Why did this work win?

It took a simple idea but took it as far as it could go... it was just a little different than everything else.

Judge Shawn Cheris

About the work

Set inside the human intestine, ""Tummy Trek"" is a mobile river adventure game designed to raise awareness of gut bacteria among teens and young adults. Players place good bacteria in empty spots along the intestinal "river" to protect good bacteria ("trees") lining the gut wall, maintaining a healthy environment. 

Wang was intrigued to learn that gut bacteria directly affect our physical and mental health, and that poor bacteria levels can result in problems such as constipation, obesity, diabetes, and anxiety. Her game is a playful, intuitive lesson in how our daily schedule, diet, and other habits are reflected in our biology.

PLAY, COLLECT, ACHIEVE

Country
United States
Tummy Trek contains three sections: 

1. Play (the game)
2. Collect (bacteria and food; learn fun scientific facts)
3. Achieve (earn grocery coupons by clearing levels with high scores and more)

Through repetition in play and by incentivizing users to build good habits, Tummy Trek delivers a message about healthy living and seeks to elicit real behavior change in its users.

Making of

ABOUT YINAN

Follow on instagram
@lenayinan

Yinan Wang is a visual designer from China, currently working in New York. She jumped into the creative world from archive science studies and was molded into a designer at the Maryland Institute College of Art. She likes noodles, manga, craft and storytelling. She's focused on problemsolving and designing better experiences. Her student work was mostly comprised of apps, games, and animations, but she has a wide variety of interests and is constantly curious. She’s always ready to explore.

Winner Experience
at Adobe MAX

I hope this project provides a fun, friendly way for users to engage with this topic as more than just scienctific vocabulary words.