Mathman — maths as a game.
A mobile game that turns maths into fun.
Mathman is not just another digital cheat sheet or a dry textbook. It is an ambitious edutech platform that fundamentally changes the way students approach learning mathematics. My goal was to design a mobile app in which complex, often feared subject matter turns into an engaging, gamified experience — an app that rids students of their fear of numbers and instead awakens an inner motivation to keep progressing voluntarily.
Project overview
The brief and the challenge
To take the original 2020 version of Mathman, created by Jan Maloušek, and give it a fresh, fully functional new form. The main design challenge was turning complex, often feared subject matter into an engaging, gamified experience that rids students of their fear of numbers and instead awakens an inner motivation to keep progressing voluntarily.
Target audience
Students and pupils for whom maths is a source of dread — and who would rather learn through play than from a dry textbook.
My role
As product designer I was responsible for the complete design — from game mechanics and UX strategy through information architecture and the design system to the final UI.
Process and iterations
Gamification and game principles in UX
When designing an educational app, finding the perfect balance between education and fun is absolutely key. I drew on deeper game-design principles – elaborate progression systems, gradual level unlocking and motivational reward loops – and carefully translated them into the user interface. As a result, the app keeps users motivated and gives them the feeling of naturally levelling up their knowledge, much like in a good RPG. The visual direction and UI are designed to feel dynamic and playful while staying clean enough not to distract from the learning itself.
Onboarding and a flawless user journey
The critical point of the whole design was mapping user flows in detail and creating a perfectly smooth onboarding process. When a student opens the app for the first time, they must immediately grasp its logic and see its value without any initial cognitive load. From the earliest wireframes a clear information architecture took shape, chunking even the most complex maths topics into easily digestible modules. Every interaction, every animation and every micro-detail in the app is designed primarily to hold attention and minimize frustration.
Result and impact
A complete educational ecosystem
Mathman is a showcase of what a coherent, thoroughly considered digital product ready for a successful launch looks like. It is not just a pretty visual but a fully functional, scalable ecosystem where everything makes sense – from the first downloaded screen to long-term user retention. The project clearly proves that with well-executed product design and a smart UX strategy, even the most demanding content can be turned into an app people enjoy returning to regularly. The app is not publicly available yet — it is currently being prepared for launch.
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