Golbon Rasoulichizari
Dotorona is a prototype storybook app designed to help children understand and process the anxieties surrounding COVID-19. Built around a relatable main character of the same name, the project uses storytelling rather than explanation, giving children a way to make sense of a confusing, frightening situation through narrative instead of facts alone.
© 2020
Illustration / Animation / UI/UX / Character Design
( Concept )
Explaining a global pandemic to a child isn't really a design problem you solve with information, it's one you solve with empathy, so the entire approach centered on story first. I sketched Dotorona from the ground up, developed the narrative, and built out the storyboard before bringing it to life as an interactive app, layering in animation and small interactive moments to keep young readers engaged rather than passive. Every design decision, from the character's expressions to the pacing of each animated scene, was built to make a hard subject feel safe enough to sit with. Beyond helping children process what was happening around them, the format was designed to open a conversation between children and parents, turning a moment of shared uncertainty into a small act of connection.
