Role: UI/UX Designer and Print Designer
Team: UX Designer, User Researcher, Product Manager, Curriculum Manager, Engineering, Stakeholders
Platform: Web (Planning) + Print (Instruction)
Overview
InsightMath is a new K–6 core math curriculum developed by the creators of ST Math. While it builds on the same philosophy of encouraging productive struggle and self-generated solutions, InsightMath is a completely new product—designed specifically for today’s classrooms.
As part of the launch, we created a Teacher Guide in both digital and print formats. Our goal was to deliver a cohesive, user-friendly experience across platforms that supports lesson planning and classroom instruction.
Understanding the Landscape
We began with competitive analysis—exploring how other education brands approached teacher materials. From this, we identified two critical gaps in the market:
- Overwhelming digital interfaces for lesson planning
- Disjointed experiences between print and digital products
Teachers confirmed this in early interviews: they preferred digital guides for planning, but relied on printed versions during live instruction.
Proof of Concept & Early Design
Working with R&D, we created a first digital prototype using ST Math’s existing console styles. As we iterated:
- Expanded the information architecture to support deep content hierarchies: Unit → Investigation → Cluster → Lesson
- Introduced UI tabs, collapsible sections, and sub-navigation to streamline complex lesson content
- Digital-first design enabled progressive disclosure—teachers could focus on what mattered without cognitive overload
- Collaborated on gathering and shaping the foundational product requirements that would guide future design iterations
Digital Teacher Guide
The digital experience focused on lesson planning, with designs supporting both scannability and depth. Key UI/UX choices included:
- Progressive disclosure so teachers could focus on what mattered without cognitive overload
- Mobile responsiveness for all device types
- Tabbed navigation for quick access to content levels
- Clear, consistent headers and layout structure
- Subtle visual hierarchy using collapsible content blocks
- Simplified, accessible components drawn from our evolving UI style library
We made regular refinements based on teacher feedback and usability input, streamlining content and removing friction. Also, taking into account business needs and engineering feasibility.
Printed Teacher Guide
As digital designs matured, we began mirroring the structure in print. However, based on usage patterns:
- We intentionally omitted certain planning elements from the print version, streamlining it for real-time teaching
- Consistency remained critical—visual language, terminology, and content flow were aligned with the digital product
- Print and digital began informing each other, leading to a refined and unified experience across platforms
UI Library & Design System
To support long-term scalability, I led the development of a new UI style library tailored to InsightMath’s evolving brand. This included:
- A consistent visual system for both web and print
- Reusable, accessible UI components for future product work
- Visual patterns designed to bridge instructional contexts—so teachers felt at home in either medium
Results & Takeaways
- Teachers responded positively to the simplified digital planning experience
- The visual and structural consistency reduced onboarding friction across formats
- Our approach laid the foundation for a modular, extensible design system used in future product lines
Reflection
This project reinforced the value of platform-aware design thinking—not just making things consistent, but understanding user intent across contexts. It also deepened my collaboration with curriculum experts and strengthened my hybrid skills in both UI/UX design and print systems.