GREAT MINDS
As an Associate Designer at Great Minds, a public benefit corporation, I had the honor of working towards their mission of making the world a more knowledge-rich place by improving Pre-K through grade 12 education. They support teachers with best-in-class curriculum materials in Math, English, Science, and other subjects to provide joyful rigor to learning, spark reward and curiosity, and impart knowledge with equal parts delight.
In my short time at the company, I was able to flex my typography and layout skills by working on print projects across all three primary curricular areas and collaborated with teams across the Product, Marketing, and Production departments.
Eureka Math2® Cover Redesign
Eureka Math2, a Pre-K through Algebra 1 math program, was redesigned in preparation for new state customizations. The program includes 6 modules per grade level, with each module containing a Teach book for instructors and two books for students: Learn and Apply.
The original covers highlight a work of fine art for each grade level, feature the grade number more prominently than the module number, and have only a very slight differentiation between the Learn and Apply books.
In the redesign, we focused on the following: 1) making the module number more prominent than the grade number, 2) creating greater differentiation between the Learn and Apply books, 3) using vibrant, state specific imagery, 4) adding in secondary, grade-specific colors, and 5) keeping the logo prominent for brand recognition.
To solve numbers 3 and 4, the design team worked together to source grade-level appropriate images for each state (California and Florida), create the palette for the grade-specific colors, and match each image with the most fitting color.
I designed the runner-up solution that played off of the original cover design while simplifying the typography and using the new grade-level colors to create a stark contrast between the Learn and Apply books.
Below is the final cover that was chosen, for which I designed the back cover.
Creative Director: Whitney Lyle
Associate Creative Director: Julia Dantchev
Front Cover Design: Amy Ng
Inside Geodes® Dividers
Geodes® are information-rich books that provide emerging and developing readers with an opportunity to build knowledge while practicing foundational reading skills. Included in the program is Inside Geodes, a teacher resource that provides comprehensive information about each module as well as guidance on how to flexibly incorporate Geodes into a teacher’s literacy instruction.
In designing Inside Geodes for the new Level 3 books, we wanted to improve the book's readability by adding greater visual interest. My role in designing the section dividers allowed me to highlight the beautiful art featured in the Geodes books. Each divider uses art from one of the books, with the suite of dividers representing 1-2 books per module.
Before and after:
PhD Science®
PhD Science, a hands-on K-5 science program, includes an implementation guide as a teacher resource with guidance on how to incorporate the program into science instruction. The guide includes charts and infographics that help to visually demonstrate concepts. I designed new versions of four infographics to improve clarity and functionality.
