Prodigy Education — Platform Transformation
Artem Prokofiev · Principal UI/UX Designer · 2024—2025 ·
Game-Based Learning · United States & Canada
Transforming a fragmented product ecosystem into a scalable, coherent user
experience. I was brought in to lead the definition and adoption of a unified
design system and UX framework across five independent product teams — and to
shift the problem from “redesign the screens” to “fix the system underneath
them.”
Outcome
- Time to access key features: 42s → 5s
- Purchase success rate after UI visibility work: 25% → 70%
- Navigation steps to reach a destination: 6 → 3
Measured after the rollout of the scalable UI system, the HUD redesign and the
new navigation architecture — validated in independent usability research.
01 — The situation: five teams, one product, no shared logic
Context
Prodigy Education is a large-scale learning platform used by millions of students
and teachers across the United States and Canada. The product had grown into a
multi-product ecosystem — gameplay, learning experiences and classroom tools
inside one platform, built by five independent teams. Design decisions were made
locally, team by team, rather than at platform level, creating growing friction
for users navigating the product and for teams building new features.
The fragmentation problem
Features worked in isolation. The overall experience lacked coherence, and the
system could no longer scale with the business.
- Inconsistent user experiences across features
- Duplicated components and patterns
- Conflicting hierarchy and interaction models
Over time this increased cognitive load for users and slowed product development.
Complexity compounded on both sides — users and teams.
Strategic approach
Rather than redesigning isolated screens, I shifted focus to a system-level
foundation that could support long-term product growth. Within the constraints of
a legacy proprietary engine, I defined and drove adoption of scalable standards
for colour, components, hierarchy and layout — aligning multiple teams under one
system. The goal was not a visual refresh but structural clarity: a shared
framework teams could build on without re-litigating foundational decisions every
sprint.
02 — Step one: a scalable UI system foundation
A governed colour system that standardised decision-making across teams and
removed ambiguity from product development.
- Base Dark Wood (#CA7D5A, #A5544C, #753632, #532934) — primary
structural background: depth, grounding and contrast for foreground elements.
- Base Light Wood (#EDD8CD, #DCB0A3, #C28179, #8B5155) —
secondary layer to separate content areas and reduce visual density without
noise.
- Paper & Gold (#FEFADE, #FFD9A5, #F4B41B, #CB7317) —
content surfaces and highlights: clarity plus a premium feel in rewards and
prioritised content.
- CTA Mid Tones (#22A68A, #DF495A, #4887D5) — functional colours
assigned to primary actions: clear hierarchy, less friction in key flows.
- Monetisation (#8421EE, #D228F0, #A7E34E) — accent group for
promotions and offers: attention without disrupting the core system.
From palette to production components
I led the creation of a foundational component system that turned the framework
into reusable, production-ready elements — then stress-tested it on the Store, one
of the most complex layouts in the product: a surface combining top and side
navigation, scrollable content and item preview.
- WCAG-compliant contrast ratios and accessibility validation across interfaces
- Scalability validated on complex, high-density UI without breaking hierarchy
- UI consistency improved across multiple teams
- Design-to-development friction reduced, feature delivery speed increased
03 — Step two: navigation architecture redesign
Transforming the HUD from a static UI layer into a scalable product navigation
system. The original HUD was a flat icon rail carrying every system at equal
weight, with no room to grow.
Core pain points
- Limited scalability — the layout was rigid and not designed for
continuous product growth. New features required ad-hoc solutions that broke
visual consistency and created layout conflicts.
- Fragmented navigation — key systems were reached through
multiple unconnected entry points. Inconsistent patterns forced users to rely
on memory rather than visual guidance.
- High cognitive load — too many elements competed without
prioritisation, increasing decision fatigue, especially for new and returning
users.
- Weak discoverability — important features, events and
monetisation entry points were visually underrepresented and easy to overlook,
limiting adoption and conversion.
Method: stakeholder and player research. Partners: Product, Art, UX and Research.
Output: an aligned design solution.
04 — Step three: HUD layout architecture
With the UI foundation in place, I rebuilt the HUD as a zoned navigation system
rather than a decorated frame — dedicated regions for core gameplay, primary
navigation, secondary systems, timers and a conversion surface.
- Clear zones defined for core gameplay, navigation and secondary systems
- High-impact features and frequent actions prioritised
- Flexible layout that supports content expansion
- Visual clutter reduced while hierarchy and readability improved
05 — Steps four & five: art direction and the new HUD
Translating the architecture into a finished visual language, then shipping it as
the product’s new interface: material, depth and iconography built on the semantic
colour system. The shipped HUD grouped systems into a predictable rail and
surfaced monetisation without shouting.
06 — Validation: measured against the four pain points
Independent usability research with 18 Prodigy players across 8 task scenarios,
comparing the old HUD with the new one.
- Fragmented navigation — share of tasks completed in a single
click: 37% → 80%. Median clicks to reach a feature dropped from 2.5 to 1.
- High cognitive load — success rate locating the Magicoin
balance: 88% → 100%. Time to locate the balance fell from 42s to 5s.
- Limited scalability — success rate reaching the Pet Center:
25% → 60%. Median task time reduced from 62s to 41s after integrating the Pet
Center into unified Stores navigation.
- Weak discoverability — success rate for the Magicoin purchase
task: 25% → 70%. Time to find the icon dropped from 66s to 14s.
07 — What the team said
“Artem has done a great job on the concepting and design of this product,
incorporating user feedback all throughout. The whole team was proud of what we
were able to launch.”
“Artem possesses a rare balance of artistic sensibility and strategic thinking.
His designs consistently elevated the quality of our product, blending aesthetic
excellence with user-centric functionality.”
“Artem was critical to designing a product on a small, high-powered,
low-bureaucracy team that ultimately released its MVP to wild success in three
months. He is effortless to work with and recommend.”
“He quickly adapted his style to better suit a younger audience, and in doing so,
set a clear creative direction that the rest of the team was able to confidently
follow.”
Closing
The HUD stopped being a screen. It became a system. Fragmented exploration gave way
to a structured, scalable navigation model that grows with the product instead of
fighting it.