Kindergarten Gear Up

Discovery & Approach

Before any design work began, the most important question was: who is actually using this site, and what do they need from it? Two distinct primary audiences emerged with meaningfully different needs:

• Kindergarten teachers and librarians implementing the curriculum. They need to quickly assess whether the program fits their context, understand how the lessons are structured, access materials efficiently, and feel confident that the curriculum is credible and well-organized. For this audience, usability and professionalism matter.
• Parents and caregivers exploring the program for their children. They need to understand what their child will experience, feel reassured that the program is warm and age-appropriate, and find next steps without friction. For this audience, warmth and simplicity matter.

These two audiences have different tolerances for density, different definitions of "easy to navigate," and different emotional contexts when they arrive on the site.

A second key challenge was the content model itself. Ten lessons, each with activities, book lists, outcomes, and resources could easily become an overwhelming wall of information. The site architecture needed to make the curriculum feel manageable and inviting, not exhaustive.

Key Design Decisions

• Building a visual identity that works for adults and signals safety to parents of young children. The color palette features bold blues, pinks, purples, and greens and is energetic and age-appropriate without being juvenile. It communicates "this is for kids" to parents while remaining organized and credible enough for educators evaluating it professionally. This balance was deliberate; a design that leaned too far into playfulness would undermine trust with librarians, and a design that leaned too far into professionalism would feel cold to families.
• Using color-blocked content cards to make a complex curriculum scannable. The "What to Expect" grid organizes the curriculum's core components—Adaptable Activities, Thoughtful Lessons, Book Lists, Outcomes, FAQ—into distinct visual blocks with photography. This structure lets both audiences orient themselves immediately without reading a word of body copy. A teacher can see the curriculum scope at a glance. A parent can find what their child will experience without navigating multiple pages.
• Designing custom iconography to carry the brand across contexts. Rather than relying on generic icons, I created an icon set that reflects the specific content and tone of the program. These icons appear throughout the site and give the brand consistency and personality.
• Adding lightweight animation to create delight without sacrificing performance. The custom icons include subtle animations that add personality and playfulness to the experience. These were kept intentionally lightweight so the site remains fast across the range of devices families use, including older phones and tablets.
• Keeping navigation predictable for a non-technical audience. Parents and caregivers shouldn't have to think about where things are. The site uses consistent layout patterns, clear CTAs, and a simple top-level navigation so that someone arriving for the first time can orient themselves immediately regardless of their comfort level with technology.