Social media, rebuilt for everyone.
Big Life Adventure – A social platform for adults with learning disabilities
A safe platform to compete with mainstream social media
The challenge
One in seven people has a learning disability, yet mainstream social media was never built for them. Peak15 Group asked us to build the platform that community had never had.
We had to design something safe for vulnerable users and simple for many ability levels.
Why it was brave
Building a social platform from scratch is hard. Building one for a user group failed by mainstream technology, co-designed from the ground up, is harder still.
Our impact
- Built for the 1 in 7 people mainstream social media excluded
- Recognised by a BIMA Gold Award
- The UK’s first social platform co-designed with adults with learning disabilities
Our Expertise
Experience Strategy
UX Design
Design Systems
Engineering
Safety and freedom are not opposites
How we thought about it
The guiding principle was co-design: we worked with users, families and professionals before any interface decision was made. Safety and freedom are not opposites.
What we did
- Led product strategy from platform vision to feature roadmap
- Designed an accessible and emotionally intelligent interface
- Built a space for self-expression and practical independence
- Developed the Big Life Buddy AI companion to nurture user wellbeing
- Designed a dual-audience architecture to serve both individual users and care providers
- Built in multi-perspective safeguarding
How we applied our expertise
The Platform
We designed and engineered Big Life Adventure as a social platform for adults with learning disabilities and autism in the UK. The Discover feed, messaging, calendar and goal-tracking tools support social connection and practical independence.
Big Life Buddy AI
The Big Life Buddy is an embedded AI companion that models positive behaviour and supports wellbeing. It represents a new approach to safeguarding: protect without restricting.
The Organisational Platform
For social care organisations and SEND professionals, Big Life Adventure supports digital inclusion. It bridges individual independence and professional support in a way mainstream social media cannot.
Our Impact
Built for the 1 in 7 people mainstream social media excluded
Recognised by a BIMA Gold Award
The UK’s first social platform co-designed with adults with learning disabilities
“Big Life Adventure is fundamentally about a life with no limits.
Our valued partner Athlon, has created a vibrant, empowering digital space that gives people with learning disabilities the chance to live bigger, braver lives on their own terms.”
— David Holmes, Founder, Big Life Adventure
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Let’s talk
Big vision or small start, we’re here for it.
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