TYPEVERSE

TYPEVERSE

Typography Education Product case study

Team Misfit:

Shreesa Shrestha, Ha Do, Shayla Singh, Youyuan Wang

TImeline:

6 weeks, Oct - Dec 2024

Team Misfit:

Shreesa Shrestha, Ha Do, Shayla Singh, Youyuan Wang

TImeline:

6 weeks, Oct - Dec 2024

Challenge:

In response to the growing need for more engaging online learning experiences, our team developed a typography-focused educational platform as part of Pratt Institute's Information Architecture course. The project addressed a critical challenge in digital education: creating an interface that actively promotes social interaction, facilitates collaboration, and builds strong learning communities.

We chose typography as our core design theme, recognizing its power to improve readability, enhance information hierarchy, and create an inclusive learning environment that resonates with diverse users.

Challenge:

In response to the growing need for more engaging online learning experiences, our team developed a typography-focused educational platform as part of Pratt Institute's Information Architecture course. The project addressed a critical challenge in digital education: creating an interface that actively promotes social interaction, facilitates collaboration, and builds strong learning communities.

We chose typography as our core design theme, recognizing its power to improve readability, enhance information hierarchy, and create an inclusive learning environment that resonates with diverse users.

Process

Process

Research

Define

Ideation

Testing

Final
Deliverable

Identifying Problems
Interviews

Empathy Mapping
Affinity Mapping
User Personas
User Journey Map

Brainstorming Sessions
Low fidelity Prototype



Usability Testing
Card Sorting


High Fidelity Prototype
Business Plan for future

High Fidelity Prototype

Business Plan for future

Research

Problem Statement

Problem
Statement

Design students and professionals struggle to master typography due to traditional, isolated learning approaches that lack engagement and practical application. Currently available educational resources are fragmented and often fail to provide interactive, collaborative experiences that could make typography learning more effective and enjoyable. While designers consider typography crucial to their work, existing solutions don't adequately support different skill levels or foster a community of practice where learners can experiment, receive feedback, and grow together.

How might we create an engaging, collaborative platform that transforms typography education from a solitary, theoretical exercise into an interactive, community-driven learning experience that builds confidence and practical skills for both beginners and advanced practitioners?

User Type

User Type

User Type

11 users were interviewed which included 5 designers and 6 non-designers.

Designer

Non-Designer

Non-
Designer

Graphic Designer
UX Designer
Interior Designer

Marketing Consultant
Finance Professional
English Major

Interview

Interview

interview findings

All the interviews were carried remotely through Zoom and Google Meet. The interview results were carefully categorized to find a common theme using FigJam, Then the results were used in Affinity Map, Empathy Map and User Journey Map.

Define

User Persona

User Persona

Primary Persona

Primary Persona

A committed learner who require comprehensive typography knowledge as part of their formal education and future career development. They need structured learning paths, detailed exercises, and professional-grade features to build fundamental skills and enhance their portfolio.

Secondary Persona

Secondary Persona

A casual learner who seeks basic typography understanding for specific work tasks, preferring flexible learning schedules and quick, practical solutions they can apply immediately to enhance their existing professional work.

Affinity Mapping

Affinity Mapping

Organized and categorized qualitative data from user research to identify patterns, insights, and key themes. Used this method to streamline complex information, prioritize user needs, and inform design decisions.

Affinity Map

Empathy Map

Empathy Map

Created empathy maps to deeply understand user behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and motivations.

Empathy Map

User Journey Map

User Journey Map

A user journey map was developed to track how our primary persona—Kristen experiences her typography learning process, highlighting her distinct motivations, challenges, and emotional response at each stage.

Web VS Mobile

Web VS Mobile

User Journey Map

Based on our initial user research, we pivoted from a mobile app to a web application. Design students and professionals primarily work on laptops and computers for their design projects, making it more efficient to seamlessly share and receive feedback through a web platform rather than transferring files between devices.

ideation

Low fidelity

Low fidelity

The low fidelity prototype included lessons section and community section.

Testing

Action Priority Matrix

Action Priority
Matrix

An Action Priority Matrix was created based on insights from usability testing to identify high-impact, low-effort improvements versus lower priority fixes. This visualization helped prioritize design refinements by balancing user impact with implementation effort, ensuring the most critical usability issues would be addressed first.

Card Sorting

Card Sorting

We tasked our 11 usability testing participants to restructure the typography learning platform's information architecture. This exercise revealed natural groupings of content and helped establish user-centered navigation patterns.

Introducing TypeVerse: an immersive typography education platform that transforms learning through community-driven experiences and expert guidance. The app combines structured lessons and hands-on exercises with a vibrant space where designers as well as non designers interested in typography share work, exchange feedback, and build lasting connections. Through personalized mentorship and collaborative learning, TypeVerse empowers both beginners and experienced designers to master typography while being part of an engaged creative community.

Final Deliverable

High Fidelity Prototype

High Fidelity
Prototype

The high-fidelity prototype incorporates key insights from usability testing, refining the interface and learning experience to better serve both design students and professionals. The design focuses on structured learning paths while maintaining flexibility for different user needs.

Key Features

Key Features

  1. Lessons and Exercises

Master typography fundamentals through interactive, hands-on lessons that blend theory with practical exercises, designed for both beginners and advanced practitioners.

  1. Lessons and Exercises

Master typography fundamentals through interactive, hands-on lessons that blend theory with practical exercises, designed for both beginners and advanced practitioners.

  1. Community and Feedback

Join a vibrant ecosystem of typography enthusiasts where you can share work, exchange ideas, and grow together through collaborative learning experiences. Get feedback on your visual work.

  1. Community and Feedback

Join a vibrant ecosystem of typography enthusiasts where you can share work, exchange ideas, and grow together through collaborative learning experiences. Get feedback on your visual work.

  1. Mentor Hub

Connect with experienced typography experts for personalized feedback and guidance, accelerating your learning journey through real-world insights.

  1. Mentor Hub

Connect with experienced typography experts for personalized feedback and guidance, accelerating your learning journey through real-world insights.

  1. Daily Quiz

Challenge yourself with bite-sized typography quizzes that reinforce learning through daily practice and friendly competition.

  1. Daily Quiz

Challenge yourself with bite-sized typography quizzes that reinforce learning through daily practice and friendly competition.

  1. Additional features

The app features a font pairing tool for discovering harmonious typeface combinations, a monthly typography project to take inspirations from, and a curated font of the month that deep-dives into the history, characteristics, and noteworthy typefaces.

  1. Additional features

The app features a font pairing tool for discovering harmonious typeface combinations, a monthly typography project to take inspirations from, and a curated font of the month that deep-dives into the history, characteristics, and noteworthy typefaces.

Business Plan for Future

Business Plan for Future

Job Board



Help learners find jobs related to the field of typography.

Stronger product proposition for the design professional



Enhance product features to meet the advanced needs of design professionals

Monetary potential

Earn from Mentor Hub; license fonts and typographic assets, advanced-level lessons