Educational App

WhatsGerman

WhatsGerman was developed against the backdrop that refugees arriving in Germany often want to learn German quickly in order to feel more at home. It is a reality, however, that they usually have to wait for an average of three months to attend such German courses. WhatsGerman is based on the idea of offering a German language course on the famous WhatsApp platform, as it is often already used by refugees to stay in contact with family they have left behind. Instead of having to download an additional app, upon registration with a smartphone at www.whatsgerman.de it sends users a language lesson each day. The clearly structured course consists of text, explanatory emojis and videos for correct pronunciation. For more targeted learning, a choice between the three courses of “The Alphabet”, “Daily Life” and “Basic Grammar” is offered. Developed together with language teachers, the courses are available in English, Arabic and other languages soon to come.

Statement by the Jury

WhatsGerman is a sensitively designed tool that welcomes refugees in that it is well adapted to the issue of language learning. It is easy to access and use and thus gives refugees some of their autonomy back. This online language course hence incorporates a good solution with regard to the existing social and political problems. It shows how communication design can reach the human mind.

Red Dot: Best of the Best

Credits

Chief Creative Officer:

Alexander Schill (Global CCO), Markus Maczey (CCO Plan.Net)
Executive Creative Direction:

Michael Reill
Creative Direction:

Bernd Nagenrauft
Design:

Plan.Net/Serviceplan, Munich
Copywriting:

Friederike Fröhlich, Kathrin Vogl
Art Direction:

Andrea Prade
Client:

Plan.Net, Munich