Launching an [emphasis]educational platform[/emphasis] empowering students with life skills

Overview

AIB Future Sparks is an educational initiative created by Allied Irish Bank (AIB) aimed at supporting secondary school students in Ireland with their personal and professional development. The program focuses on equipping young people with essential life skills in areas like financial literacy, career readiness, entrepreneurship and wellbeing.

AIB sought a dedicated website and digital platform where students and teachers could easily access resources, gain knowledge, and engage with the program. The platform needed to provide curriculum-aligned content, interactive tools, and event information, creating an accessible hub that supports learning, inspires participation, and enhances the Future Sparks experience.

My responsibilities during the project

  • Partnered with UX Lead on wireframes
  • Led the creation of high-fidelity UI across core user journeys
  • Collaborated with developers on QA to ensure design accuracy
Agency
Matrix Internet
Role
UI Design Lead
Work
Design System, UI Design, QA
Tools
Figma, Adobe CC, Miro
Year
2021

🏔️ The Challenge

  • Life-skills development: Equip secondary students with essential skills like financial literacy, wellbeing, entrepreneurship
  • Multi-audience engagement: Appeal to students, teachers, parents etc., and provide tools relevant to all
  • User-focused design & access: Make it intuitive, accessible, mobile-friendly, inclusive

💡 The Solution

  • Dual learning platforms: Launched a public WordPress site + a Moodle-based resource / registration platform
  • Gamified & interactive content: 270+ educational resources, quizzes, games, downloadable materials; plus 65 TV episodes
  • UX & branding overhaul: High-fidelity UI, improved navigation, responsive design; strong visual identity and content strategy

📈 The Impact

  • School reach: 630+ secondary (post-primary) schools registered
  • Resource digitalisation: 93% of resources fully digital
  • Content volume & inspiration: More than 270 free educational resources and 65 inspirational TV episodes available

Transforming vision into digital learning

The AIB Future Sparks relaunch followed a structured, user-centered design process that transformed the strategic vision into a fully functional and engaging learning platform. This process was guided by a comprehensive strategic workshop, which examined program goals, explored the needs of students, teachers, and parents, and assessed content requirements, providing a clear foundation for all subsequent design and development decisions.

Key takeaways from the workshop:

  • Vision & strategy: Set goals for a connected learning community and conducted SWOT analysis
  • User research: Mapped student, teacher, and parent needs into a bespoke learning platform
  • Content planning: Created curriculum-aligned, structured interactive resources
  • Platform design: Launched dual Moodle environments with user-friendly interfaces for students and teachers
  • Features & functionality: Added interactive modules, gamified learning, tracking, and collaboration tools

Designing the learning experience

Following the strategic workshop and research phase, the AIB Future Sparks relaunch transformed insights into a user-centered platform that engages students and teachers while supporting AIB’s mission to foster life and financial skills. The design process emphasized creating an intuitive, accessible, and interactive digital environment, turning vision and user insights into a tangible, engaging learning experience.

Key steps in the design process:

  • Information architecture & content: Structured curriculum-aligned resources and interactive materials
  • Interface & Interaction design: Created dual Moodle environments with intuitive, responsive layouts
  • Interactive features: Added gamified modules, progress tracking, downloadable content, and collaboration tools
  • Usability testing & refinement: Tested interfaces to ensure accessibility and smooth user experience
  • Design handoff & staff ownership: Delivered UI guidelines and training for independent platform management

Impact

The AIB Future Sparks relaunch has transformed life-skills learning across Ireland. With dual platforms, gamified content, and refreshed UX, it reaches 630+ schools with 93% of resources fully digital. Offering 270+ resources and 65 TV episodes, the platform engages students and equips them with essential skills in financial literacy, wellbeing, and entrepreneurship.