows, and their willingness to engage with language-learning apps. To ensure demographic diversity, we engaged individuals from different age groups and backgrounds, as enguru caters to a broad audience.

To gain a well-rounded understanding of user concerns, we combined open-ended and closed-ended questions, organizing responses into three key categories:

  1. Subscribed users and their usage patterns

  2. Free users and their interaction with free features

We used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to understand users' perspectives on enguru, their behavior and task flows, and their willingness to engage with language-learning apps. To ensure demographic diversity, we engaged individuals from different age groups and backgrounds, as enguru caters to a broad audience.

To gain a well-rounded understanding of user concerns, we combined open-ended and closed-ended questions, organizing responses into three key categories:

  1. Subscribed users and their usage patterns

  2. Free users and their interaction with free features

We used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to understand users' perspectives on enguru, their behavior and task flows, and their willingness to engage with language-learning apps. To ensure demographic diversity, we engaged individuals from different age groups and backgrounds, as enguru caters to a broad audience.

To gain a well-rounded understanding of user concerns, we combined open-ended and closed-ended questions, organizing responses into three key categories:

  1. Subscribed users and their usage patterns

  2. Free users and their interaction with free features

desk research

Using previous data from Google Analytics, Firebase.

  1. 58% free trial users did not purchase subscription plans

  2. 61% drop-offs happened during onboarding

  3. 66% drop-offs at payment checkout

Insights from Research

There was a gap in user perception about what they were paying for.

We should focus on building a habit, not just teaching the language.

We have to communicate the dual value of live classes and self-learning.

Users highly value real-time interaction and feedback from teachers in live classes, highlighting the crucial role of live instruction in engagement and perceived value. Many users believed they were only paying for live classes, making the price seem high. This gap in awareness about how self-learning gamified content complemented daily live classes resulted in many free trial users not converting.

Additionally, family-oriented purchasing behavior played a significant role, with many users having their subscriptions purchased by family members. This indicates a strong word-of-mouth impact and trust in the product, reinforcing the need for clearer communication to both, direct and indirect users.

Users highly value real-time interaction and feedback from teachers in live classes, it helps them learn effectively and keeps them accountable, highlighting the crucial role of live instruction in engagement and perceived value.

However, many users believed they were only paying for live classes, making the price seem high. This gap in awareness about how self-learning gamified content complemented daily live classes resulted in many free trial users not converting.


Additionally, family-oriented purchasing behavior played a significant role, with many users having their subscriptions purchased by family members. This indicates a strong word-of-mouth impact and trust in the product, reinforcing the need for clearer communication to both, direct and indirect users.

User Persona

3 personas through the lens of how they currently use the app

Primary persona

Practical Payal

"I only have time for the class every day. I love learning with a teacher and the live feedback. I have no time for games."

Pain points
Workarounds

Doesn’t have time for both live classes and self-learning.

Prioritizes live classes for structured learning.

Finds self-learning content disconnected and random.

Doesn’t engage with it after the first few tries.

Unsure if Enguru is worth paying for.

Uses the free trials but hesistates to subscribe.

All-at-once Adil

"I don’t practice daily, but once a month, I finish like 20 lessons in a day, trying to catch up."

Pain points
Workarounds

Finds it hard to stay consistent with daily learnings.

Binge-learns when time allows

Feels overwhelmed by how much they miss in-between.

Tries to cram multiple classes and lessons at one go.

Lacks motivation to open the app daily.

Uses reminders and notifications.

Committed Kumari

"I’ve been using Enguru for a while now. Both the live classes and self-learning content have helped me a lot."

Pain points
Workarounds

Initially didn't see how self-learning connected to live classes.

Started tracking class topics and matching them with self-learning lessons.

Took effort to find relevant lessons in the app.

Started planning learning around class themes.

Wanted more structure in the learning process and to learn fast.

Created a personal study schedule to build a habit.

The execution took place in phases over one year. Here are the fun bits.

Execution

Identifying our subscription flow and maximizing on the green arrows

Ideal flow and best case scenario

  • They see the value in our offering.

  • Our business goals are being met.

  • The product is working as intended, fulfilling its purpose.

  • We are sustainable and profitable, allowing us to grow.

Non-ideal flow where we lose users

  • Users drop off before subscribing.

  • There’s a break in engagement, maybe due to unclear value, lack of habit formation, or an underwhelming experience.

  • Lost revenue and fewer long-term users.

Investment flow, second free-trial

  • Builds user trust and increases familiarity with our product.

  • Removes hesitation from users who need more time to decide.

  • Boosts conversion rates in the long run.

Execution

Usability testing

Usability testing was conducted in two stages: internal testing and real user testing.

