DESIGNER & RESEARCHER · STARTUP CONTRACT
🔒 NDA — Client name withheld
Users
1,000+ Learners
Scope
4 User Types
Platform
Web Application
Type
Ed-Tech
🔒 Client name withheld per NDA. All design work, research methodology, and outcomes shown here are my own. Specific company details have been generalised.
Keeping languages alive
This language-learning startup was on a mission to help Indigenous communities — particularly First Nations groups across Canada — preserve their languages using technology.
They were scaling: more languages, more customizable courses, more teachers. They hired me to assess the most pressing usability problems and design solutions for four very different user types simultaneously.
"The platform felt like something users had to figure out — not
something that pulled them in."
Core discovery insight
Four users. Four completely different needs.
I conducted 1-on-1 interviews with all four user groups — including members of the Anishinaabe community — and formally mapped distinct goals, pain points, and workflows for each.
User Type 01
Learners
1,000 users · Ages 6 to adult
Learning consistently is hard and boring
No sense of progress or reward on the platform
Hard to stay motivated without external structure
User Type 02
Teachers
50 users · K-12 public school
No access to Indigenous curriculum materials
Can't track student progress or manage classrooms
Outnumbered — no time to research workarounds
User Type 03
Org Admins
50 users · K-12 public school
Stretched thin with other priorities
No time to learn complex new software
Expected to support teachers and students simultaneously
User Type 04
Course Creators
Curriculum specialists
Stretched thin with other priorities
No time to learn complex new software
One system — four experiences
My solution: separate dashboard experiences for each user type, unified by a shared design system so the product still felt coherent.
The core challenge: design a single product that felt right for four completely different users. A 6-year-old learner and a school administrator share almost nothing in terms of goals, vocabulary, or comfort with technology.
Platform ready to scale
Note: Specific post-launch metrics unavailable per NDA. Impact reflects designed capabilities and qualitative outcomesconfirmed by the team.
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Students have a reason to return daily
XP, badges, challenges, and profiles give learners a tangible sense of progress. Learning now feels rewarding, not just necessary.
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Teachers manage the full classroom from one place
Track, edit, reset, create — everything a teacher needs in a single dashboard, removing the helplessness they felt with the old platform.
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The platform is now architecturally scalable
New languages and courses can be added without structural redesign. The foundation supports the company's expansion goals.