Committee for Children

As the lead designer, I guided the platform redesign from research through delivery, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams to translate strategy into a cohesive digital experience.

I partnered with Blink on early research to understand educator needs and helped turn those insights into user journeys, information architecture, and wireframes. I also defined the UI approach that guided the design system, ensuring visual consistency and usability throughout the platform.

Throughout the process, I worked hand-in-hand with engineering to maintain design quality and scalability, mentoring designers and establishing guidelines that supported long-term growth.

Second Step’s programs had grown into multiple disconnected products that varied in format, delivery, and user experience. Elementary educators used print-based kits with DVDs and binders, while Middle School teachers accessed a separate digital platform. The result was a fragmented ecosystem that left teachers managing siloed content and inconsistent flows across programs.

With limited time and competing priorities, teachers felt overwhelmed having to learn the SEL lessons and teach them confidently. Without a clear, unified experience, preparing and delivering lessons became time-consuming and difficult to sustain.

The challenge was to bring these programs together into a single, scalable digital platform that supported both kit-based and digital-first experiences, creating an experience that felt cohesive, intuitive, and empowering for teachers.

To ground the work, we partnered with Blink for early research and strategy. Through workshops, interviews, and competitive analysis, we uncovered how teachers interacted with Second Step and where the experience fell short.

Blink also helped us define design principles that shaped our process and guided every decision, ensuring the experience felt focused, intuitive, and grounded in real classroom use.

Teachers valued ease and reliability above all else. They wanted to log in, find their lessons, and teach without friction.

Blink’s mental model and persona work helped us align around that core need that teachers just want to teach and gave us clear direction for simplifying the journey.

As we moved into design, we approached the platform as a connected system rather than a collection of separate products. Each Second Step program had its own needs, but the goal was to create a unified structure that teachers could quickly understand and trust.

We focused on building a global framework that could scale with new programs while maintaining clarity and consistency across the experience. By mapping content to teacher goals, from preparing lessons to teaching and tracking progress, we defined an architecture that guided users naturally through their journey.

The result was a streamlined system that supported both digital and kit-based programs through shared navigation, consistent labeling, and clear pathways for action.

With the framework in place, we explored navigation models that supported how teachers naturally move between lessons, training, and resources. Two primary approaches emerged, a top-bar navigation and a left-drawer layout.

Usability testing revealed that teachers preferred the top-bar model, achieving a 77 percent task success rate compared to 60 percent with the drawer. The persistent layout provided a stronger sense of orientation, helping teachers stay confident as they switched between programs and classes.

With the structure in place, we explored how the Second Step brand could come to life within the digital interface. The goal was to create a visual language that felt warm, structured, and balanced, reflecting the program’s focus on empathy and emotional growth while supporting clear, task-focused interactions.

I created a series of element collages to explore directions for color, typography, and tone. Each concept showed how brand elements could enhance the interface while keeping the focus on usability. After review with key stakeholders, the chosen direction became the foundation for a cohesive visual system that balanced brand expression with accessibility and ease of use.

With the visual direction approved, I defined the components and interaction patterns that brought consistency across the platform. The goal was to create a system that simplified design and development while remaining flexible enough to support future Second Step programs.

Each component was built to account for multiple states and use cases, ensuring visual and behavioral consistency across dashboards, lessons, and training modules. Documenting patterns early gave the team a shared language that streamlined collaboration and accelerated delivery.

The final interface brought the system to life across desktop, tablet, and mobile, creating a unified experience that supported teachers wherever they worked. The design emphasized clarity, hierarchy, and ease of use, helping educators teach with confidence and focus on what mattered most, their students.

For K–6, the focus was on bridging the gap between print-based kits and digital access. While the design system was created for Middle School, the same visual principles were applied to maintain consistency across programs. Teachers could activate their kits, stream lesson media, and access resources with the same clarity and structure that defined the digital experience.