Full Summery

Design systems, brand standards, and storytelling for a category leader in emotional intelligence and everyday wisdom.

 

Who They Are

The School of Life is an organization focused on helping people lead more fulfilled and self-aware lives. Through books, classes, videos, and tools, they bring emotional intelligence into daily life, offering guidance on love, work, relationships, and meaning. With a strong publishing arm and global presence, their brand blends therapeutic insight with philosophical perspective.

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The Problem

The School of Life had a vast and growing range of products—physical tools, digital courses, books, videos, gift kits, and more. But that breadth created friction. Their digital experience lacked a clear structure, making it difficult for users to navigate, understand what was available, or know where to begin. The visual identity felt inconsistent across touchpoints, and the tone didn’t always reflect the brand’s core emotional intelligence.

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My Role

I served as lead designer and provided team leadership and creative direction. My focus included rebranding and visual identity refinement, updated brand standards and a cohesive design system, brand storytelling and voice alignment, information architecture and content hierarchy, and user experience design.

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The Solution

We began by tackling the website’s structure. With dozens of product types across different categories, it was essential to simplify navigation and reduce cognitive load. I reorganized the internal page system and developed a cleaner information architecture, making it easier for users to explore without getting overwhelmed.

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Once the structure was in place, I led the redesign of key pages, starting with the homepage and major category hubs. I helped identify which products deserved greater visibility and reorganized content blocks to better reflect user needs and purchase behavior.

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Visually, I updated the brand’s type system, color palette, and layout standards to create a more modern, emotionally resonant presence. This helped the digital experience feel as intelligent and thoughtful as the content itself. I also made minor design refinements to the School of Life’s mobile app to ensure consistency across platforms.

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Why It Matters

The refreshed structure and visual clarity helped bring cohesion to a previously fragmented experience. It improved usability for new and returning users, better showcased the brand’s offerings, and reinforced the School of Life’s role as a trusted and thoughtful guide in a noisy world.

 

Key Deliverables

• Internal site reorganization and information architecture
• Full homepage and key landing page redesign
• Updated brand standards and visual identity system
• Brand storytelling updates and copy refinement
• Visual alignment across desktop and mobile touchpoints​​​​