We chose to design an app for 11-13 year olds because of the significance of digital addiction. Cognitively, this stage is known as “adolescence,” where outer influences become formative experiences through decision-making and critical thinking.
Tweens’ and teens’ interest in adventure media, characters with whom they can relate to, and exciting visual stimulation, led us to focus on an experience over a standard interface. In order to create a universally intriguing experience, where the user can self-insert their own worldbuilding ideologies, we chose a secret agent style roleplay. This makes the user feel special, and implies that no one else has an experience like theirs.
Despite our personal experiences with younger audiences being glued to their devices, we also noticed that they are still excited by traditional games: hand games, collaborative drawing, and all variations of tag. Using your resources around you is still a viable option for entertainment, it has simply been overshadowed by the convenience of an all-in-one platform. This gave us the inspiration to return to simple joys, like struggling with a friend to complete the same task.
Our lack of daily cognitive function presents us with an opportunity to appreciate it more. We can build back up our communication skills, feel the benefits of an engaging friendship, create our own goals, and explore the world through what’s in front of us.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
DAVIS DESIGN FEST: OP-EX (2026)
DAVIS DESIGN FEST: OP-EX (2026)
DAVIS DESIGN FEST: OP-EX (2026)
DAVIS DESIGN FEST: OP-EX (2026)
OP:EX deletes in a week. Now, where technology is thrust upon us at a young age, we have forgotten how to access imaginatory play: every second between screens is “boredom,” whose cure is answered with a search. Instead of an app that actively monitors you while open, OP:EX occurs within a couple minutes a day.
Operation: Exterminate is a social movement, where you, the secret agent, remember how to create your own fun.
Every day, the user completes a task that gradually increases in absurdity and complexity. Each requires evidence to pass, like taking a photo or drawing on the screen with a friend. Then, the agent collects a section of a final token, and waits 24 hours until the next task is revealed.
This limitation not only halts screen time, but builds intrigue. This is how the message spreads: by curiosity, narrative investment, and recommendation.
In fact, the final task is to assemble and decode the token they were building, ensuring an overall incentive. It reveals to be a button deleting the entire game, meaning the true goal behind OP:EX was to let the user go. Finally, they must recode the button to pass on to the next user, building the fundamentals of another agent’s experience.
OP:EX provokes thought: what it means to play, how much we rely on instructions, and what we can accomplish independently. Instead of becoming the bridge between the digital and physical worlds, OP:EX pushes you straight into the gap.
MISSION BRIEFING
OP:EX (Operation: Exterminate) is a time-sensitive spy-adventure app that challenges users to complete offline, real-world activities with friends. Designed to be permanently deleted once all "spy missions" are finished, the app directly addresses digital addiction and social isolation among tweens and teens. By reframing familiar online mechanics into physical real-world tasks, OP:EX encourages adolescents to build critical decision-making and interpersonal skills offline.
The project won Best Overall Design at the 2026 Davis Design Fest, hosted by Davis Design Interactive. It was co-created alongside ASUCD Creative Media peers Shampave Kandiah, Nicole Paja, and Tegan Leong.
OP:EX (Operation: Exterminate) is a time-sensitive spy-adventure app that challenges users to complete offline, real-world activities with friends. Designed to be permanently deleted once all "spy missions" are finished, the app directly addresses digital addiction and social isolation among tweens and teens. By reframing familiar online mechanics into physical real-world tasks, OP:EX encourages adolescents to build critical decision-making and interpersonal skills offline.
The project won Best Overall Design at the 2026 Davis Design Fest, hosted by Davis Design Interactive. It was co-created alongside ASUCD Creative Media peers Shampave Kandiah, Nicole Paja, and Tegan Leong.
ABOUT
Davis Design Interactive
CLIENT
2026 Davis Design Fest
EVENT
Best Overall Design
AWARDS
Shampave Kandiah
Tegan Leong
Nicole Paja
Kayla Tran
MEMBERS
Design
INDUSTRY
OP:EX (Operation: Exterminate) is a time-sensitive spy-adventure app that challenges users to complete offline, real-world activities with friends. Designed to be permanently deleted once all "spy missions" are finished, the app directly addresses digital addiction and social isolation among tweens and teens. By reframing familiar online mechanics into physical real-world tasks, OP:EX encourages adolescents to build critical decision-making and interpersonal skills offline.
