CASE STUDY — INTERNAL INNOVATION
TerrAIn
A board game that turns Generative AI concepts into something you can actually play.
CLIENT
Accenture – Internal Innovation Program
TYPE
Innovation Project (Internal, Award-Winning)
DURATION
6 Weeks (November to January)
TOOLS
Figma, Mural
ROLE
Product Designer (IC)
TEAM
Business Analyst + Team Lead
OVERVIEW
A workshop exercise that became a launched product.
TerrAIn is a multilingual board game designed to make Generative AI concepts accessible and memorable. Players climb Mt. Vector as hikers, crossing six "terrains" that each introduce a core GenAI idea. What started as a brainstorming session became a full product. TerrAIn is now used by clients, students, and young professionals globally, and awarded a top-three internal innovation prize across the Americas (V360 Award – Top 3 in Americas Market Round, FY25).
MY ROLE
Concept phase: naming, structure, and early research.
I was part of the founding team for six weeks during the concept and early design phase. I named the game, facilitated the initial design thinking workshops that defined the learning arc and core mechanics, and shaped the structural metaphor — the mountain, the terrains as levels, the hiker as learner. I also conducted interviews with non-profit partners to understand where their GenAI knowledge gaps were, which directly informed how the game teaches its concepts. After my phase, the team carried the skeleton forward through development and launch.
SEE IT IN ACTION
Try the game yourself.
Here's a short glimpse into how TerrAIn turns GenAI learning into a playful board game experience. You can play the game and explore how each "TerrAIn" introduces a core concept.
REFLECTIONS
What six weeks of early-phase work actually needs to do.
I was on this project for only six weeks, but the early design thinking, naming, and skeleton work we created continued to guide the team long after. That taught me something about what early-phase contributions actually need to do: they need to hold up without you in the room. Our interviews with non-profit partners revealed both excitement and uncertainty around GenAI, and those insights directly shaped how we simplified the concepts within the game. Without that research, we would have designed something clever instead of something clear. And TerrAIn showed me that a playful approach can make even complex technologies approachable and memorable, not as a gimmick, but as a genuine path to understanding.