Mailchimp reached out to Beyond to develop an online learning hub for users to deepen their knowledge and earn Mailchimp certification. I served as a lead product designer and art director (and occasional illustrator) for the MVP of what eventually became the Mailchimp Academy.

To create the Mailchimp Academy, we needed to get inside a future learner’s head, and marry their questions with Mailchimp’s expectations for expertise — from this, we’d analyse potential knowledge gaps and work out how best to fill them. Then, working with Mailchimp’s partner, design and marketing teams, we produced that content on a rolling basis. From wireframes to animated GIFs, we mapped out content production and learner interaction. This included testing content on real-world learners to gain feedback and iterate rapidly to meet their needs.

Mailchimp is a playful brand, and we were careful to keep that sense of play front and centre in our designs for its Academy platform. Use of abstract patterns and fun, hand-drawn illustrations created an approachable visual language that still made sense alongside Mailchimp’s overall brand identity.

Within months of the initial launch, over 1,800 users enrolled, and more than 100 achieved Mailchimp-certified status. Beyond also won a platinum Hermes award for our work on Mailchimp Academy.