Labrador Redesign for TU Delft
Labrador is a set of learning management systems at the Delft University of Technology developed by the IT faculty. The platforms Submit, Queue and Portal serve different purposes within one learning management environment – such as creating and managing courses and programs, submitting assignments, grading and receiving course-specific information or queueing up for feedback sessions and reviews. The first version of the Labrador app family had a very basic, functional design. I was contracted to create new UX and visual designs that would be closer to the visual identity of TU Delft, but that would also logically improve the entire experience of the platforms and unify them in the workflow they share. Additionally, while Submit and Queue had their first versions, and required a redesign of the experience and their visual sides, Portal had not yet been created, so it required the entire structure and flow to be built by me from a set of MoSCoW requirements.
The design process
I solved the user needs by improving the accessibility of functions such as grading, viewing progress and searching for certain students by introducing new connections between pages and restructuring the workflow to be more user-friendly. The style of the platforms is now aligned with the identity of TU Delft, and as the aim of Labrador is to spread to different universities in the Netherlands and abroad, the style leaves room for the customization of colours and logos. The interconnectedness of the platform features means that the user can easily find hundreds of functionalities from different points across the app. Additionally, with the inclusion of breadcrumbs and a side menu, the user never gets lost and can easily determine where in the platform they currently are.
I solved the user needs by improving the accessibility of functions such as grading, viewing progress and searching for certain students by introducing new connections between pages and restructuring the workflow to be more user-friendly. The style of the platforms is now aligned with the identity of TU Delft, and as the aim of Labrador is to spread to different universities in the Netherlands and abroad, the style leaves room for the customization of colours and logos. The interconnectedness of the platform features means that the user can easily find hundreds of functionalities from different points across the app. Additionally, with the inclusion of breadcrumbs and a side menu, the user never gets lost and can easily determine where in the platform they currently are.
The platforms also allow for different levels of clearance, so students have a different set of options than teachers and teaching assistants, administrators or program managers. The entire design strives to be clear and logically structured, which results in a simple, yet appealing and task-focused visual identity, that does not distract with unnecessary features and supports the mindset of a technically-oriented user (such as the students and teachers of a technical university).
The platforms also allow for different levels of clearance, so students have a different set of options than teachers and teaching assistants, administrators or program managers. The entire design strives to be clear and logically structured, which results in a simple, yet appealing and task-focused visual identity, that does not distract with unnecessary features and supports the mindset of a technically-oriented user (such as the students and teachers of a technical university).
