Emile Learning
Reimagining education to acquire 1000 members
Launched MVP to market with an EdTech startup within 50 days and acquired 1000+ new members. Along the way, I developed their first design system to use in-product.
EdTech
Consumer web
Startup
Sep 2020 - Dec 2020
1.
Overview
1.
Overview
Skills
Product design
GTM strategy
Branding
Visual design
IA
UX
UI
IxD
Wireframing
Prototyping
Design systems
Timeline
4 months, Sep-Dec 2202
Team
Lead Product Designer, me
CEO
COO
CTO
Marketing Lead
Instructors (4)
Tools
Notion
Miro
Whimsical
Figma
Clickup
Zoom
2.
My role
2.
My role
Leading design at Emile*
Emile Learning is a subscription-based digital learning platform for the modern student. As their Founding Product Designer, I led the design process for the Emile website, onboarding, and minimum viable product (MVP) experiences. I supported design lifecycles from ideation to development, and created engaging experiences to drive user acquisition and engagement. I worked closely with the CEO, COO, CTO, and Marketing team, to continually deliver designs while making effective trade-offs to iteratively deliver value to students.
*Since my time on the team, Emile Learning rebranded, and is now called Subject.
3.
Opportunity
3.
Opportunity
COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way students learn
Internationally, COVID-19 has forced students and schools to be flexible as they adapt to sudden changes in education. In the U.S., digital learning has become an essential learning alternative for most students. Many students have struggled to adapt, raising nationwide class failure rates.
Initial challenge
How might we improve distance learning?
4.
Research
4.
Research
Key discovery insights
Before I joined Emile, the team had identified their target user and done research, to better understand student needs, attitudes, and pain points around remote learning:
Students want flexibility.
Rigid scheduling does not accommodate for individual learning and scheduling needs.
Zoom is less engaging than the classroom.
Learning exclusively via Zoom or video app is monotonous. Students struggle with staring at a screen for consecutive hours.
The number of digital tools is overwhelming.
Each class requires different learning tools. Students are spending more time and energy switching between tools. Additionally, they are prone to distraction.
Remote learning can feel isolating.
Students miss in-person social interaction and support. As a result, many student experience feelings of isolation.
Reframed challenge
How might we empower high school students to achieve their academic potential?
5.
Goals, metrics
5.
Goals, metrics
Research insights translated into experience goals
Before I joined Emile, the team had identified their target user and done research, to better understand student needs, attitudes, and pain points around remote learning:
Flexible
Our product helps students access education on their own terms.
Engaging
Our products helps students stay engaged in learning.
Efficiency
Our product helps students become more efficient when navigating digital tools.
Supportive
Our product helps students access a community.
What would success look like?
Keeping experience goals in mind, the team defined success metrics. I designed with the following metrics in mind:
- User acquisition (UA)
- Content engagement
- Number of views
- Viewing times
- Viewing frequency
6.
Solution
6.
Solution
Introducing “The Peloton of High School Education”
Enter Emile. Emile’s goal is to become the “Peloton of High School Education”, offering an affordable monthly membership to a highly-engaging digital platform for AP students. Long-term, Emile’s vision is to become a fully-accredited international high school.
Flexible
Professional-quality live + on-demand videos
Efficient, engaging
Interface elements (cards) to educate on concepts
Engaging, supportive
Community support
7.
Strategy
7.
Strategy
High impact, high feasibility
After the team brainstormed initial design directions, we completed an impact-effort matrix. This helped determine what to prioritize for MVP:
Business value
Eng feasibility
Flexible
Professional-quality live, on-demand videos
Efficient, engaging
Interface elements (cards) to educate on concepts
Engaging, supportive
Community support
Membership model
Leadership decided to employ a membership model ($20.00/month).
Therefore, we identified 2 use cases:
Use case 1
Member, logged in
Use case 2
Non-member, logged out
MVP scope
The MVP’s core user experience was the ability to watch lessons live and on-demand. This lived on one screen, with the following 3 features:
Note
I led design for the entire MVP, but for brevity, I am just sharing one part of the core experience: video streaming.
8.
Design phase
8.
Design phase
Early wireframes
This lo-fi mock is the first of many iterations!
