PLUS - Personalized Learning Squared
Role
Product Design Intern
Aug 2024 - Dec 2024
Toolbox
Figma
Notion
What I Did
Responsive Design
Design System Adherence
Visual Design
Prototyping
User Journeys
Team
Design Manager
Product Manager
Developer
At-a-Glance
PLUS is an educational technology project sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University and Carnegie Learning. External partners using PLUS's training platform needed a way to track and share their accomplishments in a verifiable, professional way.
I was tasked with designing an end-to-end badging system that would not only validate tutors' training progress but also increase PLUS's visibility through social media sharing.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Building a verifiable achievement system that grows with our platform.
Primary Goal
Design an end-to-end badge system that allows tutors to claim verified credentials and showcase their expertise on professional platforms.
Scale and Scope
The immediate goal was designing one completion badge, but the system needed to accommodate for scaling up to multiple badges across different competency areas.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Learning from other educational badging systems to inform my design direction.
Research and Exploration
Analyzed badges from other online learning platforms such as Duolingo, Khan Academy, and IXL
Identified common patterns in badge hierarchy and visual language
Key Insights
Academic badges often use metallic finishes to convey prestige
Most successful designs balanced minimal elements with clear institutional branding
Achievement levels commonly differentiated through color and decorative elements
ITERATING
Through rapid iterations, I explored various badge designs.
Early explorations ranged from minimalist logo arrangements to more decorative academic treatments, helping us identify which elements resonated with our goals for a prestigious yet modern digital credential.
Some of my iterations…
FINAL DESIGN
The final badge design for completing all training lessons.
‼️
Chose a bold red with gold border to stand out
🎨
Optimizes PLUS and CMU logo placement
🔍
Ensures clarity at both full size and thumbnail
With the badge design finalized, I turned my focus to creating meaningful moments for tutors to receive, claim, and share their achievements. The challenge was to design an experience that made earning a badge feel special while maintaining a streamlined, professional flow.
Overview
There are two key touchpoints in a tutor's badging journey:
Notification of earning a badge and claiming the badge
Viewing an earned badge and sharing to social media
NOTIFICATION & CLAIMING
Crafting the right moment and method to celebrate achievements.
Choosing the Right Component
Evaluated different notification patterns - toasts, modals, and banners - for badge claiming
Chose modal for achievement celebration to:
Create a prominent and meaningful moment
Provide enough space for clear action steps
Match the importance of earning a credential
Design Decisions
Created congratulatory message that balances celebration with action
Included "Claim Badge" CTA to guide next steps
Claiming occurs directly within the app
BADGE VISIBILITY & SHARING
Designing a home for growing achievements.
Finding the Right Placement
Explored multiple locations within PLUS app for badge display
Selected home page placement to:
Give immediate recognition to tutors' accomplishments
Provide easy access for sharing credentials
Display System
Built on PLUS's design system components while introducing new badge-specific elements
LEARNINGS
Growing as an in-house designer through systematic challenges.
Technical Craft
Deepened understanding of how to extend an existing design system while maintaining visual cohesion
Gained experience in designing elements that need to work across different platforms and contexts (PLUS app, LinkedIn, Canvas)
Product Strategy
Embraced staged implementation approach - starting with one perfect badge before expanding
Recognized that the most challenging delivery was the first badge, which set the foundation for all future iterations
Learned to design with scalability in mind while focusing on immediate deliverables
Collaboration
Worked closely with developers to understand technical capabilities of Badgr integration
Partnered with PM to break down complex features into manageable releases
Balanced input from Carnegie Mellon and PLUS stakeholders in badge design decisions