Digital Influx is a pioneering EdTech firm that focuses on integrating UX design into school curricula all over the world. The organization is still quite young and is constantly expanding into new areas and consumer bases.
Task: Optimize design for inclusivity, increasing engagement and outreach across diverse U.S. states, accounting for location and language impacts, particularly addressing the growing Spanish-speaking population among children.
Team: Worked as the sole UX/UI Designer alongside a team of education professionals, a Project Manager, and Chief Operations Officer
Duration: 5 months (May 2022 - Sep 2022)
Tools: Figma, Rise 360, Articulate
Who are we trying to reach?
We need to engage with California and Texas students! As the organization expands into diverse U.S. states, including Texas, California, and Nevada, addressing the increasing Spanish-speaking population among children is crucial. To ensure global usability, a comprehensive UX design audit is essential, focusing on inclusivity and accessibility for all users.
The majority of DI (Digital Influx) institutions are located in the organization's center of operations, the United Kingdom, but its second most valuable market is the United States, notably states like Texas and California where combined they make up 68 million people vs 67 million for the UK. Breaking through to the school districts in the US would significantly increase clientele.
Currently Digital Influx is enroute to providing academic courses for all age ranges including teens and adults; however, the vast majority of active users are young children in the K-5 range who must be approached from a fun introductory learning perspective.
If we want a strong foothold in Texan and Californian school districts how might we accommodate for the large population of children who speak Spanish as a first language?
Let’s set some goals
The primary objective of the overhaul is to increase user outreach and asses the impact of location & language, and improve overall design quality.
A little research can go a long way!
With the short timeline, I conducted a quick language-location analysis which is crucial in gaining insights and understanding the user experience landscape. One effective approach is diving into what the national census data has to say.
Prioritizing language inclusivity is vital for the expansion of not just US school districts but also all global regions.
This data is the visual representation for the ethnic average of the ESL (English Secondary Language) program for the 2015 fall semester in US school districts.
ESL students are heavily neglected
English as a Second Language (ESL) students often face significant neglect by school districts, leading to disparities in their educational experiences. Many districts lack adequate resources, such as qualified ESL teachers and appropriate learning materials, to support these students effectively. This neglect is often compounded by insufficient training for mainstream teachers in ESL strategies, leaving them ill-equipped to address the diverse linguistic and cultural needs of their students. Consequently, ESL students may struggle with language barriers that hinder their academic progress and social integration, resulting in lower academic achievement and higher dropout rates. Additionally, standardized testing practices frequently fail to account for the unique challenges faced by ESL students, further marginalizing them and impeding their educational success. This systemic neglect underscores the need for more inclusive policies and targeted support to ensure that ESL students receive the quality education they deserve.
Is all Spanish the same?
Incorporating Spanish in a way that children could fully grasp the content was going to be a challenge in itself. In most situations, services integrate European and formal Spanish into the material; nevertheless, research indicates that the majority of Spanish speakers in the US are from Latin American countries, therefore the service must adapt to conventional Latin American Spanish rather than European Spanish. Research into colloquial latin american Spanish coupled with my Colombian background allowed me to better grasp what changes needed to be made from castellano to North, Central, Carribean, and South American Spanish.
After correcting grammar and spelling inconsistencies there was a 15% decrease in product bug count
Over 81+ sections were carefully translated into colloquially neutral Spanish
Looking back now!
This was my first design audit and language overhaul, and there were a few steps I would add in terms of mapping and creating a step-by-step plan, such as priority labels and before and after metrics. Overall, I was able to use data and my bilingual background to better assist US latino children who may struggle with English alone.