Iterations
Our goal with early iterations was to pare down features, to accommodate limited engineering capacity. Specifically, we backlogged ideas for a community discussion forum, and card autoplay feature.
Working cross-functionally, I continuously iterated to balance different team needs. I made many iterations as we refined Emile’s UI and worked through visual exploration. Working on an agile team, I frequently iterated in high-fidelity:
9.
Design system
9.
Design system
Creating a consistent and scalable design system
Unifying the entire Emile experience is a consistent design language. My goal was to craft a functional, clear design system that reflects the Emile brand and is delightful for users. I created a design system early in the process.
Goals
Efficient design
Give designers access to a solid design foundation
Simplify development
Simplify development by creating reusable interface components
Visual consistency
Offer users visual consistency and a delightful aesthetic
The team had identified core brand values to understand the emotions at the heart of our design language. I inherited some legacy branding, such as the Emile logo and primary and secondary colors. My challenge was to integrate these existing components as I built out Emile’s new design language.
These basic components of design language (brand values, color, and typography) inform the design for Emile’s UI components. This includes everything from field inputs, to modals, to buttons and card design.
A unified design system is beneficial for designers, engineers, and users. Emile can move faster and focus on helping users unlock academic potential
Collaborating with engineering
I coordinated directly with Emile’s CTO to iterate and deploy features more quickly. Working side-by-side, he built in lower-fidelity as I refined higher-fidelity. When I finished designing in higher-fidelity, he would finish building.
We strategized together during daily scrum, 1-on-1 meetings, and sprint planning. We moved quickly, subscribing to Agile methodology. Together, we pared down features to accommodate engineering constraints.
The result? A careful balance between teams that optimized for efficiency.
Shipped
Product performance
1000+
Acquired members
50
Days to ship
12.
Next steps
12.
Next steps
9.
Design system
9.
Design system
11.
Impact
11.
Impact
Members vs. Non-members
See final mocks for the video streaming experience below:
Member, logged-in
Logged-out
Evaluating success metrics
To measure success with the Live Stream feature, the team will need to do user testing (mentioned above). Besides usability testing, it will be important for the team to look at data points around the following:
- User acquisition (UA)
- Click-thru-rate (CTR)
- Number of lesson views, average lesson duration, viewing times
This data can help prioritize tasks during sprints.
Future iterations
I believe the team should prioritize user testing around the core user experience (livestream feature). However, before leaving Emile, I created high-fidelity mockups for additional platform features, slated for later design sprints. The Emile team may consider launching these designs, with more time and engineering capacity:
Feature 1/2
User dashboard
The user dashboard would offer personalized and easy access to relevant content.
Its functionality:
- Subscribed courses (My Courses)
- Available now
- Coming soon
The goal is to optimize discovery to increase average session duration and engagement.
13.
Reflection
13.
Reflection
Final thoughts
During my time with Emile, I helped lead the evolution of the company from an education services company to a competitive player in the digital learning space. It was both challenging and exciting to ship a product to market within 50 days of conception!
Insight 1
Cross-functional collaboration is more efficient.
As the sole product designer on the team, I advocated for the user and also balanced the needs of leadership, product, engineering, and marketing. Not one team over the other, but a careful balance that optimizes for efficiency and delight!
Insight 2
Proactive communication is important.
It’s important to anticipate stakeholder needs. For me this underscores the importance of proactive communication and cross-functional collaboration. I am excited to implement these lessons with future teams!
Driving growth with 48M annual web users at Dropbox
View Dropbox web →
Thanks for reading, and see next:
Get in touch
Feature 1/2
User dashboard
The user dashboard would offer personalized and easy access to relevant content.
Its functionality:
- Subscribed courses (My Courses)
- Available now
- Coming soon
The goal is to optimize discovery to increase average session duration and engagement.
Default view
Modal view
Feature 2/2
Lesson archive
Emile’s lesson archive would help users access previously-recorded lessons and view upcoming lessons. The goal is to improve discoverability and accessibility of Emile content.
Default view
Modal view
Emile Learning
Reimagining education to acquire 1000 members
Launched MVP to market with an EdTech startup within 50 days and acquired 1000+ new members. Along the way, I developed their first design system to use in-product.
