BeLingo
mobile app
BeLingo is an iOS mobile app for learning English vocabulary with Russian translations. A personal vocabulary trainer: users pick topics that interest them, add words to a personal dictionary, and reinforce them through short daily practice sessions.
The app is deliberately built around consistency and simplicity — nothing extra, just what helps you remember words and stick with it. It adapts to the user's level (A1–C2) and interests, offers varied practice instead of plain memorization, and gently sustains the habit through gamification and thoughtful reminders.
The app is deliberately built around consistency and simplicity — nothing extra, just what helps you remember words and stick with it. It adapts to the user's level (A1–C2) and interests, offers varied practice instead of plain memorization, and gently sustains the habit through gamification and thoughtful reminders.
About the project
Figma was my main tool for designing the app's interface — from early screen concepts to the final UI. Claude Code handled the heavy lifting on the design system and helped generate design concepts for the screens. ChatGPT helped me create the app's mascot character and run research on mobile apps in the language-learning space.
Finally, by pairing Claude Code with Xcode, I built a clickable prototype running on a real iOS device.
Finally, by pairing Claude Code with Xcode, I built a clickable prototype running on a real iOS device.
Project tools
Figma
Claude Code
ChatGPT
XCode
Based on audience research, I created three user personas representing the key segments of the app's target audience, each with distinct learning goals, needs, and study preferences.
Target audience
Ekaterina, 24
Travel & Communication
Slow Pace
Learning English for travel and connecting with people from other countries.
Goal: to learn new words at a comfortable pace across a variety of everyday topics, in order to easily meet people while traveling and living abroad.
What matters: everyday topics (Travel, Restaurant, Family, Shopping, Relationships), a pressure-free experience, and variety in formats to keep things from getting boring.
What matters: everyday topics (Travel, Restaurant, Family, Shopping, Relationships), a pressure-free experience, and variety in formats to keep things from getting boring.
Oleg, 32
Works in IT
Fast Pace
Learning English for a career in IT — needs specific professional vocabulary.
Goal: to quickly master targeted professional terms in order to break into the international job market.
What matters: professional topics (Development, Management, Data Science), relevance — "words you'll actually hear on a call" — and speed and efficiency.
What matters: professional topics (Development, Management, Data Science), relevance — "words you'll actually hear on a call" — and speed and efficiency.
Edgar, 16
School & Exams
Moderate Pace
Learning words for spelling tests and exam preparation.
Goal: to master new words assigned at school in order to do well on a test or exam.
What matters: the ability to add their own words from the school curriculum, progress tracking and self-checking before a test, and a friendly, playful approach with game-like elements.
What matters: the ability to add their own words from the school curriculum, progress tracking and self-checking before a test, and a friendly, playful approach with game-like elements.
I conducted UX research and, based on the findings, defined users' main problems and needs.
User pain points
Pressure and guilt
Rigid streaks and guilt-trip reminders: one miss and "it's all ruined," so it's easier not to open the app at all.
Motivation drops off
Especially in the evenings, and when there's no sense that "these words will actually be useful to me."
Content that misses the level
Too easy — boring. Too hard — intimidating and confusing.
Words are forgotten quickly
You learn a word, and a day or two later half of it is gone. Without repetition and without context, vocabulary just doesn't stick.
Not enough professional vocabulary
General courses give you the basics, but not the working terms or the topics that fit a user's specific life.
Manual busywork puts people off
Building cards by hand — hunting for examples, transcription, audio — is tedious, and people give up on the very first words.
BeLingo turns learning vocabulary from a stressful obligation into an easy daily habit. The product addresses the key reasons people give up on learning words.
What the product solves for
Professional and everyday topics
Users choose topics that fit their goal: everyday ones like Travel, Restaurant, Family, Shopping, Relationships; professional ones like Development, Management, UX/UI Design, Marketing, Finance, Data Science.
Add your own words in one click
No need to build cards by hand. The word is already in the app's dictionary — add it with a single tap, and it appears right away with audio and usage examples. The busywork that makes people quit Anki and similar tools is gone. This matters especially for a student adding words from their school syllabus.
Words stick through a system of repetition, not cramming
▫️ Every word comes with a usage example and audio.
▫️ Learned words come back for review to lock them in.
▫️ Forgot a word? Go back to it — it returns to your practice.
▫️ Monthly and quarterly tests show what you've mastered and where the gaps are.
▫️ Learned words come back for review to lock them in.
▫️ Forgot a word? Go back to it — it returns to your practice.
▫️ Monthly and quarterly tests show what you've mastered and where the gaps are.
Gentle, low-key notifications
Instead of a guilt-trip reminder, a value-driven one. Not "You missed a session," but "Word of the day: serendipity — do you know it?" with an answer button right in the notification. Users set their own hours and frequency, and there are quiet hours. A notification offers something useful and an easy reason to come back, rather than pressuring you with guilt.
Motivation without anxiety
▫️ A forgiving streak — freezes, win-backs, weekend protection;
▫️ New users get a couple of free freezes up front (in our research, this produced the most noticeable drop in churn).
▫️ A gentler goal metaphor — "4 out of 7 days a week" instead of "don't break the chain," so a single miss doesn't reset everything.
▫️ The streak grows gradually and pays off noticeably by day 7, when the habit starts to "click."
▫️ New users get a couple of free freezes up front (in our research, this produced the most noticeable drop in churn).
▫️ A gentler goal metaphor — "4 out of 7 days a week" instead of "don't break the chain," so a single miss doesn't reset everything.
