LDC – jen matos

THE CLIENT

LDC is an online platform that helps educators design and manage their classroom curricula.

Lead Designer | UX/UI Design | Visual Design

THE STORY

I became part of The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) team after the release of their first online application, LDC CoreTools. The company was looking to re-align their overall product user experience and establish a unified design approach. Under id8, I was brought in to help solve several complex design issues and create a cohesive vision for their platform.

THE PROCESS

Two strategies needed to occur simultaneously in this engagement:

1.) Get the existing design + experience of CoreTools aligned across all areas of the application, and

2.) Define a new direction for the next generation of CoreTools and the additional products LDC planned to release.

I followed an evidence-based design approach which included: whiteboarding sessions; user research (interviews, on-site observations, surveys); lo + hi-fidelity prototyping; and rounds of design iterations that were reviewed weekly with the Product team as well as tested regularly with users.

LDC Curriculum (original) — Original Search Screen

Original Curriculum Screen

LDC Skills & Instruction (Original) — Curriculum Screen (cont.)

LDC - Add Standards Lightbox (Original) — Original Modal Example

RESEARCH + DEFINITION

Since I was working with an existing application, I needed to first get an understanding of how the application was laid out — what was working well already, what wasn’t, etc. To do this, I conducted a Heuristics Evaluation.

Based on the outcome of that evaluation, I had a better idea of where I should first focus my attention.

Additional research methods were conducted throughout this engagement, including: user surveys, interviews, ethnographic studies, and focus groups.

LDC - Heuristics Evaluation — Heuristics Evaluation

DESIGN

DEVELOP + ITERATE

LDC - Module Editor — Redesigned Curriculum Screen

LDC - Final Modal Add Standards — Redesigned Modal

Wireframe - Feature Intro — Feature Introduction Design

LDC User Testing Results - Stats — Stats from User Testing Results

LDC - Style Guide — Snippet from a Style Guide

FUTURE DESIGN EXPLORATION

LDC - CoreTools TT (nextGen) — Teaching Task Layout

LDC - All-in-one Layout (nextGen) — All-in-one Layout Design Exploration

LDC - Teach tab (nextGen) — Teach tab (nextGen)

LDC - Teach tab w modal (nextGen) — Teach tab modal (nextGen)

THE OUTCOME

As a designer, working on this project was incredibly rewarding. LDC's mission of seeking to ensure that every student in America graduates from high school with the literacy skills necessary for success in college and career is a necessary effort, and I was proud to be part of the team.

Although my time with LDC came to an end, their platform continues to thrive. I provided a design vision and methodology that LDC can continue to build upon as their product evolves.