The Human Body is an iOS app that lets curious kids see how their bodies work, system by system, like transparencies in an old anatomy textbook. We eschewed the logic employed by other apps and games, and instead followed childhood development research indicating that when stated extrinsic goals/rewards (a.k.a. “gold stars”) are absent, intrinsic curiosity and lifelong learning are nurtured. It was the first completely nonverbal app of its kind; its freeform design confused adults, but delighted kids. Because of this—and because of the obsessive anatomical research that went into it—the app succeeded in being more inclusive than other professional/grown-up anatomy tools at the time. We learned that doctors were using the app in the field to explain treatment nonverbally to original peoples (such as Indigenous Melanesians) with whom they shared no common language. The Human Body has been downloaded by 4.9 million users worldwide.
I digitally drew and animated 256 anatomy illustrations for the app. I created the stop-motion trailer out of paper to emphasize the app’s irresistible tactility.