My works   /   Kodjo Academy

kodjoe.com           2019

Cross-platform app focused on remote learning and teaching.

Role: UX & UI designer

interface design  •  UX research

Overview

This case study details my role as a UX/UI designer for an edtech project from October 2018 to May 2019.

I was hired to build the interface for an app designed to connect freelance French teachers with distant learners. The product owner, a bilingual coach offering English and French courses, aimed to create an inclusive platform where teachers and students could easily connect.

I joined the core development team, working directly with the product owner and developers to design the app interface from the ground up. This involved everything from establishing the app’s architecture and organizing workflow strategies to delivering design assets to the development team and collaborating on the beta version.

In 15 seconds!

Explaining the idea of the product in a short video,
because your time is valuable.

Responsibilities

• Collaborating with the product owner and dev team to establish the app’s architecture and workflow strategies;
• Conducting UX research to identify best practices and applying them to user flows and navigation;
• Creating detailed design documentation, including text descriptions, app screens, flow diagrams, and animated previews, to guide the development team;
• Organizing a design system with reusable components for the front-end team to implement in React;
• Designing interfaces for both desktop and mobile platforms, ensuring consistency across devices.
• Supporting the front-end developers with design assets and providing guidance to enhance the UI across different screen resolutions.
• Contributing to the overall UX strategy and helping to define the app’s core architecture.

Teacher fills in their teaching schedule

Process

We began by defining the app’s key entities and setting up the foundational architecture. After outlining the scope of work, we established milestones, workflow strategies, and timelines, ensuring our efforts were synchronized with the development team. While the front-end team worked on one milestone, I prepared assets and documentation for the next.

I conducted UX research on similar products, such as Italki and Preply, focusing on best practices for user onboarding flows and communication modules. My research informed the design of key features, like live messaging and group calls, using references like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Viber.

We prioritized the user onboarding flow for Teachers and Students, followed by user profiles and Admin modules. Each module was treated as a separate milestone, starting with the approval of user flows and action sequences, followed by updating our design documentation. I presented design concepts, refined them based on team feedback, and translated them into detailed UI designs. For less critical areas, I provided wireframes and MVP visualizations.

As more modules were completed, I organized a design system with reusable components, which the front-end team used to build a component library in React for future development. Throughout the process, we used tools like Zoom and Slack for communication, Trello for project management, and Loom for quick presentations. Animated previews and clickable prototypes were created in Principle and InVision to demonstrate design concepts.

App functionality

Cross-platform compatibility, running on both mobile and desktop like Spotify; 
Messaging with attachments and live group calls, similar to Telegram, for group lessons;
Teachers can customize and schedule their courses and services;
Students can choose courses or apply for private consultations;
Integrated payment and invoicing system for Teachers and Students;
Admin users can manage Teachers and Students and assign Assistants for user interviews.

Result

The project aimed to release a browser-based app first, followed by a mobile app in the next phase. We completed approximately 50% of the desktop version before the project was placed on permanent pause. Despite this, it was a challenging and rewarding experience that allowed me to apply my skills and gain valuable insights that have greatly benefited my career.

Let’s create

something special.

Reach me at

hello@sasha.fyi