Empowering EdTech through thoughtful product design
Jenna Patrick
Empowering EdTech through thoughtful product design
Cognito Education invited me to help shape the experience for an early-stage learning platform, working directly with the founder to transform an ambitious vision into a product that felt intuitive, engaging and ready to grow.
As with many early-stage products, the challenge wasn’t simply designing screens, it was bringing clarity to an evolving idea. Together, we explored how the high traffic dashboard area should work, how users would move through it and how to create an experience that balanced simplicity with flexibility as the product matured.
Early discovery workshops with the founder helped establish a shared product vision.
Defining the product direction
Working closely with the founder meant ideas could be explored quickly and collaboratively. Through workshops, user flows and iterative discussions, we refined the product structure, challenged assumptions and established a shared understanding of the experience we wanted to create.
This collaborative approach allowed us to make decisions early, reducing ambiguity before moving into more detailed design work.
Mapping the core product journeys before exploring the interface.
Structuring the experience
With the foundations in place, I translated the agreed product direction into user journeys, wireframes and interface concepts, ensuring each decision supported a coherent experience across the platform.
Rather than treating individual screens as isolated problems, I focused on creating a product that felt connected, intuitive and easy to navigate as new functionality was introduced.
Translating early ideas into structured user flows and interaction paths.
Low-fidelity concepts used to validate structure before visual design.
Defining the core visual principles before moving into high-fidelity design
Before refining the interface, I established a lightweight visual language that balanced accessibility, clarity and consistency. This gave the product a recognisable identity while creating a foundation that could be expanded as the platform evolved.
Establishing the core visual principles before high-fidelity design
Bringing the product to life
IOnce the experience and visual language had been established, the final interface brought together the work completed throughout discovery and design into a cohesive product concept.
From early workshops through to high-fidelity designs, the project demonstrated the value of close collaboration, continuous iteration and taking the time to establish strong foundations before focusing on visual polish.
The current Cognito dashboard
Exploring how the visual language influenced perception, trust and usability.
Reflection
Working alongside the founder reinforced something I enjoy most about early-stage product work: helping turn evolving ideas into products with clarity and direction.
Being involved from the earliest conversations allowed me to contribute beyond interface design, using product thinking, collaboration and iterative design to shape both the experience and the foundations needed for the product to continue evolving.
The final concept brought together the strategy, interaction and visual language established throughout the project.
Product Discovery | Workshop Facilitation | UX Strategy | User Flows | Design Systems | UI Design
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Posted Feb 12, 2024
Role: Product Designer // Focus: Product Discovery, UX Strategy, Product Design & Visual Identity
