Year
Q3 2023
Client
Ribica
Role
UX/UI Designer
Overview
Ribica Kindergarten is a nature inspired early childhood education center that fosters curiosity, creativity and emotional well being in young learners. They approached me to design a website that would showcase their playful identity and guide parents toward learning more and enrolling their children. The goal was to craft an emotionally engaging, easy to navigate experience that evokes warmth and trust from the very first glance.
Problem
Ribica had an existing website that fell short in both usability and emotional appeal. The design felt outdated, key information was difficult to access and the overall experience didn’t reflect the school’s warm, child centered values. Many parents were left with unanswered questions and had to reach out directly, highlighting the need for a clearer and more engaging digital presence.
Design Process
To create an experience aligned with Ribica’s values, I began with a discovery phase that included a stakeholder interview and a collaborative content outline workshop. This helped uncover key messages and priorities such as nature based education, gentle adaptation programs and strong parent involvement.
I conducted lightweight competitor and moodboard research to explore how other kindergartens and child focused brands positioned themselves visually and emotionally. A common insight emerged: many appeared either too sterile or overly chaotic. Ribica needed emotionally rich and visually charming identity that would resonate with both children and parents.
From there, I created low fidelity wireframes to define content flow and page structure. The goal was to lead visitors from emotional connection to practical details and ultimately to action such as enrolling or reaching out. Once the structure was validated, I moved into high fidelity UI design with a clear visual direction.
A calm and playful visual language rooted in nature:
The color palette was built around soft, natural pastels, evoking a sense of calm and child friendliness. I chose the handwritten style ‘Honey Cute’ font for headlines to bring a playful, personal touch, balanced by the clean and readable ‘Nunito’ for body text.
Storytelling through thoughtful visual metaphors:
To strengthen storytelling and emotional familiarity, I incorporated custom illustrations and metaphors such as hand-drawn animal characters, paper planes and forest inspired textures. These visuals were thoughtfully placed to guide the user gently through the site, reinforcing Ribica’s identity and values. Calls to action were placed strategically to support parent decision making without creating pressure.
Outcome
The final website delivers a cohesive and delightful digital experience that fully reflects Ribica’s ethos. Parents are greeted with a clear and engaging visual narrative that communicates the school’s philosophy while allowing them to explore the content at their own pace, all within a thoughtfully structured page layout.
To assess the design’s effectiveness, I conducted lightweight user testing with eleven parents from the target audience. Feedback showed that users could easily find relevant information, felt emotionally connected to the school’s message and appreciated the site’s tone and clarity.
%83
increase in website traffic within
the first two months
2:45
average time on page, signaling strong engagement
%75
fewer phone inquiries, proving website effectiveness
x8
more enrollment inquiries compared to the previous quarter
Parents consistently praised the site’s gentle tone, clear structure and emotional appeal. Several noted that the site alone was enough to make them feel confident in reaching out without needing additional research.
This project demonstrates how a well crafted UX strategy paired with emotionally intelligent UI design can lead to measurable results, blending clarity, trust building and storytelling into a compelling digital experience.