EdTech
Consumer web
Startup
Sep 2020 - Dec 2020
1.
Overview
1.
Overview
1.
Overview
Skills
Product design
GTM strategy
Branding
Visual design
IA
UX
UI
IxD
Wireframing
Prototyping
Design systems
Timeline
4 months, Sep-Dec 2202
Team
Lead Product Designer, me
CEO
COO
CTO
Marketing Lead
Instructors (4)
Tools
Notion
Miro
Whimsical
Figma
Clickup
Zoom
2.
My role
2.
My role
2.
My role
Leading design at Emile*
*Since my time on the team, Emile Learning rebranded, and is now called Subject.
Emile Learning is a subscription-based digital learning platform for the modern student. As their Founding Product Designer, I led the design process for the Emile website, onboarding, and minimum viable product (MVP) experiences. I supported design lifecycles from ideation to development, and created engaging experiences to drive user acquisition and engagement. I worked closely with the CEO, COO, CTO, and Marketing team, to continually deliver designs while making effective trade-offs to iteratively deliver value to students.
3.
Opportunity
3.
Opportunity
3.
Opportunity
COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way students learn
Internationally, COVID-19 has forced students and schools to be flexible as they adapt to sudden changes in education. In the U.S., digital learning has become an essential learning alternative for most students. Many students have struggled to adapt, raising nationwide class failure rates.
Initial challenge
How might we improve distance learning?
4.
Research
4.
Research
4.
Research
Key discovery insights
Before I joined Emile, the team had identified their target user and done research, to better understand student needs, attitudes, and pain points around remote learning:
Students want flexibility.
Rigid scheduling does not accommodate for individual learning and scheduling needs.
Zoom is less engaging than the classroom.
Learning exclusively via Zoom or video app is monotonous. Students struggle with staring at a screen for consecutive hours.
The number of digital tools is overwhelming.
Each class requires different learning tools. Students are spending more time and energy switching between tools. Additionally, they are prone to distraction.
Remote learning can feel isolating.
Students miss in-person social interaction and support. As a result, many student experience feelings of isolation.
Reframed challenge
How might we empower high school students to achieve their academic potential?
5.
Goals, metrics
5.
Goals, metrics
5.
Goals, metrics
Research insights translated into experience goals
Flexible
Our product helps students access education on their own terms.
Engaging
Our products helps students stay engaged in learning.
Efficiency
Our product helps students become more efficient when navigating digital tools.
Supportive
Our product helps students access a community.
What would success look like?
Keeping experience goals in mind, the team defined success metrics. I designed with the following metrics in mind:
- User acquisition (UA)
- Content engagement
- Number of views
- Viewing times
- Viewing frequency
6.
Solution
6.
Solution
6.
Solution
Introducing “The Peloton of High School Education”
Enter Emile. Emile’s goal is to become the “Peloton of High School Education”, offering an affordable monthly membership to a highly-engaging digital platform for AP students. Long-term, Emile’s vision is to become a fully-accredited international high school.
Flexible
Professional-quality live + on-demand videos
Efficient, engaging
Interface elements (cards) to educate on concepts
Engaging, supportive
Community support
7.
Strategy
7.
Strategy
7.
Strategy
High impact, high feasibility
After the team brainstormed initial design directions, we completed an impact-effort matrix. This helped determine what to prioritize for MVP:
Business value
Eng feasibility
Flexible
Professional-quality live, on-demand videos
Efficient, engaging
Interface elements (cards) to educate on concepts
Engaging, supportive
Community support
Membership model
Leadership decided to employ a membership model ($20.00/month).
Therefore, we identified 2 use cases:
Use case 1
Member, logged in
Use case 2
Non-member, logged out
MVP scope
The MVP’s core user experience was the ability to watch lessons live and on-demand. This lived on one screen, with the following 3 features:
Note
I led design for the entire MVP, but for brevity, sharing one part of the core experience: video streaming.
8.
Design phase
8.
Design phase
8.
Design phase
Early wireframes
This lo-fi mock is the first of many iterations!
