Project Type
Multi-user SaaS app for IOS, Android and web
Role
UX and UI Design Co-lead
Context
Schoolhouse Moolah is an early-stage classroom behaviour management app focused on teaching financial literacy to elementary age students. The platform needed to support multiple user types, primarily teachers and students, while fitting seamlessly into teachers’ existing workflows. It was important that the app engage students without overstimulation and remain flexible enough to adapt to diverse classroom needs.
I joined the project near the end of the wire-framing phase and took ownership of crafting the brand and UI aesthetic, designing several key sections of the teacher app, building a scalable design system, prototyping, conducting user testing, synthesizing insights, and maintaining ongoing communication with stakeholders throughout.
I was also the design lead for the Schoolhouse Moolah marketing website, which has its own case study that can be viewed here.
Process
To ensure the app struck the right balance between approachable for students and professional for educators, I ran brand workshops with the client to define a visual style. I then led the transition from wireframes to high-fidelity designs, establishing patterns for workflows, as well as a cohesive look and feel for the interface. The shape, behaviour, and styling of core components were created within a scalable design system that focused on reusable components to be utilized across different areas of the app.
Key workflows of the teacher experience I owned included:
• Managing student rosters and uploading class lists
• Taking attendance
• Creating, assigning, reassigning classroom jobs
• Managing the classroom marketplace
• Tracking and granting rewards
• Editing student profiles and related administrative tasks
I created interactive prototypes for each major section of the teacher app and tested them with users via PlaybookUX to evaluate task clarity and usability. Findings were synthesized into actionable insights and shared with stakeholders to guide design decisions. For example, testing revealed that uploading a roster via CSV file was not useful to teachers and added unnecessary complexity. Removing this feature granted additional development time and made it possible to implement Clever integration from launch rather than delaying it to a later phase as we had initially planned.
Impact
Within the first month of public release, over 30 teachers downloaded and actively used the app, exceeding expectations. Positive feedback has continued to grow, and the project passed QA and compliance testing, including COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) standards.
The client rated the project 5/5, noting that our collaborative and transparent approach enabled strong alignment throughout the engagement. They described our team as an extension of their own, highlighting clear communication, trust, and adaptability as key contributors to successful cross-functional execution.