Brownthought Academy
Brownthought Academy
Who we are
Who we are
On Demand
On Demand
What We Do
What We Do
Handy Tools
Handy Tools
Kultivate Labs
Brownthought Academy
Designing for Futures: Building a Trusted Brand Experience
Role
Web Design Intern (Product Design Focus)
What I did
Product Design, User Research, Prototyping, Product Thinking
Timeline
February 2023 - June 2023
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Asana
Slack
Telegram
Context
Kultivate Labs (KL), the nonprofit behind San Francisco’s SOMA Pilipinas, needed a central platform for its expanding internship program established 2020. Like a startup continuing to scale, they lacked a cohesive space for users to engage with the program.
The Problem 😐
The internship program lacked a dedicated website, leaving information scattered and hard to find. Without a centralized home, users struggled to learn about the program and apply, limiting its growth. There is an internship program — but no home to call its own :(
Okay… so what did you do?
I set the visual direction and led user research by conducting user interviews, driving measurable increases in user engagement and program participation. My work spanned product design, prototyping, and strategic product thinking to build a cohesive user experience for the platform :)
Outcome
Since its launch in June 2023, the site has successfully supported two cohort application cycles and continues to streamline the user experience across mobile and desktop platforms to the broader Kultivate Labs network. Ultimately, our refined product strategy led to:
1,754% increase in page views, with users exploring multiple resources on the platform
a 1,684% increase in visits, year-over-year
1,470% increase in unique visitors
Constraints
Some parameters we kept in mind as we were working on the project:
So… where did we start?
We gathered key materials to inform our process: branding guidelines, product requirements, stakeholder insights, and initial wireframes. From there, we brainstormed how to bring Brownthought’s digital presence to life, laying the groundwork for a unified and impactful platform. We aligned as a team by identifying our strengths and how we could collaborate effectively.
Some wireframes that I iterated on during the interview process for our 48-hour take-home assignments before we officially became interns, which I shared with the web team while we were brainstorming!
Finding the Materials to Build a Home
After making the blueprints, we set out to find the resources we needed to bring the website to life (kind of like a mini quest!).
Approaches to Research
Laying the Foundation
To ground my design process in real user insights, I conducted qualitative user research through user interviews.
Pain Point #1: Information is Hard to Navigate
Users were forced to juggle between two separate websites, constantly cross-referencing for discrepancies. Unfortunately, this is not a circus (maybe next year). Important information for the application process was buried and inaccessible, when it should have been front and center.
Pain Point #2: Lack of Trust with Brand
Kultivate Labs’ success with initiatives like UNDSCVRD SF set high expectations, but without a centralized system, Brownthought Academy was seen as new and lacking credibility. Interviewees felt disconnected from the brand. Although visual elements like brand guidelines and typography were present, they failed to foster a meaningful connection with users, weakening trust. Our goal was to rebuild that trust and establish credibility.
Pain Point #3: Visual Inconsistencies Hinder User Experience
Users found the visual design lacking, with inconsistent fonts, an outdated logo, and poorly formatted content. Navigation issues and unclear program details frustrated users, particularly the hard-to-navigate Google Doc format of the internship syllabus. These design flaws failed to meet the high standards expected from Kultivate Labs. To reengage users and boost applications, we knew we had to transform the branding, improve mobile functionality, and redesign how information was presented.
Constructing the Experience
I led user research throughout the project, collaborating closely with my design manager to shape the overall direction. By synthesizing insights from user conversations and a competitive audit, we pinpointed opportunities to streamline onboarding and tailor communications. I also developed mood boards to ensure the website’s visual design aligned with our findings and the brand’s vision.
Setting Visual Direction
As a result, I went all in on the mood board… only to hop on a call with my design manager and learn that this is not a mood board :(
Frankly, I felt disappointed in myself for not knowing this and receiving the feedback I did from my manager. I was under the perception that a mood board is a collection of visual inspiration and never really thought about it outside of that. I have been using Pinterest since middle school, so I associated a mood board with just gathering visual artifacts and laying it down on the metaphorical table. However, despite feeling the disappointment within myself that I did, I understood that my design manager was coming from a place of constructive growth.
After this exact conversation, I learned that a mood board in the context of product design is not just putting a bunch of pretty pictures together, but more so about conveying the look, feel, and experience of what we are trying to communicate in the essence of a few visual artifacts.
This time with the guidance and clarification of my design manager, I refined it.
This time, finally having a refined mood board, we had a clear direction for the website. Building it out on Squarespace was surprisingly quick, as we had previous iterations to build from (evolutions below)
At long last, we loomed on the horizon of…
The Solution: Ready for Move-In
We finally built a home for Brownthought Academy 🫂🏡
The final website became a cohesive platform that centralizes the application process for Brownthought Academy, eliminating confusion and re-establishing trust and credibility with users. By providing a seamless experience that aligns with the high standards of Kultivate Labs, the platform has fostered meaningful engagement, as users navigate deeper into the platform. The result? Remarkable growth, with:
1,754% increase in page views, with users exploring multiple resources on the platform indicating strong content engagement and relevance
a 1,684% increase in visits year-over-year, pointing to increased traffic, improved brand recognition, and effective marketing campaign strategies leading to higher generated gross profit ($1.15M increase from 2022)
1,470% increase in unique visitors, indicating the platform reaching a broader audience and expanding its influence beyond its previous user base due to stronger outreach efforts, partnerships, and improved credibility
Key highlights of the solution include:
Points of Growth
Wishes 🧚🏻
Takeaways 🥡