Iterations
Our goal with early iterations was to pare down features, to accommodate limited engineering capacity. Specifically, we backlogged ideas for a community discussion forum, and card autoplay feature.
Working cross-functionally, I continuously iterated to balance different team needs. I made many iterations as we refined Emile’s UI and worked through visual exploration. Working on an agile team, I frequently iterated in high-fidelity:
9.
Design system
9.
Design system
9.
Design system
Creating a consistent and scalable design system
Unifying the entire Emile experience is a consistent design language. My goal was to craft a functional, clear design system that reflects the Emile brand and is delightful for users. I created a design system early in the process.
Goals
Efficient design
Give designers access to a solid design foundation
Simplify development
Simplify development by creating reusable interface components
Visual consistency
Offer users visual consistency and a delightful aesthetic
The team had identified core brand values to understand the emotions at the heart of our design language. I inherited some legacy branding, such as the Emile logo and primary and secondary colors. My challenge was to integrate these existing components as I built out Emile’s new design language.
These basic components of design language (brand values, color, and typography) inform the design for Emile’s UI components. This includes everything from field inputs, to modals, to buttons and card design.
A unified design system is beneficial for designers, engineers, and users. Emile can move faster and focus on helping users unlock academic potential
Collaborating with engineering
I coordinated directly with Emile’s CTO to iterate and deploy features more quickly. Working side-by-side, he built in lower-fidelity as I refined higher-fidelity. When I finished designing in higher-fidelity, he would finish building.
We strategized together during daily scrum, 1-on-1 meetings, and sprint planning. We moved quickly, subscribing to Agile methodology. Together, we pared down features to accommodate engineering constraints.
The result? A careful balance between teams that optimized for efficiency.
10.
Final designs
10.
Final designs
10.
Final designs
Member, logged-in
Logged-out
11.
Impact
11.
Impact
11.
Impact
Members vs. Non-members
See final mocks for the video streaming experience below:
Shipped
Product performance
1000+
Acquired members
50
Days to ship
12.
Next steps
12.
Next steps
12.
Next steps
13.
Reflection
13.
Reflection
13.
Reflection
Evaluating success metrics
To measure success with the Live Stream feature, the team will need to do user testing (mentioned above). Besides usability testing, it will be important for the team to look at data points around the following:
- User acquisition (UA)
- Click-thru-rate (CTR)
- Number of lesson views, average lesson duration, viewing times
This data can help prioritize tasks during sprints.
Future iterations
I believe the team should prioritize user testing around the core user experience (livestream feature). However, before leaving Emile, I created high-fidelity mockups for additional platform features, slated for later design sprints. The Emile team may consider launching these designs, with more time and engineering capacity:
Final thoughts
During my time with Emile, I helped lead the evolution of the company from an education services company to a competitive player in the digital learning space. It was both challenging and exciting to ship a product to market within 50 days of conception!
Insight 1
Cross-functional collaboration is more efficient.
As the sole product designer on the team, I advocated for the user and also balanced the needs of leadership, product, engineering, and marketing. Not one team over the other, but a careful balance that optimizes for efficiency and delight!
Insight 2
Proactive communication is important.
It’s important to anticipate stakeholder needs. For me this underscores the importance of proactive communication and cross-functional collaboration. I am excited to implement these lessons with future teams!
Get in touch
Driving growth with 48M annual web users at Dropbox
View Dropbox web →
Thanks for reading, and see next:
Feature 1/2
User dashboard
The user dashboard would offer personalized and easy access to relevant content.
Its functionality:
- Subscribed courses (My Courses)
- Available now
- Coming soon
The goal is to optimize discovery to increase average session duration and engagement.
Default view
Modal view
Feature 2/2
Lesson archive
Emile’s lesson archive would help users access previously-recorded lessons and view upcoming lessons. The goal is to improve discoverability and accessibility of Emile content.
Default view
Modal view
1.
Overview
1.
Overview
1.
Overview
Skills
Product design
GTM strategy
Branding
Visual design
IA
UX
UI
IxD
Wireframing
Prototyping
Design systems
Timeline
4 months, Sep-Dec 2202
Team
Lead Product Designer, me
CEO
COO
CTO
Marketing Lead
Instructors (4)
Tools
Notion
Miro
Whimsical
Figma
Clickup
Zoom
2.
