Override the default image zoom level and lock it to
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zoom lock
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for forward & backSpace Bar
to cycle image zoom.This is a story about being brought in for a
simple design project and instead uncovering an idea
with the power to transform an organization.
outh Entrepreneurs is a nonprofit subsidiary of Koch Industries that promotes business and entrepreneurial education for at-risk students. Although their curriculum had been adopted by schools across the country, they were facing the challenge of scaling their
on-boarding program for new teachers.
artnering with Fervor Creative, an agency based out of Kansas City, they set out to create video and content for a standard Learning Management System. This would live within a lead generating marketing website while also integrating into their organization as a training tool under the new brand identity of Entre-X.
fter Fervor brought me in for
Creative Direction & Product Design, we identified opportunities that could
build on YE’s short term goals to positively impact their organization. We then successfully pitched a multi-phase
solution to address both short and long term needs for YE and their educators.
We pitched a lot of untested ideas In the
first phase of this project. Rather than
investing significant time and resources
into subjective opinions, we proposed
an iterative approach that would treat
phase I as an initial test platform to see
how YE’s educators would respond.
This philosophy allowed us to test and
refine those ideas before committing to
a substantial digital platform that had
to meet all of our business objectives.
However, we also wanted to walk the
line of thinking through the long term
product goals for YE so that we could
lay a foundation that pointed us in the
right direction. Finally, we wanted to
provide an immediate return for YE by meeting their short-term goal of improving educator on-boarding. The work below covers the strategy and execution for this initial test platform as well as the pitch for Phase II & III.
I use InVision to create click-through Prototypes for my designs. They often start with a Client Dashboard that provides links to relevant resources, project updates, and serves as a launchpad to enter into different flows. In this case, we focused on tablet width designs for phase I as an initial test and training platform based on market research. Check it out by clicking the button above.
I’ve learned that creating a transparent
design process is necessary to explain
the ‘Why’ to stakeholders. Strategic
understanding allows for productive
dialogue, it informs group decisions,
and it reduces myopic mistakes.
While I don’t expect everyone involved
in a project to dive into every aspect of
the design process, I’ve found that good
documenting is invaluable. It clarifies
group disagreements, focuses user
testing, informs clients, reduces
development errors, and empowers
future planning. As an initial investment,
it is a necessity with large teams and it
quickly becomes a huge time saver.
I love combining the tactile power of a
print publication alongside digital
presentation and documentation. It’s
invaluable for pitches & presentations,
and a digital product team can also
unite around clear illustrations and
sequentially constructed ideas to
understand their context. A tangible
book also creates spatial context for
connecting abstract ideas, and is
especially useful for reference,
annotation, and client exercises in a
way that Google Docs & Keynote aren’t.
We quickly learned that YE had a larger
systemic problem in that most of their
processes were resource and time
intensive. The immediate low hanging
fruit was to recommend digitizing their
entire curriculum, given that it was
currently being distributed in large
binders and often required personal
training whenever new lessons were
introduced. Fervor Creative specializes
in content creation, and they proposed
creating multi-segment videos for all of
the YE lessons in addition to
standardizing associated resources.
Beyond training and content, however,
we recognized there was already a
strong community in place between
existing educators. They were
motivated to help each other and had
a deep desire to connect over new
ideas and teaching methods. They were
also eager to mentor new teachers but
struggled to get connected to them.
Recognizing these as unique
opportunities, we came back to YE with
a proposal for a custom LMS that not
only brought their curriculum and
training online, but would lay the
foundations for a social community that
would transform their organization.
The above strategy booklet contains all
of the work we’re about to cover and
more, but it’s helpful for understanding
this project if we pull a few pages out
and talk about them a little more
in-depth. If you would like to learn more
about my philosophy of customizing my
design process for every project, take a
look at my page dedicated to process.
We opened the design process with our target Ideal Educator Advocate, Tiffany, and identified her conversion objectives based on YE’s goals. We then contrasted this with her wants and needs based on her motivations. We could figure out how those differed by looking at where a new Tiffany was coming from, given that we were creating an MVP platform to test our ideas. and we could assume every user was new. This framed our initial use cases that we later used to define her journey.
We created a storyboard for each of the above Use Cases 
and outlined the steps that would motivate Tiffany to progress to her objectives. After examining the commonalities between each use case, we created primary and secondary ideal user journeys with alternate entry points, which you can see on the left.
