As the head of a design agency, Brainsauce, I collaborated with a client who had an ambitious vision: to transform their successful offline aerospace engineering courses into an online learning platform. They aimed to make aerospace education accessible, engaging, and future ready for students nationwide.
Client:
Engineered
My Role:
Digital Transformation, Design Strategy, Art Direction
Year:
2023
Service Provided:
Digital Transformation, UX Research, and Visual Identity Design
Our client was committed to addressing a critical gap in the under-served core engineering segment. Their mission was to create an industry-ready talent pool by offering high-quality aerospace courses tailored to market needs. With 675,000 engineering graduates annually struggling to secure well-paying jobs, the opportunity for meaningful impact was immense.
The objective was clear: develop an online platform that not only educates but empowers students to achieve their career aspirations while proving their value to employers
Holistic Design Approach
To design an effective online education platform, we started with integrating the Holistic Design approach with the Design Thinking framework, gathering insights into:
Broader frameworks: complex systems
How can we make online learning as interesting as online entertainment, something like scrolling through social media?
Studying relationships inside the sub-system of education
Explored educational components to understand what influences learning outcomes. This includes researching curriculum design, assessment methods, community support, and employability outcomes to understand what truly impacts learning
Studying users for product development
Surveys and interviews with students revealed preferences for gamified assessments, flexible learning schedules, online peer communities, and high-quality content delivery.
Key research questions included:
What specific skills do employers seek, and how can these be incorporated into the curriculum?
What motivates students to enrol in online courses, and how do they perceive the current market offerings?
User Journey Map: Exploring how students purchase online courses
Findings:
Our research with 37 participants revealed the significant challenges and expectations of online learners. Students appreciate the flexibility of online education but are dissatisfied with low-quality courses and unqualified instructors. A standout quote summarized this sentiment:
We found that students thrive with short, focused lectures of 20–30 minutes and are willing to invest in courses if they see clear career benefits. Another evil factor is distractions from mobile notifications, ads, and unresolved doubts often ruin the experience. They also seek transparency: detailed syllabi, honest reviews, and clear outcomes. Perhaps most strikingly, students want communities where they can learn and grow together, not just another forum to check in on. These insights helped us paint a vivid user person of our learners values and demands from online education.
User Persona
We analyzed the market using Porter’s Five Forces to understand the dynamics influencing edtech platforms:
Threat of New Entrants: Low to medium, as capital and industry connections are critical barriers.
Rivalry Among Competitors: Low, with only one incumbent in engineering and is currently facing negative backlash.
Supplier Power: Low to medium, as platforms rely on in-house experts or partnerships.
Buyer Power: Low to medium, driven by switching costs and abundant choices.
Threat of Substitutes: Medium, with free or cheaper options posing challenges, but mentorship-linked offerings providing differentiation.
Competitive Analysis
We benchmarked competitors against a 12-criteria framework to evaluate:
Quality of learning experience.
Transparency in course offerings.
Additional support features.
We found out that our primary competitor met only 4 out of 12 criteria, while a secondary competitor, with a different course range but a similar structure, fulfilled 8. The secondary competitor’s success and strong market reputation validated our potential platform design ideas while inspiring new features.
The strategy brief became the cornerstone of the project, seamlessly blending user needs with business objectives. Alongside the strategy, we outlined key platform features that would drive engagement and learning outcomes.
Design statement
Our new edtech platform helps K-12 students who want to upskill and become job ready by making our service transparent and providing quality content, expert instructors, mentorship support and community engagement.
Key performance indicators
Increase in monthly/weekly active users.
Higher average session duration.
Growth in resource downloads and form submissions.
Reduced bounce rates and drop-offs at the time of purchase.
Fewer user-reported issues over time.
Added value
Job oriented
Transparent
Quality content
Expert instructors
Mentorship support
Community engagement
Guiding principles
Aspirational
Expertise
Transparency
Futuristic Engineering
Clarity
The platform design focuses on creating an engaging and user-friendly experience for online learners. Divided into 3 main focuses: website, learning management system and community building, the features include ROI-driven content, user testimonials, expert showcases, and community-focused elements like alumni programs and peer forums. The design also integrates learning enhancements, such as flexible navigation and focus friendly tools. While these features provide a glimpse into the platform's capabilities, some details remain confidential until the product launch.
Through research, strategic analysis, and feature planning, we provided the client with a robust foundation to build a groundbreaking edtech platform for aerospace courses. The work completed in the research and strategy phases set the stage for creating a learner-centric, innovative solution that could redefine how engineering students prepare for their futures.
