Duolingo wins Apple Design Award for innovation in design

US-based language learning app Duolingo announced on Friday that it won a Design Award during the 2023 edition of the Apple Design Awards, which honour excellence in innovation, inventiveness, and technical achievement in app and game design.

The learning app incorporated a series of major redesign improvements during this past year.

"I want to thank our VP of Design, Ryan Sims, for his work in leading this effort and for his continued creative vision," Luis von Ahn, CEO and co-Founder at Duolingo, said in a statement.

"The secret to Duolingo is that we're not an education company. We're a fun and motivation company. Fun is the most important part of the work we do," he added.

Moreover, the company said that the app has figured out how to make a daily language lesson a fun moment, instead of classwork, as a result, Apple awarded Duolingo among the Delight and Fun Winners, a category that recognises platforms that provide memorable, engaging, and satisfying experiences that are enhanced by Apple technologies.

This past year, Duolingo launched a major learning path redesign.

In previous versions, it focused on a main screen -- known as "the tree" -- that let people explore numerous routes.

The path redesign coincided with another important update -- animations for Duolingo's wonderful cast of characters.

There's Lily, a perpetually unimpressed teen with a dismissive slow-clap; Oscar, a dramatic teacher who takes his job very seriously; and Eddy, a fitness buff with an enthusiasm for just about everything, according to the company.