Tiffany’s ideal journey informed a basic bulleted content outline, which we organized into clear categories that would decide what page templates needed to be designed as well as their relationship to each other. The relationship between these content types and the flows through them defined Entre-x’s Information Architecture. You can see this on the right. We also expanded this to a full content doc, which allowed our content writer to dig in at the same time that I began creating wireframes. I think it’s a great idea to let these steps inform each other rather than failing to address copy until after the design process.
Clear information architecture allowed us
to explore several primary navigation
options. Because we had focused on
flows that moved through page content
at a maximum of two levels, the
navigation could be extremely simple.
With these pieces in place, we could
brainstorm features and functionality
that would improve engagement and
provide an engaging user experience.
Panel illustrations allowed for better
dialog with stakeholders.
Predefining content hierarchy,
interaction, behavior and functionality
means that wireframes are intended to
have an accurate layout. This can act as
responsive documentation when it isn’t
worth designing for multiple widths.
It was time to present the work to Youth
Entrepreneurs’ collective leadership.
Our team of specialists included our
Brand Manager, CEO, Lead Software
Engineer, Content Strategist, Marketing
Communications Coordinator, and
myself as Creative Director and Product
Designer. We traveled to Koch
Industries’ facilities in Wichita and
presented the strategy and design for
phase I with hypothetical flows covering
our use cases for our primary persona.
We then gave our proposal split into
short, medium, and long term goals.
After a brief break, we discussed our
philosophy of iteration and continuous
deployment and then finished with a
client exercise around product goals,
scope and prioritization.
Before beginning the client exercise,
we asked for feedback. This provided
the information we needed to conduct
a white-boarding session that followed
a simple worksheet at the back of our
Strategy and Process booklet, which
you can see below. We addressed the
three major categories for Phase II and
their sub-components. We also asked
how our proposal fit with the things
each department at YE had been
thinking about for a long time and
acknowledged several new ideas we
hadn’t thought about. We finished by
asking each person to talk about
existing products and experiences in
the marketplace that solved similar
problems, listing what they liked and
didn’t like about them.
Our presentation and proposal were
received enthusiastically. We later
heard that several key members were as
enthusiastic as their colleagues had
ever seen. They loved that our strategic
process was systematic, transparent
and inclusive. They also valued having
partners that understood their unique
needs & goals while offering technical
expertise outside of their experience.
With the knowledge that the next phase
included an ongoing discovery process,
YE gave their whole-hearted approval to
moving forward in entirety with our
proposal. I later finished the final specs
for a pixel perfect handoff and Fervor’s
talented team concluded the
development and launch milestones.
After a few months we started Phase II!
While I was responsible for
everything above, none of it
would have been possible
without smart people who
gave me the information,
tools, and freedom I needed.
When I’m brought in for
product creation, a lot of
work has already happened
before I walk in the door.
This collection of marketing,
UX Research, and business
strategy will form the found-
ation of any design process.
My goal is to ask questions
and suggest any necessary
research or collaborative
exploration to ensure that
we have a solid foundation.
Fortunately, Fervor Creative
has a magical team of
marketing experts who take
their clients through a Brand
Impact Assessment™, which
includes market research
around ideal Advocates &
position. We had a big head-
start because Fervor also
had a rough idea of their
Phase I lifecycle with goals
for MVP, a flexible scope,
and an understanding of
potential impact on YE’s
business practices.
I was the principal designer for all of the work shown unless otherwise noted, and I am the author and creator of the case studies within this portfolio. This website exists as a digital resume for the purpose of providing proof of experience in order to gain future potential work. Many of these projects were completed collaboratively in a “creative for hire” agency, freelance contract, or software company with copyright assigned to that entity or client.
I always have language in my creative contracts that I discuss with clients and employers that specifies my ability to display my work publicly. This includes concepts and processes as well as final deliverables, given that all of these are necessary to display my competence as a UX and Product Designer. I follow best practices to the best of my ability to assure that my work for clients is in compliance with copyright, either through open licensing or purchase of stock photography, mockups, icons, and other creative resources. However, I recognize that digital ownership is sometimes disputed on the internet. I do not assume legal liability for work completed in good faith on behalf of corporations and organizations, even if it is displayed here in my Resume. Even so, I take copyright and intellectual property seriously as a professional designer and photographer.
If you have any questions or concerns about something displayed here, please contact me and I will do my best to resolve them as simply and expediently as possible. Thank you!