The Problem

Schools and educators lacked a unified, scalable way to access structured foundational learning resources. Existing solutions were fragmented, hard to navigate, and not aligned with how educators actually plan instruction.

The Challenge

This wasn’t a redesign—it was a brand new product concept/build.

Key challenges included:

  • No existing patterns or product foundation
  • Aligning multiple stakeholders (learning + product + business)
  • Designing for multiple user types (teachers, admins, etc.)
  • Ensuring the system could scale over time

ROLE

Lead UX Designer & Front-end Engineer

Timeline

2 years

Team

Product Manager + Learning Designers + Engineering

Responsibilities

UX Strategy · Information Architecture · User Flows · Wireframing · Cross-functional Collaboration · Design Systems · Content Structure · Prototyping · Engineering Front-end

Key Outcomes

  • Improved content discoverability
  • Reduced support reliance
  • Streamlined onboarding workflows

Impact

Led the design of a scalable learning platform that simplified content discovery and improved the overall educator experience.

The platform introduced:

  • A more intuitive search and filtering experience powered by structured metadata
  • Embedded product guidance that reduced dependency on support channels
  • Improved navigation patterns that received positive feedback from educators
  • Personalized onboarding and recommendation pathways designed to guide users toward relevant next steps

Together, these changes created a stronger foundation for scalability, discoverability, and future personalization efforts.

My Approach

1. Understanding Educator Needs

I worked closely with Learning Designers and stakeholders to understand:

  • How educators plan lessons
  • How they search for and use content
  • Where existing tools created friction

Key insight:
Teachers don’t think in “content structures”—they think in instructional flow and outcomes.

2. Defining the System

Instead of designing isolated screens, I focused on:

  • Structuring content in a way that scales
  • Creating consistent patterns across the experience
  • Supporting both discovery and guided use

This required aligning:

  • Content models
  • Navigation systems
  • Metadata structures

3. Designing for Flexibility

The platform needed to support:

  • Different user roles
  • Different teaching styles
  • Evolving content over time

I prioritized:

  • Modular design patterns
  • Flexible navigation
  • Clear hierarchy of information

4. Cross-functional Collaboration

This project required deep collaboration with:

  • Learning Designers (content structure + pedagogy)
  • Product Managers (prioritization + scope)
  • Engineers (feasibility + scalability)

A key part of my role was translating between disciplines and aligning on decisions.

Design Evolution

Early concepts focused heavily on structured navigation, but testing and feedback revealed:

Users needed a balance between structure and flexibility.

This led to:

  • Iterating on navigation patterns
  • Refining how content was grouped and surfaced
  • Simplifying interaction flows
Workflow Chart/Map
Information Architecture/Card Sorting
Wireframe: Homepage/Dashboard Concept
Wireframe: Search/Filtering Concept
Wireframe: Navigation/Information Architecture Concept
Wireframe: Structured/Guided Lesson Resources
Wireframe: Lesson Plan
Wireframe: Assignment Report
Wireframe: Resource Page
Wireframe: Infographic Concept Report
Wireframe: Finding Resources by State Standards
Design: Homepage/Dashboard
Design: Resource Page
Design: Assignment Report
Design: Lesson Plan
Design: Structured Lesson Plan Resources
Design: Navigation
Design: Search and Filtering

Outcome

Designed to scale across users, content types, and future product growth.

“This site is so easy to navigate. I can find the resources that I need fast and easy!”

An Educator

The result was a scalable platform that:

  • Provided a clear, structured way to access foundational content
  • Reduced friction in finding and using resources
  • Reduced support reliance with embedded guidance
  • Created scalable foundations for future personalization

Reflection

Early alignment across disciplines proved critical in preventing downstream complexity later in the project.

What I Learned

  • Designing systems is more about structure and relationships than screens
  • Early alignment across teams prevents major downstream issues
  • Flexibility is just as important as clarity in complex products

If I were to approach this today, I would:

  • Invest earlier in validating content structure with users
  • Explore more lightweight testing earlier in the process
  • Push for clearer success metrics from the start

More Case Studies

Let’s Work Together

Let’s simplify complex products together

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