▫️ The streak grows gradually and pays off noticeably by day 7, when the habit starts to "click."
Examples personalized to the user's level
A word's usage examples adapt to the user's level. The same word is presented differently:
Word: improve
▫️ A1 (beginner): "I want to improve my English." — a short, simple sentence.
▫️ B2 (advanced): "The team implemented several changes to improve overall performance." — more complex in structure and vocabulary.
Word: improve
▫️ A1 (beginner): "I want to improve my English." — a short, simple sentence.
▫️ B2 (advanced): "The team implemented several changes to improve overall performance." — more complex in structure and vocabulary.
I designed the user flow, mapping out the key user journeys and ensuring a clear, intuitive experience at every step — from onboarding and level assessment to learning words and tracking progress.
User flow
Building a design system with Claude Code
To move fast without losing consistency, I built the product's design system together with Claude Code. I wrote clear, structured briefs in a Markdown file, broke the work into small, precisely scoped subtasks, and carefully reviewed every result — giving specific feedback and iterating until everything was flawless.
Design system
01
Clear briefs in Markdown
I documented goals, constraints, tokens, and component specs in a single .md file, so that every instruction was explicit and unambiguous.
02
Breaking work into subtasks
Large goals were broken down into small, focused steps — each one small enough for Claude Code to execute and for me to review individually.
03
Review and iteration
I reviewed every result, fixed details, and refined the work together with Claude — keeping full control over quality and aesthetics.
The result: a cohesive, token-based design system — colors, typography, and reusable components — built many times faster than usual.
The onboarding is designed not to wear the user out. Every screen is just simple taps on options and cards — no keyboard input — and a persistent progress bar shows that the end is near.
First, the app gathers context about the user: age, how often they use English, and topics that interest them — both everyday and professional. Then it assesses their level in a light-touch way: instead of a tiring exam, a clear mechanic — "tap the words you already know" — organized by A1–C2 difficulty tiers.
It all wraps up with choosing a comfortable workload (5/10/20 minutes a day, with a clear breakdown into words per week), which helps set a realistic goal and build a habit.
First, the app gathers context about the user: age, how often they use English, and topics that interest them — both everyday and professional. Then it assesses their level in a light-touch way: instead of a tiring exam, a clear mechanic — "tap the words you already know" — organized by A1–C2 difficulty tiers.
It all wraps up with choosing a comfortable workload (5/10/20 minutes a day, with a clear breakdown into words per week), which helps set a realistic goal and build a habit.
Onboarding
Practice is built on short daily sessions and varied formats, so a word isn't just memorized but reinforced from multiple angles. It all starts with a flashcard: the user sees the word with an illustration, phonetic transcription, and translation, and decides right away — do they already know it, or keep it for learning?
From there, the word is run through several types of practice: listen and type what you hear, unscramble the letters, fill in the missing word in a sentence, and work through usage examples in context — engaging recognition, spelling, and comprehension alike. Every answer comes with instant feedback, and a progress bar at the top shows how much is left in the session.
Practice ends with a summary screen: how many words you got through, your accuracy, and your streak, plus gentle encouragement to keep going and come back tomorrow — building the habit and making progress visible.
From there, the word is run through several types of practice: listen and type what you hear, unscramble the letters, fill in the missing word in a sentence, and work through usage examples in context — engaging recognition, spelling, and comprehension alike. Every answer comes with instant feedback, and a progress bar at the top shows how much is left in the session.
Practice ends with a summary screen: how many words you got through, your accuracy, and your streak, plus gentle encouragement to keep going and come back tomorrow — building the habit and making progress visible.
training
The paywall follows a "value first, ask second" principle. The subscription screen with a 7-day trial appears only after the user's first completed practice session — at the moment they've already felt the product's value, rather than at a cold start.
If the user skips the trial or cancels once it ends, they're offered a discount on the annual plan — a gentle way back in rather than pressure. And on the free plan, targeted subscription reminders appear at a natural moment of interest — when the user tries to open topics available only with a subscription.
If the user skips the trial or cancels once it ends, they're offered a discount on the annual plan — a gentle way back in rather than pressure. And on the free plan, targeted subscription reminders appear at a natural moment of interest — when the user tries to open topics available only with a subscription.
PAYWALL
Progress and account settings are accessible from the profile section. This is where users can edit their information: photo, personal details, learning level, current subscription plan, password, and sign-out / account deletion.
The Dictionary is the main vocabulary section, where users find and pick words to learn. Its home screen brings together search, a block of added words, and a catalog of topics — both everyday and professional. From the catalog, users can open a list of topics, and within a topic, check off the words they want and save them to their practice. A personal dictionary lets users add and remove their own words. Search with suggestions and translations helps quickly find a specific word.
The Notifications section works to drive retention and motivation, bringing users back into the app. The feed is grouped by time and gathers different types of events — achievements, completing the daily goal, unlocking new topics, streaks, and personal discounts.
The Dictionary is the main vocabulary section, where users find and pick words to learn. Its home screen brings together search, a block of added words, and a catalog of topics — both everyday and professional. From the catalog, users can open a list of topics, and within a topic, check off the words they want and save them to their practice. A personal dictionary lets users add and remove their own words. Search with suggestions and translations helps quickly find a specific word.
The Notifications section works to drive retention and motivation, bringing users back into the app. The feed is grouped by time and gathers different types of events — achievements, completing the daily goal, unlocking new topics, streaks, and personal discounts.
Other screens
UX/UI Designer
Adelina
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