GKIDS Readiness Check
A parent-friendly website that helps families understand how early learning skills are assessed—and how to support them at home.
Role: UX design, UI design, User research, Illustration
Platform: Web
Design Tools: Adobe XD, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
Commissioned by Georgia Public Broadcasting for the Georgia Department of Education, the site walks families through three key learning domains: Foundations of School Success, English Language Arts, and Mathematics.
Each domain breaks down essential skills tied to overall readiness. Fully 508-compliant and available in English and Spanish, the site is built for accessibility, clarity, and impact.
The Problem
Learning does not just happen during the school day. Parents and caregivers need a centralized, accessible platform to understand and support their children as they progress through their kindergarten year and acquire the skills outlined by the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (GKIDS) process. The challenge was to design a user-friendly website that offers comprehensive resources, aligns with educational standards, and caters to a diverse audience with varying levels of digital literacy.
Understanding the Parent Journey
Parents and caregivers bring diverse experiences shaped by socioeconomic status, occupation, and parenting style. Through interviews with families, educators, and stakeholders, we identified key barriers to access. This informed a strategy to ensure the site was discoverable, inclusive, and relevant for caregivers from all backgrounds.
Information Architecture
To help parents and caregivers quickly find and use content that supports kindergarten readiness, we designed a clear, minimal structure. The site is organized into three core learning domains, each linking directly to skill-specific pages. Supporting sections include FAQs and resource links from the Georgia Department of Education and the Department of Early Learning—ensuring families can easily explore, learn, and take action.
Iconography
Each skill in the GKIDS Readiness Check curriculum was paired with a custom icon to make learning more visual and intuitive for families. Collaborating with education leads and testing with parents, I created a unique icon set that clearly represented key concepts while strengthening the project’s visual identity.
Typography
Type selection was key to ensuring content remained legible both on-screen and in print. The typography was chosen for clarity, accessibility, and reliability—so that printed pages would be easy to read, regardless of the user’s age or the quality of their home printer.
Wireframes
User feedback from stakeholders, educators, and parents strongly shaped the wireframe direction. A prominent left-hand navigation emerged as a clear preference—making it easy to scan learning domains and jump to specific skill pages. Users also valued the ability to move seamlessly between skills from both the overview and individual domain pages.
Visual Design
Inspired by the GKIDS logo, the final visual design aimed to be warm, welcoming, and easy to navigate. The UI uses friendly colors and classroom-inspired cues to create an approachable experience for parents and caregivers. The result is a simple, supportive microsite that feels intuitive—and encourages families to engage in their child’s learning at home
Copyright © 2025 Dravon