My role
2.
My role
2.
My role
Leading design at Emile*
*Since my time on the team, Emile Learning rebranded, and is now called Subject.
Emile Learning is a subscription-based digital learning platform for the modern student. As their Founding Product Designer, I led the design process for the Emile website, onboarding, and minimum viable product (MVP) experiences. I supported design lifecycles from ideation to development, and created engaging experiences to drive user acquisition and engagement. I worked closely with the CEO, COO, CTO, and Marketing team, to continually deliver designs while making effective trade-offs to iteratively deliver value to students.
3.
Opportunity
3.
Opportunity
3.
Opportunity
COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way students learn
Internationally, COVID-19 has forced students and schools to be flexible as they adapt to sudden changes in education. In the U.S., digital learning has become an essential learning alternative for most students. Many students have struggled to adapt, raising nationwide class failure rates.
Initial challenge
How might we improve distance learning?
4.
Research
4.
Research
4.
Research
Key discovery insights
Before I joined Emile, the team had identified their target user and done research, to better understand student needs, attitudes, and pain points around remote learning:
Students want flexibility.
Rigid scheduling does not accommodate for individual learning and scheduling needs.
Zoom is less engaging than the classroom.
Learning exclusively via Zoom or video app is monotonous. Students struggle with staring at a screen for consecutive hours.
The number of digital tools is overwhelming.
Each class requires different learning tools. Students are spending more time and energy switching between tools. Additionally, they are prone to distraction.
Remote learning can feel isolating.
Students miss in-person social interaction and support. As a result, many student experience feelings of isolation.
Reframed challenge
How might we empower high school students to achieve their academic potential?
5.
Goals, metrics
5.
Goals, metrics
5.
Goals, metrics
Research insights translated into experience goals
Flexible
Our product helps students access education on their own terms.
Engaging
Our products helps students stay engaged in learning.
Efficiency
Our product helps students become more efficient when navigating digital tools.
Supportive
Our product helps students access a community.
What would success look like?
Keeping experience goals in mind, the team defined success metrics. I designed with the following metrics in mind:
- User acquisition (UA)
- Content engagement
- Number of views
- Viewing times
- Viewing frequency
6.
Solution
6.
Solution
6.
Solution
Introducing “The Peloton of High School Education”
Enter Emile. Emile’s goal is to become the “Peloton of High School Education”, offering an affordable monthly membership to a highly-engaging digital platform for AP students. Long-term, Emile’s vision is to become a fully-accredited international high school.
Flexible
Professional-quality live + on-demand videos
Efficient, engaging
Interface elements (cards) to educate on concepts
Engaging, supportive
Community support
7.
Strategy
7.
Strategy
7.
Strategy
High impact, high feasibility
After the team brainstormed initial design directions, we completed an impact-effort matrix. This helped determine what to prioritize for MVP:
Business value
Eng feasibility
Flexible
Professional-quality live, on-demand videos
Efficient, engaging
Interface elements (cards) to educate on concepts
Engaging, supportive
Community support
Membership model
Leadership decided to employ a membership model ($20.00/month).
Therefore, we identified 2 use cases:
Use case 1
Member, logged in
Use case 2
Non-member, logged out
MVP scope
The MVP’s core user experience was the ability to watch lessons live and on-demand. This lived on one screen, with the following 3 features:
Feature 1
Watch a lesson
Feature 2
View other participants
Feature 3
View lesson concepts
Note
I led design for the entire MVP, but for brevity, sharing just one part of the core experience: video streaming.
8.
Design phase
8.
Design phase
8.
Design phase
Early wireframes
This lo-fi mock is the first of many iterations!
Iterations
Our goal with early iterations was to pare down features, to accommodate limited engineering capacity. Specifically, we backlogged ideas for a community discussion forum, and card autoplay feature.
Working cross-functionally, I continuously iterated to balance different team needs. I made many iterations as we refined Emile’s UI and worked through visual exploration. Working on an agile team, I frequently iterated in high-fidelity:
9.
Design system
9.
Design system
9.
