Branding, research, and UI/UX design for a B2B2C edtech app

Clarifying a long-standing vision

The client had been working on What’s NXT for over five years. There was strong conviction around the problem, but little alignment on how the product should actually work.

I joined at the start of development with a tight timeline and a clear goal: define a usable, buildable MVP that helped students confidently compare life paths without adding noise or pressure.

Rapid research, real constraints

Because I entered midstream, speed mattered. I quickly reviewed past client conversations, earlier design work, and market patterns, then paired that with fast research into student behavior, platform preferences, and learning environments.

One key insight reshaped the product early: a mobile-first app didn’t match real usage. Most students would access the tool in high school computer labs alongside counselors. A responsive web app made far more sense—both technically and contextually.

That decision helped align design, development, and real-world use.

Designing for confidence, not choice paralysis

The core challenge wasn’t showing more options—it was helping students make sense of them.

I focused the experience on:

• Clear comparisons between paths

• Macro overviews paired with meaningful details

• Progressive disclosure to reduce overwhelm

• Familiar patterns like ratings and side-by-side views

The goal was to replace anxiety with understanding, and curiosity with confidence.

Branding with purpose

Alongside UX work, I explored logo and color directions that felt aspirational but grounded. Every concept was tied back to the product’s goals and audience.

Rather than presenting “favorites,” I framed each option in terms of meaning: intersecting paths, forward motion, planning with intention. This helped guide productive conversations and keep decisions anchored in strategy.

From concept to build

Once direction was set, I translated the brand and UX principles into responsive screen designs across key flows: onboarding, questionnaire, home, plan creation, and comparison.

To support development, I:

• Created a lightweight design system for consistency and speed

• Mapped an ideal-path user flow for engineers to build against

• Built desktop and mobile prototypes to clarify intent and interactions

This allowed development to move forward confidently, even knowing iteration would come post-launch.