The project won Best Overall Design at the 2026 Davis Design Fest, hosted by Davis Design Interactive. It was co-created alongside ASUCD Creative Media peers Shampave Kandiah, Nicole Paja, and Tegan Leong.
ABOUT
Design
INDUSTRY
Davis Design Interactive
CLIENT
2026 Davis Design Fest
EVENT
Best Overall Design
AWARDS
Shampave Kandiah
Tegan Leong
Nicole Paja
Kayla Tran
MEMBERS
OP:EX (Operation: Exterminate) is a time-sensitive spy-adventure app that challenges users to complete offline, real-world activities with friends. Designed to be permanently deleted once all "spy missions" are finished, the app directly addresses digital addiction and social isolation among tweens and teens. By reframing familiar online mechanics into physical real-world tasks, OP:EX encourages adolescents to build critical decision-making and interpersonal skills offline.
The project won Best Overall Design at the 2026 Davis Design Fest, hosted by Davis Design Interactive. It was co-created alongside ASUCD Creative Media peers Shampave Kandiah, Nicole Paja, and Tegan Leong.
ABOUT
Design
INDUSTRY
Davis Design Interactive
CLIENT
2026 Davis Design Fest
EVENT
Best Overall Design
AWARDS
Shampave Kandiah
Tegan Leong
Nicole Paja
Kayla Tran
MEMBERS
OP:EX deletes in a week. Now, where technology is thrust upon us at a young age, we have forgotten how to access imaginatory play: every second between screens is "boredom," whose cure is answered with a search. Instead of an app that actively monitors you while open, OP:EX occurs within a couple minutes a day.
Operation: Exterminate is a social movement, where you, the secret agent, remember how to create your own fun.
Every day, the user completes a task that gradually increases in absurdity and complexity. Each requires evidence to pass, like taking a photo or drawing on the screen with a friend. Then, the agent collects a section of a final token, and waits 24 hours until the next task is revealed.
This limitation not only halts screen time, but builds intrigue. This is how the message spreads: by curiosity, narrative investment, and recommendation.
In fact, the final task is to assemble and decode the token they were building, ensuring an overall incentive. It reveals to be a button deleting the entire game, meaning the true goal behind OP:EX was to let the user go. Finally, they must recode the button to pass on to the next user, building the fundamentals of another agent's experience.
OP:EX provokes thought: what it means to play, how much we rely on instructions, and what we can accomplish independently. Instead of becoming the bridge between the digital and physical worlds, OP:EX pushes you straight into the gap.
MISSION BRIEFING
To contrast with the overly complex style of competitor apps designed for kids, OP:EX uses a simple, geometric art style. The selective color palette of pastel purple, indigo, magenta, and black maintains good contrast throughout. The clean Space Mono was used as the only typeface to further immerse the users in their role as secret agents.
All assets, aside from the user input examples, are geometric and bold, taking inspiration from retro 70s style illustrations to further contrast against the new norm of cognitive overload. The interface is minimalistic to reduce distraction and addiction, while the significant white space also draws attention to every detail on the screen.
VISUAL IDENTITY
We chose to design an app for 11-13 year olds because of the significance of digital addiction. Cognitively, this stage is known as "adolescence," where outer influences become formative experiences through decision-making and critical thinking.
Tweens' and teens' interest in adventure media, characters with whom they can relate to, and exciting visual stimulation, led us to focus on an experience over a standard interface. In order to create a universally intriguing experience, where the user can self-insert their own worldbuilding ideologies, we chose a secret agent style roleplay. This makes the user feel special, and implies that no one else has an experience like theirs.
Despite our personal experiences with younger audiences being glued to their devices, we also noticed that they are still excited by traditional games: hand games, collaborative drawing, and all variations of tag. Using your resources around you is still a viable option for entertainment, it has simply been overshadowed by the convenience of an all-in-one platform. This gave us the inspiration to return to simple joys, like struggling with a friend to complete the same task.
Our lack of daily cognitive function presents us with an opportunity to appreciate it more. We can build back up our communication skills, feel the benefits of an engaging friendship, create our own goals, and explore the world through what's in front of us.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
We chose to design an app for 11-13 year olds because of the significance of digital addiction. Cognitively, this stage is known as "adolescence," where outer influences become formative experiences through decision-making and critical thinking.
