English in a Minute is an online language-learning academy. It has a unique way of teaching English and a strong presence on Instagram with more than 100K followers. However, their website looks outdated and unprofessional.
I redesigned the brand visual identity, created a new logo and new landing page (On mobile and web).
4 weeks
I noted that the website had many issues that led to confusion rather than clarity. The content was unstructured, the labels were confusing, the visuals were inconsistent, and the site was missing key information, such as course offerings, prices, and dates.
I tested the website to validate that the problems I had identified were indeed the ones that were making the website unsuccessful. Here is what I found:
The website has a lack of UI consistency. There are many mixed visual treatments and too many different fonts, shapes and button styles. However, the site’s biggest problem is the lack of clarity in the navigation.
The big logo on the landing page does not provide any value and forces the user to scroll to reach the information they want. None of the users found the website useful in its current form.
Navigation labeling.
Inconsistent UI.
Branding.
Lack of Content.
Information Architecture.
Hierarchy Information.
High abandonment of level test.
Photography.
I took the opportunity from the first screener survey and user interviews to get a clear understanding of how valuable an English academy's website is for its users, and I got some good insights, here's what I found:
Use the website to find out information about the courses, prices, and starting dates.
Use the website to know the methodology being taught.
Use the website to know about the teachers’ profile and background.
After conducting several user interviews to get a bigger picture on the subject, I analyzed the data collected through an Affinity map so I could understand what motivates them to learn English. Through this I discovered that most users consider that speaking English provides them with better job opportunities, others consider that they need it to communicate in their communities, or to access higher education and get better jobs.
I created a persona to better understand our potential customer’s needs, goals, behaviors and pain points when selecting a course to enroll. A persona helps to identify what needs the website must fill and where a user is likely feeling frustrated.
Elena moved to Miami from Colombia when she was 27 years-old. Although she has been in several group English classes, she still struggles with the language. She feels comfortable living in a Spanish-speaking enclave, but she knows she cannot advance professionally in America without speaking fluent English.
Elena does not have much free time.
She doesn't think group classes really help her, and would benefit from private lessons.
She can’t spend a lot of money.
Gain confidence when speaking in English.
Apply for jobs that require English language skills.
Be able to understand and speak English more fluently.
The first thing I did visually in this project was to redesign the logo. The mix of typography, highly saturated colors, and lack of visual hierarchy in the existing logo convinced me of the need for a new identity to better embody and communicate the brand’s values.
The previous logo mixed different fonts, the colors were very saturated and it lacked a concept.
I wanted to give their brand a more professional appearance while maintaining its dynamic essence. I chose dark blue as is a color that represents intelligence and trust. I eliminated the "Baroni teacher" text to focus on a single concept in the logo. Additionally, I wanted to communicate the speed of learning English so I designed the lines that build the E to represent velocity.
I created a long version and a short version of the logo to maximize flexibility across media.
I used irregular shapes to create a more dynamic environment. Although the visual look should be professional, I wanted to make it lively and approachable as well.
I used a dark blue as the main color because it conveys intelligence and trust. I also used a red because to represent power and determination as well as passion — the skills that people need when learning something new. Red and blue are also highly associated with English speaking countries.
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I selected Montserrat because it is a geometric sans-serif typeface that adds the perfect personality to the brand — it looks professional but has a distinctive touch.
The first thing I did was change the language of the website to Spanish because she teaches to Spanish speakers and 100% of their students are Hispanic, so if they are looking to learn English they will not understand what the website says. Pretty logical, right?
I organized the information hierarchy to add information relevant for potential students about courses, prices and monthly prices, since there was no information on the previous website about this topic. I also fixed the labeling problems by removing their previous categories ‘Apps’ and ‘Menu’ and updating to courses and teachers profile.
I worked on the overall branding to make it look and feel more closer to the academy. Also, I added reviews from previous students to build more trust in the academy methodology so the potential students can feel encouraged to try the courses.
