Aksa kata

In response to the low awareness of Aksara Jawa, this project explores the development of an educational product for young learners through an interactive and culturally grounded experience. Each stage, including empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test, was carried out with a user-centered design, focusing on how children learn and connect to cultural elements. Inspired by the legend of Aji Saka, the puzzle combines symbolic shapes, abstract visuals, and storytelling to spark curiosity, emotional engagement, and cognitive growth. Aksa Kata, the resulting product, aims to be a promising tool for early cultural education and holds potential for further development in a broader context. The traditional Hanacaraka syllabary is embedded into the design implementation through modular puzzle pieces that represent each line of the script. Findings from interviews show that the puzzle significantly improved children’s interest and retention of the Javanese script, Aksara Jawa. Children demonstrated stronger syllable recognition and a deeper emotional connection to cultural values. This research highlights the power of integrating storytelling and thoughtful design in educational tools that can effectively address cultural knowledge gaps in early education.