Tweens' and teens' interest in adventure media, characters with whom they can relate to, and exciting visual stimulation, led us to focus on an experience over a standard interface. In order to create a universally intriguing experience, where the user can self-insert their own worldbuilding ideologies, we chose a secret agent style roleplay. This makes the user feel special, and implies that no one else has an experience like theirs.
Despite our personal experiences with younger audiences being glued to their devices, we also noticed that they are still excited by traditional games: hand games, collaborative drawing, and all variations of tag. Using your resources around you is still a viable option for entertainment, it has simply been overshadowed by the convenience of an all-in-one platform. This gave us the inspiration to return to simple joys, like struggling with a friend to complete the same task.
Our lack of daily cognitive function presents us with an opportunity to appreciate it more. We can build back up our communication skills, feel the benefits of an engaging friendship, create our own goals, and explore the world through what's in front of us.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
To contrast with the overly complex style of competitor apps designed for kids, OP:EX uses a simple, geometric art style. The selective color palette of pastel purple, indigo, magenta, and black maintains good contrast throughout. The clean Space Mono was used as the only typeface to further immerse the users in their role as secret agents.
All assets, aside from the user input examples, are geometric and bold, taking inspiration from retro 70s style illustrations to further contrast against the new norm of cognitive overload. The interface is minimalistic to reduce distraction and addiction, while the significant white space also draws attention to every detail on the screen.
VISUAL IDENTITY
OP:EX deletes in a week. Now, where technology is thrust upon us at a young age, we have forgotten how to access imaginatory play: every second between screens is “boredom,” whose cure is answered with a search. Instead of an app that actively monitors you while open, OP:EX occurs within a couple minutes a day.
Operation: Exterminate is a social movement, where you, the secret agent, remember how to create your own fun.
Every day, the user completes a task that gradually increases in absurdity and complexity. Each requires evidence to pass, like taking a photo or drawing on the screen with a friend. Then, the agent collects a section of a final token, and waits 24 hours until the next task is revealed.
This limitation not only halts screen time, but builds intrigue. This is how the message spreads: by curiosity, narrative investment, and recommendation.
In fact, the final task is to assemble and decode the token they were building, ensuring an overall incentive. It reveals to be a button deleting the entire game, meaning the true goal behind OP:EX was to let the user go. Finally, they must recode the button to pass on to the next user, building the fundamentals of another agent’s experience.
OP:EX provokes thought: what it means to play, how much we rely on instructions, and what we can accomplish independently. Instead of becoming the bridge between the digital and physical worlds, OP:EX pushes you straight into the gap.
MISSION BRIEFING
To contrast with the overly complex style of competitor apps designed for kids, OP:EX uses a simple, geometric art style. The selective color palette of pastel purple, indigo, magenta, and black maintains good contrast throughout. The clean Space Mono was used as the only typeface to further immerse the users in their role as secret agents.
All assets, aside from the user input examples, are geometric and bold, taking inspiration from retro 70s style illustrations to further contrast against the new norm of cognitive overload. The interface is minimalistic to reduce distraction and addiction, while the significant white space also draws attention to every detail on the screen.
VISUAL IDENTITY
We chose to design an app for 11-13 year olds because of the significance of digital addiction. Cognitively, this stage is known as “adolescence,” where outer influences become formative experiences through decision-making and critical thinking.
Tweens’ and teens’ interest in adventure media, characters with whom they can relate to, and exciting visual stimulation, led us to focus on an experience over a standard interface. In order to create a universally intriguing experience, where the user can self-insert their own worldbuilding ideologies, we chose a secret agent style roleplay. This makes the user feel special, and implies that no one else has an experience like theirs.
Despite our personal experiences with younger audiences being glued to their devices, we also noticed that they are still excited by traditional games: hand games, collaborative drawing, and all variations of tag. Using your resources around you is still a viable option for entertainment, it has simply been overshadowed by the convenience of an all-in-one platform. This gave us the inspiration to return to simple joys, like struggling with a friend to complete the same task.
Our lack of daily cognitive function presents us with an opportunity to appreciate it more. We can build back up our communication skills, feel the benefits of an engaging friendship, create our own goals, and explore the world through what’s in front of us.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS