Kapi

A learning companion

Founder, Designer & Developer
Kapi
2026
Independent, Concept, Design & Development
Germany
Roles
Product Design · iOS Development · Offline-first Sync Backend · Parent & Teacher Web Portals · Reward System Design · Content Pipeline · App Store Publishing
A learning companion

Kapi started with a problem I couldn’t find a good solution for. My daughter needed short, low-pressure reading and spelling practice that felt encouraging and rewarding without turning learning into a game for its own sake.

I designed and built Kapi around that idea, starting with the learning experience and the motivation behind it. The reward system was deliberately designed around things children actually care about, rather than generic points or trophies.

The result is a cross-platform Capacitor app for iOS and Android, designed to work offline and built around short daily challenges and a companion character that explains, encourages and celebrates progress. Behind the app is a wider product setup including a parent portal, teacher portal and backend for syncing progress across devices.

Currently focused on German reading, spelling and vocabulary for grades 1–4, Kapi is also an example of how I like to work: starting with a real problem, designing the experience, and building the technology needed to make it work.

Three places

The app needed a simple rhythm. Learn, see your progress, then have some fun.

Three Kapi phone screens: the home screen with the child's character, level and points, the learning map, and the play zone with its mini-game tiles
The cast of Kapi characters above three exercise cards: building a word from letter tiles, matching words to pictures, and choosing an opposite

Short formats

Short exercises lower the barrier to starting. A child can finish one, feel successful and decide to do another.

Help before failure

I didn’t want help to feel like a punishment. Hints are available before a child gets stuck.

A spelling exercise: a mouse, a listen button, two letters placed and two slots empty, with a letter bank and a hint below

Learn from mistakes

Getting something wrong should teach you something. Kapi explains the mistake and lets the child try again.

One answer marked correct and one marked wrong, with the Kapi character offering a trick in a speech bubble
Sixteen exercise cards in two rows, covering spelling, matching, articles, tenses, opposites and sentence gaps

Built to grow

New exercises shouldn’t mean rebuilding the app. The different formats are built from the same underlying system.

Rewards kids actually want

The differentiator I set out to build: instead of generic in-app trophies, parents can create custom rewards their own kid actually cares about, tied to real progress, not just screen time.

Motivation follows progress

The reward comes after the work. Points unlock things, but the learning stays at the centre.

Three cards showing tickets being earned, a plus twenty-nine point celebration, and a Tic Tac Toe mini-game being unlocked
A capybara family playing cards, above three reward cards: mini golf, two scoops of ice cream and a sticker album, each priced in points

Make the reward personal

Motivation is personal. Parents choose rewards that mean something to their own child.

Easy for parents too

Creating a reward should be simple. Parents choose what matters, set the value and see exactly what their child will get.

The parent portal creating a new reward, with title, description, point cost and category beside a live preview of the card the child will see
Six Kapi campaign posters, each pairing a German headline with an illustration of a child and the companion

Speak to the parent

Learning happens with the child, but the decision to practise starts with the parent.

Visit Kapi

Where next

See also

Citi Odyssey ← Back to overview
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