Designing a learning experience to reframe failure
Role
Visual Designer
Collaborators
Sophia Fan
Andrea Benatar
Stacie Rohrbach (advisor)
The brief was to identify a demographic and a problem space that could benefit from a designed learning experience. Over the course of a semester, my team and I developed a workbook aimed at supporting lifelong learning. “Failure is…” is a collaborative workbook that helps college students gauge their current relationship with failure and success, and achieve a healthier perspective towards both. The project draws on participatory design methods and learning frameworks, and also gave me the opportunity to deepen my craft in bookmaking, composition, and art direction. This project is the physical translation of the interactive web and mobile experience.
Design Approach
The learning framework guides learners through four main arcs, connecting every activity to key learning goals.
Experience Overview
The workbook guides learners through a sequence of activities before unfolding into its final form: a 33.1 x 46.8 inch double-sided poster that reveals both their individual journey and the bigger picture. Its tactile format allows learners to document their reflections and progress throughout the experience. While many activities are personal, others, such as the closing letters, invite interaction between participants. Although the experience occurs in a single sitting, the poster and letters carry the lessons beyond the initial session.
Visual System
The visual system pairs a warm color palette with a complementary typographic system to support the workbook’s reflective yet playful tone. Neutral backgrounds create space for thought, while vibrant accent colors highlight key activities and moments of discovery. Oatmeal’s rounded sans-serif forms introduce warmth and approachability, while Lora’s classic serif adds reflection and weight to important ideas.
Illustration
I designed a set of simple, playful characters to invite readers into the content. Their circular forms reference the sun and moon, reinforcing the workbook’s central idea that failure and success exist in relationship to one another. The illustration style is playful yet mature. A collage-inspired treatment adds a handmade quality while allowing the characters to express human feelings and a lightheartedness.