Design system
Creating a consistent and scalable design system
Unifying the entire Emile experience is a consistent design language. My goal was to craft a functional, clear design system that reflects the Emile brand and is delightful for users. I created a design system early in the process.
Goals
Efficient design
Give designers access to a solid design foundation
Simplify development
Simplify development by creating reusable interface components
Visual consistency
Offer users visual consistency and a delightful aesthetic
The team had identified core brand values to understand the emotions at the heart of our design language. I inherited some legacy branding, such as the Emile logo and primary and secondary colors. My challenge was to integrate these existing components as I built out Emile’s new design language.
These basic components of design language (brand values, color, and typography) inform the design for Emile’s UI components. This includes everything from field inputs, to modals, to buttons and card design.
A unified design system is beneficial for designers, engineers, and users. Emile can move faster and focus on helping users unlock academic potential
Collaborating with engineering
I coordinated directly with Emile’s CTO to iterate and deploy features more quickly. Working side-by-side, he built in lower-fidelity as I refined higher-fidelity. When I finished designing in higher-fidelity, he would finish building.
We strategized together during daily scrum, 1-on-1 meetings, and sprint planning. We moved quickly, subscribing to Agile methodology. Together, we pared down features to accommodate engineering constraints.
The result? A careful balance between teams that optimized for efficiency.
10.
Final designs
10.
Final designs
10.
Final designs
Members vs. Non-members
See final mocks for the video streaming experience below:
Member, logged-in
Logged-out
13.
Reflection
13.
Reflection
13.
Reflection
Final thoughts
During my time with Emile, I helped lead the evolution of the company from an education services company to a competitive player in the digital learning space. It was both challenging and exciting to ship a product to market within 50 days of conception!
Insight 1
Cross-functional collaboration is more efficient.
As the sole product designer on the team, I advocated for the user and also balanced the needs of leadership, product, engineering, and marketing. Not one team over the other, but a careful balance that optimizes for efficiency and delight!
Insight 2
Proactive communication is important.
It’s important to anticipate stakeholder needs. For me this underscores the importance of proactive communication and cross-functional collaboration. I am excited to implement these lessons with future teams!
11.
Impact
11.
Impact
11.
Impact
Shipped
Product performance
1000+
Acquired members
50
Days to ship
12.
Next steps
12.
Next steps
12.
Next steps
Evaluating success metrics
To measure success with the Live Stream feature, the team will need to do user testing (mentioned above). Besides usability testing, it will be important for the team to look at data points around the following:
- User acquisition (UA)
- Click-thru-rate (CTR)
- Number of lesson views, average lesson duration, viewing times
This data can help prioritize tasks during sprints.
Future iterations
I believe the team should prioritize user testing around the core user experience (livestream feature). However, before leaving Emile, I created high-fidelity mockups for additional platform features, slated for later design sprints. The Emile team may consider launching these designs, with more time and engineering capacity:
Emile Learning
Reimagining education to acquire 1000 members
Launched MVP to market with an EdTech startup within 50 days and acquired 1000+ new members. Along the way, I developed their first design system to use in-product.
EdTech
Consumer web
Startup
Sep 2020 - Dec 2020
Feature 1/2
User dashboard
The user dashboard would offer personalized and easy access to relevant content.
Its functionality:
- Subscribed courses (My Courses)
- Available now
- Coming soon
The goal is to optimize discovery to increase average session duration and engagement.
Default view
Modal view
Feature 2/2
Lesson archive
Emile’s lesson archive would help users access previously-recorded lessons and view upcoming lessons. The goal is to improve discoverability and accessibility of Emile content.
Default view
Modal view
Thanks for reading, and see next:
Productivity software
AI
Consumer web
Enterprise
Driving growth with 48M annual web users at Dropbox
View Dropbox web →
Get in touch
Feature 1/2
User dashboard
The user dashboard would offer personalized and easy access to relevant content.
Its functionality:
- Subscribed courses (My Courses)
- Available now
- Coming soon
The goal is to optimize discovery to increase average session duration and engagement.
Default view
Modal view
Feature 2/2
Lesson archive
Emile’s lesson archive would help users access previously-recorded lessons and view upcoming lessons. The goal is to improve discoverability and accessibility of Emile content.
Default view
Modal view