Native Ed aims to provide a central platform for educators and learners to explore Native American cultures and histories through authentic resources. Founded by educators to address the lack of consolidated materials on Native American history to empower teachers with accessible resources.
Native Ed needed their design identity built from inception with their brand creation as well as their website design and copywriting for the platform. We designed and developed their platform from start to finish, making their platform ready for when they want to launch.
With tremendous satisfaction expressed by the Native Ed team, we provided a website ready to scale and grow with their team and content. Their new website is efficient with an intuitive resource library to help educators and students find content quicker, an engaging map experience, and a visual identity that is sure to wow new users.
Following an iterative process, we began with research and held interviews with the main stakeholders to get a better understanding of what was required for the website as well as how we wanted to shape their brand. Once this was done, we completed a competitive analysis to refine the required features and get a better understanding of similar platforms.
Building Native Ed’s brand from scratch, we relied on the knowledge of the Native Ed team to share what imagery from Native culture they wanted to portray with the Native Ed website. We created the turtle logo based on the popular Native story of North America being called “Turtle Island”. Additionally, we created a brand book that encapsulated the palette, tone of voice, typography, and other asset documentation.
We created a library to house Native Ed’s content. This included original content that is produced by the Native Ed team like videos and lesson plans as well as external content that Native Ed will curate to create a larger repository of information on Native American history and culture. With filters for time periods, states, regions, content types, and grade levels, users can quickly find content related to their area of study. With a keyword search feature, any content that mentions these words will be displayed seamlessly, enhancing the power of the database.
The Native Ed project profoundly impacts the current state of education on Native American cultures and histories by consolidating these resources into a single, accessible platform. This initiative empowers educators with authentic materials, addressing a significant gap in available resources, and facilitating more comprehensive and accurate about Native American heritage.
Through careful brand creation, website design, and content development, we crafted a visually engaging and user-friendly platform that includes a robust resource library and an interactive map feature. These tools help educators quickly find relevant content, enhancing their ability to create effective lesson plans that meet state requirements and foster a deeper understanding of Indigenous histories.
The platform’s scalability ensures it can grow with the organization, continually expanding its repository of educational materials. This project not only supports educators but also contributes to a broader effort to deconstruct stereotypes and promote a more nuanced understanding and appreciation of Native American cultures.
