Due to confidentiality, this is the maximum level of detail I can share about this project. To give a sense of the outcomes, I’ve included visuals from a similar project I worked on, as the final results of this project cannot be disclosed.
THE TRAVELOGUE Of
School X Open day
“I designed a digital experience that replaced a physical, trust-based decision moment for students and parents.”
01 The context
During COVID, a school approached us after losing their most important touchpoint: the physical open day, where students and parents normally experience the environment and build trust. Without this moment, they were left with a lot of uncertainty around how to present themselves and connect with future students. They came to us looking for a way to translate that experience into a meaningful digital alternative.
02 The problem
Without a physical experience, potential students struggled to understand the atmosphere, culture, and daily life of the school, making it harder to choose confidently.
03 My role
I worked closely with the school board to understand their concerns and translated their needs into a digital experience concept.
04 The process
a. Stakeholder session
I sat down with the school board to dig into what actually makes an open day meaningful, not just what information to share, but what it feels like when it works. What would make someone walk away from a virtual open day and say, “yes, this is the right school”?
b. Insight
What came out of those conversations didn’t surprised me a lot: the real value of an open day has nothing to do with facts and figures. It’s about feeling, the atmosphere you walk into, the connections you make, and whether you leave feeling confident about your choice.
c. Concept
With that in mind, I moved away from the idea of a traditional information page and started designing something I called an “open school experience.” The whole thing was built around storytelling, guided exploration, and moments of real interaction, because that’s what actually moves people.
d. UX Translation
Rather than presenting a wall of content, I wanted users to move through the school: room by room, story by story, the way you would on an actual visit. Combining video, interactive moments, and personal narratives, I tried to recreate that feeling of physically being there.
The heart of it was people. Not policies or programmes, but real students and teachers sharing their everyday experiences. I genuinely believe that’s what turns a website visit into something that sticks, when a future student can look at the screen and actually picture themselves there.
e. Iteration
The beginning of a project is always quite exciting, when ideas are still loose and anything feels possible. I started with simple sketches, just enough to make the thinking visible and give the school board something real to react to. Those early scribbles sparked better conversations than any polished deck could have.
From there, we found a rhythm: weekly check-ins, honest feedback, small adjustments, repeat. I kept pushing on clarity, accessibility, and whether the experience genuinely felt right, not just looked right. That ongoing dialogue is what gave the whole project its direction, and honestly, it’s what I enjoy most about this kind of work.
05 Outcome
The digital ‘online School X open day world’ experience gave potential students something they were missing: a genuine sense of what the school actually feels like from the inside. Instead of trying to imagine it, they could explore it and arrive at their decision feeling certain rather than uncertain.
What made this outcome meaningful to me was seeing the school stay connected with families during a time when that connection could have easily been lost. Future students weren’t just getting information, they were getting the clarity and confidence they needed to make a real, personal choice.
Facilitated a zoom meeting with the school board to go through the first concept of the online world.
Some idea sketches.
The translation from initial idea sketches into more refined concept sketches.
The result? The virtual open day gave the school a way to make a real impression, even from a distance.