Helping students discover their reading identities and engage with books they’ll love
ReMo
Contract
TIMELINE
Spring 2023 (14 weeks)
ROLE
UX designer
TEAM
3 designers
2 developers
1 project lead
CLIENT
Michelle Deblois, CEO
Peter Janett, CFO
SKILLS
UX/UI Design
Visual Design
Brand Identity Design
Through Scout Studio’s pro-bono program, our team embarked on a full redesign project for their web app.
During our four-month schedule, we upgraded the application with new and improved branding, information architecture, and overall user experience on both the teacher-facing and student-facing aspects of the web app.
Background
WHAT PART DID I PLAY?
Created user friendly interfaces for both teacher and student-facing aspects of the app
Improved information architecture to streamline user navigation
Redesigned branding to create a more cohesive and engaging identity
Established a design system that scales for designers
Collaborated with designers and developers
The stigmatization of reading: achievement-based learning models discourage students
There is a prevalent stigmatization of reading among K-12 students and many existing reading tools follow an achievement-based learning model that only further discourages students. This is the exact problem ReMo aims to solve with their web app.
PROBLEM
Good idea, iffy execution
ReMo’s original app was hard to navigate, with misleading labels, limited data display options, and multiple clicks were required to find important pages.
(1)
New and improved way-finding and filtering
ReMo’s original way of filtering and sorting a school’s collection of books was clunky. Redesigning the filtering system and adding a way-finding system was central to helping users navigate the book list efficiently.
We considered two approaches: a card-based grid with filters at the top and a more traditional list view with a filter sidebar.
SOLUTION
An optimized tool for both students and teachers
An accessible desktop web application that helps students engage with books, and enables educators to foster a safe space for students to explore their reading identities.
Overwhelming, unscalable, and lacks hierarchy
Filters are lost when a user scrolls
Largely ignored
REMO’S ORIGINAL DESIGN
More intuitive sorting options
Ability to search
Filter bar fixed when scrolling
Ability to perform quick tasks
Scalable, intuitive
OUR FINAL ITERATION
Context
Design Decisions
(2) Reading log card exploration
These cards give a brief overview of a student’s reading logs. A student may click into them to see all details. The design of these cards largely influenced the design of many others, such as the teacher conference card.
ITERATION: LOTS OF VISUAL CLUTTER
FINAL DESIGN: EMBRACING PROGRESSIVE DISCLOSURE
February 27, 2023
Lewis Carroll
pages per minute
“I really liked the beginning of the book with the rabbit”
Alice in Wonderland
2
04/01/23
Lewis Carroll
I really liked the beginning of the book with the...
Alice in Wonderland
Pages
Minutes
24
12
Rate
2.0
04/01/23
with Mrs. Smith
Lewis Carroll
Write down two themes
about the rabbit.
TAKEAWAY
Alice in Wonderland
(teacher conference card)
ORIGINAL DESIGN
FINAL ITERATION
(3)
New visual branding
ReMo’s original color scheme leaned too heavily into a style that felt more appropriate for younger children, like those in grades K-5. We updated ReMo’s branding so that it better suits its audience of students in grades 4 to 12. Our rebrand is playful but not juvenile, ensuring it resonates with a broader age range while maintaining its fun and approachable identity.
(A teacher and student using the original ReMo website)
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