Case study
Kamusta Kids, EdTech
Preserving a Southeast Asian migrant community's language, by introducing a global product with responsive designs
intro mockup of kamusta kid's home page

HOW THIS CLIENT PROJECT STARTED

There’s a word for this?!

As a creative writer, I love discovering words that exist exclusively in other languages. For example, Japanese komorebi (noun) is the scatter of sunlight filtering through tree leaves.

Teamwork for Ethnic Language-Learning

While involved in the Asian Pacific Islander community, I came across Kamusta Kids. They’re an EdTech company whose mission is to preserve the Filipino language.

OVERVIEW

USER PROBLEM

A Diasporic Community Losing Their Language

Parents/Guardians in the diasporic Filipino community struggle to pass on their heritage and language due to a lack of educational resources.

BUSINESS CHALLENGE

Introduce Virtual School + Increase Enrollment

Kamusta Kids offers online Filipino-Tagalog courses for kids, ages 4-11. They need a platform to introduce their virtual school, learning outcomes, and enrollment logistics.

DESIGN SOLUTION

Design Features per Parenting Values

I collaborated with a product team to research, design, and ship a responsive landing page. Drawing from my background with diverse youth and families, I focused on how parents in this ethnic community may discern enrollment.

SYNTHESIZING THE DIVERSE PARENTING PERSPECTIVES

Archetypes in the Diasporic Community

I focused on parents/guardians who actively enroll kids in extracurriculars. Then, I examined the socio-cultural factors to their decision-making. I selected interviewees with generational (i.e. age, family relations, and diasporic status) variety.
Interviewees for Kamusta Kids

Revealed by Parent Conversations

While there are plenty of parenting styles, especially across cultures, these were principle for extracurricular enrollment:

1. Seek Informative Learning Outcomes

Users are primarily concerned with how their child may develop. e.g. Exposure to well-rounded activities, social opportunities, and curriculum’s effectiveness.

2. Clarity on Parent Commitment

Decision to enroll was directly affected by parents/guardians’ ability to commit. i.e. Whether the program options fit their schedule and budget.

3. Persuasion from Word-of-Mouth

Finally, users were motivated to enroll based on parent reviews and word-of-mouth referrals.

Designing for Competitive Distinction

From my background, I observed parents/guardians peruse a wide variety of extracurricular programs. I ran a comparative analysis, to both gather inspiration and stand out.
Comparative Analysis featuring Duolingo, Dinolingo, Kumon, Boys and Girls Club, and Galileo Learning
Along with these takeaways, I found Kamusta Kids’ distinction is in heritage-based lessons. This factor can be highlighted in the product design.

ADDRESSING PARENTS’ STREAM OF QUESTIONS

Humanize the Millennial Parent Archetype

Carissa Mae represents the “1st generation” of her family born outside the Philippines.
  • Parenting Context: She asks many questions before committing to enrollment.
  • Cultural Context: She struggles with passing on the heritage she never immersed in.
She reveals users’ exhaustive list of questions + search for straightforward answers.
Persona of Carrissa Mae, the First gen millennial parent

ORGANIZING THE STREAM OF ANSWERS

Gather Info into Digestible Chunks

From the business’ & users’ needs, I gathered the necessary info to introduce the business’ services. Then I grouped the info — by company background, what the services include, and enrollment process — onto a sitemap. This visualized a rough plan for my webpages.
Sitemap for Kamusta Kids

Spread Out the Details

I created the user task: To familiarize with the business’ services and enroll in a course. Then I converted the Sitemap into Product Requirements, and expanded on the needed info for each webpage. Covering this prevents us from missing vital details which users may seek.
Product Roadmap for Kamusta Kids

SKETCHING ACCORDING TO THE DATA

Introduce Parents to the Educational Services

While sketching, I focused on how to arrange the information hierarchy per our users’ priorities. Consequently, the design introduces the product value in order of users' common questions.
Sketches for Kamusta Kids responsive landing page

WIREFRAMING WITHIN BUSINESS CONSTRAINTS

Design Decisions in Ambiguity

Due to different timelines, the stakeholders haven’t provided necessary business info for our design. Under time constraints and ambiguity, I moved forward with mock text and placeholder elements. I communicated with the PM and developer about iterating as info becomes available.
Midfidelity wireframes for responsive home pageMidfidelity wireframes for responsive courses pageMidfidelity wireframes for responsive contact page

ADDING THE UI ELEMENTS

Expanding the Brand Design

I themed the UI design around ethnic food, for its connection to cultural exploration and childhood memories. Applying the UI design came with several rounds of iteration, and quick annotations on the strengths/weaknesses of each version.
High-fidelity wireframes for home pageHigh-fidelity wireframes for courses pageHigh-Fidelity wireframes for responsive contact pageHigh-Fidelity wireframes for responsive enrollment page

FEEDBACK FROM EDUCATORS IN THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY

Positive Impact to Consider Enrolling

Needs before Considering Enrolling

Revision Priority Matrix for Kamusta Kids
Overall, the information’s hierarchy was strong. However, the UX should focus less on innovation and more on users’ expectations.

LESSONS FOR FUTURE PROJECTS

Meeting the Users’ Expectations

Even if a product is themed on creative innovation — its UX design should focus less on being “different” from other websites, and more on easing users’ access. Having a similar structure to other websites is acceptable to meet users’ expectations and learnability.

Making Design Decisions amid Ambiguity

Stakeholders’ input (i.e. necessary business info for product design) may not be available by the project’s deadlines. Instead of pausing my designs, I learned to gather the available data; outline my questions for further data; make design decisions amid ambiguity; and be prompt to communicate and iterate.