De Digitale SchatkistWeb applicationCybersoekDevelopment + DesignA note to self2025-2026De Digitale SchatkistWeb applicationCybersoekDevelopment + DesignA note to self2025-2026De Digitale SchatkistWeb applicationCybersoekDevelopment + DesignA note to self2025-2026De Digitale SchatkistWeb applicationCybersoekDevelopment + DesignA note to self2025-2026
Introduction
De Digitale Schatkist is an educational web application designed for children aged 9–15 that helps them understand online privacy and personal data through interactive storytelling and exploration.
The project was developed in collaboration with Stichting Cybersoek as my graduation project. Through interviews, surveys, focus groups, benchmark studies, and multiple rounds of testing, I investigated how young people perceive privacy online and why concepts such as tracking, algorithms, and data collection often remain abstract.
The result is an interactive learning experience that transforms complex privacy concepts into tangible objects, stories, and consequences. Rather than telling children what is right or wrong, the application encourages them to explore, make decisions, and discover for themselves how their online behaviour shapes their digital footprint.
01 /Problem
The project started with a societal challenge: while young people spend a large part of their lives online, many struggle to understand what happens to the personal data they share. Research showed that children often recognise obvious risks, such as sharing their address or phone number, but have difficulty understanding concepts such as tracking, algorithms, profiling, and commercial data collection. Existing educational tools focus heavily on explanation and awareness, but rarely allow children to actively experience the consequences of their choices.
Through desk research, interviews, surveys, focus groups, and stakeholder analysis, I built a clearer picture of the problem space and identified the gap between children’s digital behaviour and their understanding of privacy.
Research summary highlighting how children understand and interact with online privacy and personal data
02 /Design Challenge
Research revealed that privacy education often fails because it relies on abstract language, lengthy explanations, and concepts that are difficult for young audiences to relate to. Younger children preferred visual examples and immediate feedback, while older participants wanted autonomy and realistic situations rather than being lectured.
These insights led to the design challenge:
“How can an interactive experience help children understand online privacy and data usage by making invisible processes visible, relatable, and interactive?”
From this challenge I developed need-based profiles, empathy maps, requirements, and design principles that guided every design decision throughout the project.
Project requirements translated from research findings and stakeholder needsEmpathy map visualising the thoughts, behaviours, motivations, and concerns of the target audience
03 /Exploration
Rather than committing to a single solution immediately, I explored multiple directions, including a scenario-based learning application, a browser extension that visualised personal data, and a fully gamified virtual world. Through ideation, sketching, and discussions with Stichting Cybersoek, I evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.
A recurring insight was that children learn best through exploration and experience. This led to the Datamuseum: a metaphorical environment where personal information becomes tangible objects that can be discovered, examined, and connected to real-world privacy risks.
To make the experience approachable, I designed a set of simple visual artifacts representing different types of personal data, alongside Locky, a friendly mascot that guides users through the museum and introduces privacy concepts in an accessible way.
Mascot design for Locky, a friendly padlock character shown in multiple emotional statesIllustration system showing visual representations of different types of personal information used throughout the digital museum
04 /Prototyping
The Datamuseum evolved through multiple iterations, from early concepts to a fully interactive prototype. I designed onboarding flows, personalised learning paths, museum spaces, privacy scenarios, and reflection moments that transformed abstract concepts such as data collection and online privacy into tangible experiences.
Rather than creating high-fidelity screens in Figma first, I chose a code-first prototyping approach. Because the experience relied heavily on interaction, exploration, animation, and feedback, I felt that static mockups would not provide realistic testing results with the target audience.
Building directly in code allowed me to validate ideas through usability testing much earlier in the process. It provided more authentic feedback from participants and enabled rapid iteration on navigation, pacing, engagement, and interaction design while continuously refining the experience.
Low-fidelity sketches showing the early user flow and museum experience for De Digitale SchatkistOverview of the design process showing the evolution from sketches to a coded prototype and refined final experience
05 /Testing & Validation
Validation played a key role throughout the project. Multiple rounds of usability testing, peer reviews, concept evaluations, and guided user sessions were conducted with the target audience. These tests explored everything from navigation and visual hierarchy to the effectiveness of metaphors and the balance between playful and educational elements.
The findings continuously informed new iterations. Concepts were simplified, interactions refined, and feedback systems improved until the experience became more intuitive and engaging. By repeatedly testing with real users, I was able to validate not only usability but also whether children were actually understanding the privacy concepts being presented.
Alongside usability testing, I evaluated the experience against WCAG accessibility guidelines to ensure the application remained understandable and usable for a wide range of users. I also chose to go by Privacy by Design and Ethical Design principles, emphasising transparency in real life and development, age-appropriate communication, and user autonomy. Rather than relying on fear or warning messages, the experience encourages children to explore, reflect, and make informed decisions about their personal data.
Conclusion
De Digitale Schatkist started with a simple question: how do you explain something as invisible as online privacy to children? Through months of research, testing, and iteration, the project evolved into an interactive experience that helps young people understand their digital footprint through discovery, reflection, and play.
More importantly, the project changed the way I work. It taught me that good design is not about having the right answer from the beginning, but about listening, testing, and continuously refining ideas based on real people. Working with children challenged many of my assumptions and showed me how powerful empathy can be as a design tool.
As a creative developer, I found confidence in combining design and code throughout the entire process. Building and testing a real prototype allowed me to explore ideas faster, learn directly from users, and create a more authentic experience. De Digitale Schatkist is a project that best represents who I am today and that is someone who enjoys using technology, design, and research together to make complex topics more understandable and meaningful.
