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Explore Pick Go

Made by Emma & Emilia Austin 5th Graders K-5

A neurodiversity-first app called EPGo (Explore, Pick, GO!) that helps kids find fun places near their school with customizable color themes for colorblind users, visual icons instead of text-heavy menus, popular item previews with ingredients, bus route planning, and voice-to-text for kids with dyslexia.

Sometimes when people are colorblind they can't really see colors as well. It lets them pick what color helps them best. We put pictures next to everything so they don't have to search and do all the investigation — it helps them see what it is quickly. We also put the popular smoothies and the ingredients on them so it helps you prepare and know what to expect. Maybe if kids have dyslexia like we do, then it could read to them.

— Emma & Emilia

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Design Screens

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EPGo splash screen with colorful logo, diverse cartoon kids waving from a yellow-green school bus, Austin skyline, and a Get Started button screen
The EPGo title screen — Explore, Pick, GO!
Home dashboard showing Hey Explorer greeting, color theme selector with high contrast and deuteranopia-friendly options, featured places like Juiceland and Zilker Park, and category chips screen
Customizable color themes front and center on the home screen
Search and explore screen in deuteranopia-friendly mode with interest and accessibility filter chips, voice search, and place results with walk and bus times screen
Filter by interest and accessibility needs — icons do the talking
Interactive map of Austin showing third space locations with colorful pins, a destination card for Zilker Botanical Garden, and walk, bike, bus, and drive transportation options screen
See nearby spots on the map and pick how to get there
Juiceland South Lamar detail page showing amenities grid, popular smoothies with ingredients like Wunder Shwzen and Wild Child, check-in stamp button, and kid reviews screen
Know exactly what to expect before you go

Emma and Emilia both love Juiceland, which is close to their school and walkable. They wished an app existed that showed them places like it and helped them prepare before going. As kids with dyslexia themselves, they designed EPGo (Explore, Pick, GO!) to solve real accessibility problems they face every day: colorblindness, difficulty reading text-heavy menus, and anxiety about new places when you don’t know what to expect.

The Problem

Kids want to hang out at cool places after school but don’t know what’s nearby, how to get there, what to expect when they arrive, and whether the place is accessible for their needs. Sometimes there are amazing programs happening at the library or rec center, but nobody knows about them.

Our Solution — EPGo

Our app lets you:

  • Pick customizable colors so colorblind users can choose the palette that works best for them
  • See visual icons for everything instead of text-heavy menus — pictures help you understand quickly without having to “search and do all the investigation”
  • Preview popular items with ingredients so you know what to order before you even arrive
  • Plan your bus route or walking directions from school to any third space
  • Use voice-to-text so kids with dyslexia don’t have to worry about spelling
  • Listen with text-to-speech so the app can read everything aloud

Why Accessibility Is the Design

This isn’t an app with accessibility features added on. Accessibility IS the design. Emma said it best: “It helps kids have their ideas down.” Every feature — customizable colors, visual icons, voice-to-text, popular items preview — serves kids with dyslexia, colorblindness, and anxiety about new places.

If you removed the accessibility features, the app loses its soul. It becomes just another generic third-spaces finder. Emma and Emilia designed this from their lived experience, and that’s what makes it different.

Key Features

  1. Customizable Color Themes: Users can toggle between color palettes including high contrast, deuteranopia-friendly, and protanopia-friendly modes. Emma explained: “Sometimes when people are colorblind they can’t really see colors as well. It lets them pick what color helps them best.”

  2. Visual Icons for Everything: Instead of text-heavy menus, every place and amenity has a clear illustrated icon. “It helps them see what it is quickly” without needing to read walls of text.

  3. Popular Items Preview: When viewing a place like Juiceland, see the most popular items with photos and ingredients — like the Wunder Shwzen (Peanut Butter, Banana, Spinach, Almond Milk, Hemp Protein). This helps neurodiverse kids prepare mentally and reduces anxiety about new places.

  4. Bus Route Planning: Emma and Emilia asked, “What if someone wanted to take a bus?” Not all kids have car access, and knowing the exact route empowers independence.

  5. Voice-to-Text & Read Aloud: Emilia shared: “Sometimes I don’t know how to spell a word so that helps.” And for reading, “Maybe if kids have dyslexia like we do, then it could read to them.”

  6. Kid Reviews: See ratings from other kids your age, not just adults, so you know if a place is actually fun.

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