GEMS — Gamified Engagement & Motivation System
Behavioral design and habit-building for families.
Fox Hill Lab — Behavioral Design, Mobile App
GEMS (Gamified Engagement & Motivation System) is an internal Fox Hill initiative focused on behavioral design for families. It blends light game mechanics with daily habit tracking to help children stay motivated and build consistency—without turning their day into another addictive game.
Challenge
Most tools for kids either feel like chores or like arcade games. Parents need structure and visibility. Kids need something that feels positive and rewarding, not punitive. We wanted to explore a healthier model of digital motivation rooted in positive reinforcement and clear feedback loops.
Solution
- Mobile-first, kid-friendly UX with simple, readable visuals.
- Children earn ‘gems’ for completing tasks and milestones.
- Parents configure tasks, schedules, and reward rules in a dedicated dashboard.
- Progress views that emphasize streaks, consistency, and effort—not just prizes.
- Architecture designed so that later we could plug in notifications and AI-generated coaching.
Impact
GEMS demonstrates Fox Hill’s ability to design emotionally intelligent, high-engagement consumer experiences. For potential clients, it’s a concrete example of how we combine UX, behavior science, and robust engineering to build apps that families actually want to use.