In the first stage, team members and stakeholders tested the app to identify major usability roadblocks, technical glitches, and flow issues. Structured testing sessions and anonymous feedback forms helped us make quick iterations before moving to user testing.

In the second stage, real users from diverse demographics tested the refined version. We observed their interactions with live classes, self-learning content, and onboarding.

Key pain points included technical glitches, lengthy onboarding flow, and pricing confusion. Using task-based scenarios and think-aloud protocols, we gathered insights to refine the user experience.

Usability testing was conducted in two stages: internal testing and real user testing.

In the first stage, team members and stakeholders tested the app to identify major usability roadblocks, technical glitches, and flow issues. Structured testing sessions and anonymous feedback forms helped us make quick iterations before moving to user testing.

In the second stage, real users from diverse demographics tested the refined version. We observed their interactions with live classes, self-learning content, and onboarding.

Key pain points included technical glitches, lengthy onboarding flow, and pricing confusion. Using task-based scenarios and think-aloud protocols, we gathered insights to refine the user experience.

Execution

A/B testing crucial touchpoints, like the experience at the end of free trial

Test group
Control group

The Control Group was to show subscription plans on the first fold once the free trial ended. The Test Group encouraged users to call a counselor or teacher for more details before seeing the plans, which were placed one click away from the home screen. This was based on user behavior insights, as many middle-aged and older users preferred speaking to a counselor. Past data also showed that several users opted to receive a payment link from a counselor instead of paying through the app.

Result- Directly showing plans after the trial(control group) led to higher immediate visibility but didn’t significantly increase conversions. Most conversion for this group happened for users within the age group of <40 years. The test group that encouraged users to call a counselor first resulted in higher engagement and trust-building, leading to a higher conversion rate among middle-aged and older users(>40 years). However, it added a step, which reduced conversions among younger users who preferred a quick, self-service approach.

Our solution- We personalized the flow by age. Users under 40 got the subscription plans upfront and the above 40 got the call-a-counsellor option upfront.

Execution

Final product

enguru Website

enguru Website

enguru Website

enguru App

enguru App

enguru App

A daily progress tracker and an overall level-up bar work together to reinforce habit-building by providing users with a sense of achievement and motivation. The tracker encourages consistency by visually marking daily milestones, while the level-up bar offers a long-term view of progress, keeping learners engaged and committed to their journey

Introducing a modular visual on the home screen to clearly link live classes and activities. This proximity reinforces their connection, guiding users to engage while reducing cognitive load.

The progress tab provides a clear visual representation of a learner’s journey across levels, making progress tracking engaging and motivating. Interactive elements with smooth animations create a sense of achievement and momentum, reinforcing the habit-building process.

To minimize clutter and reduce choice paralysis on the home screen, the syllabus page is two taps away. It provides easy access to the entire course content, enabling users to navigate seamlessly between lessons.

Encouraging users to engage with activities immediately after booking a live class, helping them prepare in advance and stay ahead in their learning journey.

After the live class, if users haven't completed their daily activities, we prompt them to do so, reinforcing learning and building consistency.

What i learned

From the setbacks to the wins

We can't fix everything. For every problem we solve, new ones arise. Our product was dynamic, so were our users and market trends.

What was true then may not hold today. We realized we were clinging to insights from past research, even when the numbers told a different story. It was crucial to conduct new research rather than assuming that user behaviors and patterns remain unchanged.

Asking questions is key. In a fast-paced startup environment, where everyone is focused on meeting deadlines, valuable data, past trends, and customer insights exist, but people don’t always have time to surface them. Proactively seeking the right information was a crucial lesson.

We can't fix everything. For every problem we solve, new ones arise. Our product was dynamic, so were our users and market trends.


What was true then may not hold today. We realized we were clinging to insights from past research, even when the numbers told a different story. It was crucial to conduct new research rather than assuming that user behaviors and patterns remain unchanged.


Asking questions is key. In a fast-paced startup environment, where everyone is focused on meeting deadlines, valuable data, past trends, and customer insights exist, but people don’t always have time to surface them. Proactively seeking the right information was a crucial lesson.

All tasks at enguru

From joining as a sole designer to leading a team, followed by an acquisition

Specific tasks-

Accessibility testing existing UI
Creating refreshed and scalable design systems
User research
Android application UI
Establishing enguru's tone-of-voice
iOs application UI
Website homepage redesign

~Acquired by OpenEnglish

OpenEnglish new lesson structure UI
OpenEnglish AI Tutor UI
enguru AI Tutor UI

General tasks-

Creatives for socials, ads
General desk research
Competitor study
Analytical data study and visualization
Driving feedback sessions

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