DesiHeart - Express AI: An AI-powered augmentative & alternative communications (AAC) app to support neurodiverse users in expressing tone & emotion

Designing clear, user-centric, accessibility focused look for a complex product.

Team

1 CEO

1 design lead

6 designers

Role

UX Researcher

UX/UI Designer

Challenge

Design an AI-powered AAC app that not only enables communication, but also brings in accessibility, emotional expression, and personalization, helping users share their voices with authenticity and confidence.

DesiHeart is a nonprofit supporting neurodiverse students in developing emotional expression, communication, and confidence.

Many rely on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices that are expensive, hard to learn, and limited in voice and personalization.

Why it mattered

Solution

Through competitive analysis, we identified a gap in the AAC market. In response, we designed ExpressAI, an AI-powered AAC app that is affordable, easy to navigate, and accessible, enabling non-verbal users to express not only words, but emotion and personality with confidence.

Context

  • Access: Costly AAC tools exclude the families who need them most

  • Time: Steep learning curves waste critical developmental time

  • Humanity: Robotic voices reduce communication to commands, not self-expression

Finding the gaps in the market

Synthesizing competitive analysis and real user feedback revealed clear gaps in the AAC market. These findings directly shaped ExpressAI’s design strategy, prioritizing simplicity, accessibility, and emotional expression.

Why: Early clarity on user pain points guided our designs toward removing barriers, not reinforcing them

Defining the MVP vocabulary & User flow

Built a vocabulary system that prioritizes speed, learnability, and expression by:

  • Centering high-frequency core words

  • Using clear, predictable categories

  • Balancing power words with personalization

  • Allowing room to grow as skills develop

Result: Faster communication with a foundation for long-term language growth

MVP Vocab Flow

Why: Vocabulary organization directly affects learnability, speed, and user confidence

User Flow: Communication needs to be fast, predictable, and low-effort, especially for new AAC users

  • Reduced the number of steps required to say something meaningful

  • Prioritized a clear “home base” so users always know where they are

  • Designed predictable navigation patterns to support motor planning

  • Minimized decision points to lower cognitive load

Result: A simple, predictable user flow that enables faster communication and easier learning for new users

Say ‘Bathroom’ User Flow

Why: Simplifying the flow was critical to making the MVP usable from day one

Designing the MVP structure

Built a clear, scalable foundation for the MVP by focusing on structure over polish

  • Defined a single, predictable home base for communication

  • Established clear hierarchy between core actions and secondary paths

  • Reduced branching to keep flows easy to learn and repeat

  • Designed layouts that support consistency across screens

Result: A structured MVP that feels simple to use today and flexible enough to evolve with user needs

Home Screen Evolution

Why: The original home screen created unnecessary navigation friction and increased error risk for users with limited motor control.

Changes:

  • Standardized UI components

  • Introduced persistent side navigation for core actions

  • Optimized icon placement and tap targets.

Result: Improved navigation efficiency, reduced cognitive load, and enabled more accurate, motor-efficient interactions.

Typography, icons, components, color palette

Why: A strong foundation was essential to validate the MVP with real users

From sketches to prototypes

*minimum 20px body text for readability on tablets

*Icons adhere to accessible touch targets (≥ 44px), maintain consistent stroke weight, and use color only to indicate urgency or critical action

*tap targets meet WCAG 2.5.5

*FITZ AAC Key used to reinforce syntax learning through consistent visual cues

Why: Establishing a reliable, accessible home screen was critical before validating the MVP with users

Add a New Word — Flow Iteration

Why: Caregivers needed a clearer, more predictable way to add vocabulary without hesitation or confusion.

Changes:

  • Simplified the step-by-step flow

  • Aligned interactions to the design system

  • Added guidance cues

  • Improved accessibility through larger tap targets and reduced scrolling

Result: Created a faster, more confident workflow for caregivers, especially in time-sensitive or high-cognitive-load situations.

Typography, icons, components, color palette

Why: A strong foundation was essential to validate the MVP with real users

*minimum 20px body text for readability on tablets

*Icons adhere to accessible touch targets (≥ 44px), maintain consistent stroke weight, and use color only to indicate urgency or critical action

*tap targets meet WCAG 2.5.5

*FITZ AAC Key used to reinforce syntax learning through consistent visual cues