Hi! I'm Helen.
I specialize in applying my visual and UX design, animation, and illustration skills to create innovative and engaging learning experiences for users of all ages.
I specialize in applying my visual and UX design, animation, and illustration skills to create innovative and engaging learning experiences for users of all ages.
Noggin was the little kids app where children could learn and grow with their favorite Nick Jr. characters through interactive games, activities, ebooks, and episodic content.*
I led a team of 5 talented designers to address to needs of our kid and grownup users across phone, tablet, and web. Through close collaboration across teams, we reimagined the app experience to deliver on improved learning outcomes and increased engagement, and won the 2024 Kidscreen Award for Best Learning App – Branded.
*Noggin was closed by Paramount and privately acquired in 2024.
PlayMada, a BrainPOP company, was formed to focus on learning games for high school math and science.
Building on my experience in learning and visual design, I drove the process from defining learning outcomes and content objectives to designing a framework of interconnected yet modular chemistry games for desktop and tablet. I worked hands on with a small but mighty team to translate chemistry concepts into a system of 8 award winning learning games.
I also created a system of particles (atoms, ions, etc.) at various scales to be used throughout the games.
We designed a framework to house our 8 games that is interconnected, to promote and reinforce the systems thinking inherent to chemistry, yet modular, to provide multiple entry points throughout a chemistry curriculum to support ease of use in the classroom.
When learning how to play the game = learning chemistry, the learning can only be as strong as the tutorials. Post-launch, we conducted in-depth classroom research, playtesting, and data analysis to pinpoint weak areas and revised the tutorials to see increased completion rates.
BrainPOP is a pioneer in creating digital learning resources for kids Pre-K through 8th grade.
I initially joined to work on advanced science topics for high school students, then transitioned to help create and launch a completely new English learning product, BrainPOP ELL. During my time at BrainPOP, I fell in love with collaborating with SMEs, writers, and educators to design and craft engaging learning experiences.
I also created systems
of patterns, templates, character puppets, and asset libraries to streamline processes and workflows.
Working with a team of writers, educators, animators, and engineers, I storyboarded, animated, and created content for over 20 English language learning lessons.
Smart Design is a strategic design company that helps people live better and work smarter.
While at Smart, I was part of the 5 person design team that re-designed the external graphics for NYC Taxis. Our goal was to improve the taxi ride experience by clarifying fare pricing and giving the outdated graphics a much needed refresh. I thought it would be helpful to show riders the right way to hail a taxi by including a simple icon of a person in the pose.
JADE Learning is a leading provider of online continuing education courses for professional license renewals for various trades.
This was my first introduction into thinking of the user as a learner with a focus on learning outcomes and content objectives. I created illustrations and animations for print and online courses, and designed the UI for online course modules.
My initial focus was creating illustrations for electrical, engineering, and nursing courses based on descriptions from the content team, and designing the UI for learning modules.
As I progressed, I began collaborating with SMEs to design and create more engaging interactive animated content to better support learning outcomes.
