Designing for 12-Year-Olds: It’s Harder Than You Think!

When I started building LexThread, I assumed the hardest part would be the tech: training the chatbot, making it understand questions, figuring out how to handle different languages. And yes, all of that took time and it is still very demanding. But the most unexpectedly frustrating part? The colors. The layout. The vibe.

At first, I thought I had it all figured out. I picked a bright purple background and added a bunch of small illustrations like robots, doctors, scientists, pens, computers, planets. The idea was to make it look playful and educational, like a digital sticker book of STEM dreams. Very “fun,” very “for kids.”

But something felt off.

The more I looked at it, the more I started to wonder: what if 12-year-olds aren’t that different from people my age? We all scroll through the same reels, watch the same YouTubers, and share Pinterest boards with muted tones and soft gradients. Most of the websites I like aren’t full of clipart or neon colors. So... why would they want that either? After all, they aren’t toddlers getting distracted by colours!

So I decided to test it out. I made a second version of the site with a beige background, minimal icons, softer colors. It was cleaner, more relaxed, and honestly more my style too. I showed both versions to a few 12- and 13-year-olds. (Okay, not exactly a proper experiment, but close enough.)

Their responses were kind of brutal, but really helpful.

“The purple one looks like it’s trying too hard,” one said (Ouch).

“This one feels more like a real website,” another added, pointing to the minimal version. Deep down, I knew that it’s true! I, myself, would prefer something minimalistic.

That’s when it hit me: designing for younger users doesn’t mean designing down. It means designing better with respect for how sharp and intuitive they already are. They’re not looking for something that screams “educational kids’ app.” They want something that looks clean, modern, and - honestly - aesthetic.

And I totally get it. I’ve clicked away from websites that looked too cluttered or too childish. So why should they be any different?

In the end, I rebuilt the site with a calmer color palette, simple fonts, and cleaner pages. I want the experience to feel thoughtful, welcoming and human to people of all ages, especially kids.

Turns out, designing for 12-year-olds isn’t about adding more stuff. It’s about understanding what they actually like and trusting that even at 12, they know what “good design” looks like.