Online Textbook Portal for a Statewide Platform.

300,000 students between ages 5 and 18, using an impersonal legacy portal. The state needed a concept that actually works for its youngest users. Status: This concept was not implemented. All screens shown are conceptual designs from the pitch stage.

Scope

End-to-End UX/UI · B2C · Public Sector

Duration

1.5 months

Year

2023

NDA Notice. The visuals on this page are reconstructed concept work. They contain no original data and no original client screenshots.

Context

The legacy system felt official and adult, not built for students between 5 and 18.

The portal works as a personal bookshelf with links to publisher content. The legacy version had four weaknesses: impersonal user profiles, mixed filter and profile settings, inconsistent icons, and a visual style that did not fit young users. The task was a concept proposal as decision basis for the state, not a finished product.

My Role

Solo designer across the entire process, from briefing to clickable prototype.

Rebriefing, scope definition, interview coordination, persona, user flows, design research, color concept, component library for tablet and mobile, clickable prototype. No second designer involved. The deliverables shown here are the design system foundations and the final screens across both platforms.

Approach

System understanding before the first pixel, then three principles for every screen.

The process started with structured rebriefing, not wireframes. An interview with a 12 year old student revealed that the portal sometimes showed books from other classes, which became the rationale for class specific filtering. The state colors (burgundy, black) felt official and heavy for kids, so I chose a quiet blue with warm subject accents that work as navigation aids.

Outcome

Complete concept across two platforms with a clickable prototype and component library.

Two platform designs (tablet and mobile), a clickable prototype, a five color subject system, and a component library. The concept was completed and delivered. Implementation was deferred by the public sector client due to budget constraints. The screens shown here are conceptual designs from the pitch stage.

Reflection

More interviews and direct testing with students would have strengthened the case.

The decision against the state colors was the right call and held up in client review. What I would change: more than one student interview, and testing the personal features (profile, messages, saved list) directly with kids before the pitch. Five students would have been enough to validate the core assumptions.