Mobile & Tablet App Redesign for an EdTech Platform

OVERVIEW

MY ROLE

Leading Design with Purpose

• UX/UI lead for mobile and tablet

• Conducted a comprehensive UX audit of the existing web app

• Led feature prioritization for the MVP

• Refined the visual identity and fixed inconsistencies in the design system

• Enhanced accessibility throughout the design

• Delivered high-fidelity prototypes and collaborated closely with the development team during implementation

CHALLENGE

Navigating Tight Constraints

The web app was feature-rich and tailored to desktop use, which made it cumbersome on mobile devices. Key challenges included:

• Branding and visual inconsistencies: The app needed a more cohesive, scalable visual language, and a design system was essential.

• Limited budget for research: We couldn’t afford user testing or formal research.

• Tight deadline: The client wanted to launch the app in time for an education fair, which gave us limited time to design and implement the solution.

• Complex navigation: The web app had dense menus, and core features (like search) were buried.

Despite these challenges, the project was an opportunity to reimagine the core user experience while making smart design decisions based on real-world constraints.

APPROACH

Rethinking the Experience

UX Audit & Core Flow Redesign

• Audited the existing web app, which had grown without a cohesive structure.

• Identified that the search engine, their most valuable feature, was underused and hard to find.

• Proposed a new mobile-first IA, making search the central entry point.

• Simplified navigation and clarified the platform’s core value from the first screen.

• Aligned the redesign with quick, task-focused mobile behaviors to improve usability and clarity.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Lean Discovery via Client Collaboration

With no formal research budget, I collaborated closely with the internal team behind the original web app.

• Collected insights on real user behavior, feature usage, and friction points directly from their experience.

• Prioritized the following user journeys:
  • Finding content via a holistic and powerful search engine
  • Accessing and consuming educational content across media types
  • Streaming via Google Classroom API for seamless classroom integration
  • Using tests and interactive content effectively within the app

• Ensured these flows were central to the native app design to match real-world needs.

Feature Prioritization for MVP

Given the tight timeline, we couldn’t afford to redesign every feature. I worked closely with stakeholders to:

• Streamline the overall experience to focus on the most essential and valuable tasks for users.
  By making these prioritization decisions, we could deliver an app that was polished, functional, and easy to test with real users at the education fair.

• Prioritize key features like content search, browsing lessons, and creating tests for the MVP.

• Defer less critical features and non-mobile-friendly elements to future releases.

DESIGN FOCUS

Clarity, Consistency, and Accessibility

Style-Agnostic by Intent

The client’s brand guidelines were flexible, so I focused on universal design best practices to enhance clarity and usability. My goal wasn’t to lock the app into a specific visual style, but to create a clean, adaptable design that could evolve over time.

• Visual consistency: Fixed issues with iconography, color usage, and button styling across screens.

• Improved hierarchy: Employed layout grids, spacing, and typography to make content more digestible and usable.

• Universal UI patterns: Ensured the app felt native to iOS and Android by following OS guidelines and best practices, ensuring familiarity for users.
  These design decisions helped make the app usable on a variety of devices while allowing for future updates to the brand’s visual identity.

Accessibility by Design

Although accessibility wasn’t a formal requirement, I made sure the app adhered to best practices in design to ensure broad usability:

• Contrast: Ensured proper contrast ratios for readability, especially for users with visual impairments.

• Touch targets: Increased tap targets for mobile devices to make interaction easier and prevent errors.

• Responsive typography: Used font scaling and spacing to accommodate different screen sizes and user preferences.

These considerations helped make the app more inclusive for a wider audience, including students with different needs and tech-savviness.

COLLABORATION AND EXECUTION

Designing for Success

• Led the project solo, with support from a junior designer during core phases.

• Set up a lean Figma design system and UI kit to speed up delivery and maintain consistency.

• Mentored the junior designer in strategic thinking and systematic design, helping her grow confidence and skills.

• Used interactive prototypes and clear documentation to streamline dev handoff and reduce back-and-forth.

• Maintained close alignment with internal teams to ensure smooth implementation.

RESULTS

A Successful Launch

• The app launched on time, in sync with the education fair deadline.

• Feedback from early users (teachers and students) was highly positive, particularly regarding the app’s improved accessibility and streamlined content discovery.

• The redesigned search experience helped users find lessons and content more quickly and with fewer taps compared to the original web version.

• Internal stakeholders reported a clearer understanding of BricksLab’s value proposition after the redesign, noting that the app felt more approachable and easier to use.

• The updated visual system laid a solid foundation for future UI enhancements and brand consistency.

REFLECTIONS

Key Takeaways

• Smart design decisions can replace formal research: When budget and time constraints are tight, leveraging internal knowledge and focusing on key pain points allows you to make impactful design changes.

• Simplicity over complexity: Sometimes less is more. By prioritizing content access and core features, I ensured the mobile app was functional, intuitive, and easy to navigate.

• Universal best practices: A style-agnostic approach helps create a foundation that works across devices while remaining adaptable to future visual or branding changes.

• Accessibility is non-negotiable: Designing for inclusivity and universal access is crucial, even when it’s not a formal requirement — it benefits both the users and the product’s longevity.