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Branded Courses Iconography

GreatSchools empowers users by providing comprehensive, easy-to-use school information. To enhance the user experience and make our platform more visually engaging, we decided to introduce a comprehensive iconography system that aligns with our brand values: modern, functional, and infused with an approachable personality. This initiative was a part of a larger project overhauling our "Courses & programs" section.

My Role - Product Designer

Elliot Beaudoin- Head of Product

Alexina Chong - Lead Web Engineer

an icon of a tuba, an icon of a paint palette, a neuron icon, a government building icon

Project Goals

Visual Enhancement
Improve the visual appeal for the parts of the website that contain long lists while staying true to the GreatSchools' brand identity.

Understanding
Improve user comprehension by using icons to represent educational categories.

Brand Enhancement
Create a consistent and cohesive visual language that articulates GreatSchools' modern, functional, and approachable brand.

Mobile phone featuring old iconography
Our starting place

Icon Library

In a rapid ten-day sprint, I developed a diverse collection of over 150 icons, each meticulously designed for clarity and instant recognizability while adhering to the brand values.

These icons incorporated playful references, such as a Picasso-esque drawing for schools offering Art, or an allusion to Newton's falling apple for "AP Physics 1," adding a layer of charm and connection to the subjects.

Throughout this project, I conducted iterative reviews and revisions, ensuring the icons struck the delicate balance between modernity and functionality while infusing them with the desired approachable personality.

A mobile phone featuring the new and improved icons
Revised list with icons
Iconography set

Implementation

Design System
Integrated the iconography into the website's design system, ensuring that icons were accessible, responsive, and in harmony with GreatSchools' branding.

Guidelines
Developed guidelines for consistent icon usage across different sections of the website, ensuring they continued to achieve our stated goals and remain in line with our brand identity.

Iconography guideline
Jillian Hansen-Lewis 2023
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