Company
Tooly
Project
Create a gamification application of the WCAG guidelines to increase engagement with universal design
Responsibilities
- UX Designer
- UX Researcher
Summary
Tooly is a quiz-style app that makes WCAG accessibility guidelines approachable and engaging through gamification — addressing the reality that while universal design is legally required in Norway, most practitioners find the official guidelines overwhelming.
Short introduction
WCAG is important — but nobody wants to read it
Universal design is a growing field in Norway, and since 2023, Norwegian public websites are legally required to comply with WCAG standards or face fines. Yet the official documentation is dense, technical, and hard to navigate — even for designers and developers who want to do the right thing.
The challenge: how do you make complex regulatory guidelines feel approachable and even fun? The answer, the team landed on, was gamification.
User research
Users consistently struggled with official resources
Interviews with participants revealed a consistent pattern: people knew they were supposed to follow WCAG, but they found the official Norwegian WCAG website and its sub-guidelines difficult to understand and navigate.
Two user journey maps were created to document the frustration points — from becoming aware of the guidelines, to attempting to apply them in practice. The maps highlighted moments of confusion, abandonment, and reliance on third-party explanations.
"I know I need to follow accessibility guidelines, but I never know where to start or if what I'm doing is correct."
Competitive analysis
All organizations share the same goal — but none make it fun
The competitive landscape was mapped across five organizations:
The key insight: all of these organizations share the goal of creating an inclusive digital space, but none of them make the learning process engaging. They are all information-heavy and lack interactivity. This was the gap Tooly was designed to fill.
Solution approach
A quiz app inspired by a Norwegian podcast
The inspiration came from a Norwegian podcast that had successfully made complex regulations approachable by presenting them through engaging stories and examples. If audio storytelling could do it for legal frameworks, a quiz app could do it for WCAG.
The solution: a quiz application where users learn WCAG criteria through short, scenario-based questions. Getting answers right earns points; getting them wrong prompts an explanation. The experience is designed to feel more like a game than a compliance exercise.
Design process
From persona to high-fidelity prototype
The design process moved through several stages:
- Persona — a designer who knows they should follow WCAG but finds it overwhelming and often skips it under deadline pressure.
- Moodboard — a colorful, playful palette that signals this is not a compliance document. Bright colors and rounded shapes to signal approachability.
- Wireframes — sketched out the app flow: onboarding, quiz selection by WCAG principle, question/answer flow, and score summary.
- High-fidelity prototype — final designs shown on iPhone 14 Pro mockups, using the playful palette and clear typography to maximize readability and engagement.