Number Worlds Experience
Reimagining early math learning through playful, accessible design. This revolutionary update includes exciting digital features that promote engagement and bring math to life, motivating students to build deeper understanding as they explore a world of mathematical concepts. Number Worlds accelerates mathematical understanding and effectively brings all students to grade-level proficiency and beyond.
Role
Product Design LeaderExperience Strategist
Duration
18 months (2023-2024)
Team
4 Designers, 6 Content, 1 PdM
Project Overview
As the product designer leader, my team partnered with curriculum experts, product managers, and developers to redefine how early learners interact with math—creating a seamless, motivating experience that blends visual storytelling, interactive gameplay, and data-informed learning progression.
My role spanned experience strategy, user experience design, and creative direction, with a focus on unifying the brand’s educational goals and user needs into a cohesive design system and intuitive product journey.
Product Design Goals
- Modernize the visual language to reflect playfulness and cognitive accessibility.
- Simplify the student and teacher experiences for clarity and confidence.
- Create an adaptive, scalable design system that aligns with McGraw Hill’s K–12 digital ecosystem.
- Enhance engagement through rewarding microinteractions and clear feedback loops.
The Challenge
Fragmented Visual Identity
Existing interface lacked visual cohesion
Low Student Engagement
Users often disengaged mid-lesson
Complex Teacher Experience
Challenging to navigate data dashboards and assessment results
Accessibility Gaps
Product needed to fully meet WCAG standards
Design Process
Research
User survey, competitive market analysis
Define
Problem definition, user personas, journey mapping
Design
Branding, prototyping, visual design
Test
Brand testing, iteration and refinement
Key Solutions
Playful Visual System
Built a bright, inviting design language grounded in early learning principles. Developed a color system supporting both engagement and accessibility, complemented by expressive illustrations and modular character designs that reinforce key math concepts.
Simplified Student Journey
Redesigned the student flow around clarity and motivation—simplifying task entry points, surfacing progress visually, and integrating reward moments to sustain engagement. Introduced microinteractions and progress indicators to celebrate achievement.
Teacher Insight Dashboard
Created a new dashboard hierarchy and data visualization approach that translated complex student data into actionable insights. Teachers could now quickly identify learning gaps and adjust instruction without leaving the platform.
Scalable Design System
Developed a modular, WCAG-compliant component library in Figma that unified patterns across Number Worlds digital products, reducing redundancy and enabling faster iteration cycles for future release.
Experience Strategy & Alignment
Mapped the full student user journey to reveal moments of friction and opportunity. These insights informed design decisions across interface, interaction, and content strategy, ensuring that visual and experiential choices supported learning outcomes.
Brand Redesign
I led a visual redesign that brought new energy and clarity to the Number Worlds brand—introducing a playful, accessible design system that balances early-learning joy with McGraw Hill’s trusted academic voice. The new visual system blends color, character, and motion to make math feel inviting.
Results & Impact
Improved Task Success Rate
Across key usability flows
Learner Engagement
Increased metrics in pilot classrooms
Clearer Student Insight
Clearer visibility into student progress
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