Study choice.
Completely replatformed.
A complete replatform of KiesMBO, bringing programmes, schools, maps, open days, careers, student stories and exploration tools into one clearer, more accessible product.
I joined as Lead UX and Art Director and worked across research, product direction, interaction design, visual design, accessibility, testing and the wider digital experience.
The challenge
There is a lot to understand when you are still figuring out what you want to become.
Complex information for a young audience
KiesMBO helps young people explore vocational education in the Netherlands. The product has to make schools, programmes, levels, learning routes, careers, travel time and open days understandable at a moment when many users are still discovering what matters to them.
The replatform had to make that complexity easier to navigate without hiding useful depth.
More than a visual redesign
The work covered the full experience: structure, interaction patterns, research, accessibility, product content and the different ways students discover a possible next step.
- Research with the target audience and education professionals
- Information architecture and journey redesign
- WCAG-led UX and UI decisions
- Testing, iteration and continuous product improvement
Replatform
One product, four ways to move from uncertainty to a real next step.
Find programmes
Turn a broad national offering into something students can browse, filter and understand without already knowing the education system.
Understand schools
Bring location, programmes, open days, travel time and practical information together in one clear school experience.
Start with interests
Help students who do not yet have a study in mind discover directions through interests, skills and playful exploration.
Make it accessible
Design for young people with different levels of confidence, digital ability and accessibility needs, with WCAG built into the product work.
The new platform
A study-choice product that connects detail with discovery.
Product principle
Let students move between browsing and deciding without losing context.
The platform had to support both focused users who know what they are searching for and exploratory users who are still learning which questions to ask.
Interest discovery
Skills first, before asking a teenager to name a future profession.
Research + accessibility
Designed with the people making the choice, not just for them.
Research changed what we built
Research showed that some students did not yet see why study-choice information mattered so early in the process. That insight shifted the product from simply presenting information towards helping young people understand why and how to explore.
We tested concepts, navigation and interactive experiences with the target audience, and translated the findings into product decisions and backlog improvements.
Accessibility was treated as product quality, not a final compliance pass. WCAG considerations informed interaction, content, hierarchy and technical follow-up.
Playful discovery
A tram, a city and a more playful way to learn about professions.
Make the goal obvious
Testing showed that the purpose of the game was not immediately clear, so onboarding was added before students entered the city.
Clarify the route
Students struggled to navigate the tram, so the route guidance was made much more visible in the world and on the minimap.
Show what else is possible
A clearer action made it obvious that students could leave the tram, move through the city and explore workplaces directly.
System thinking
One platform language across very different journeys
The replatform had to stay recognisable while supporting maps, detail pages, video, open days, interests, comparison and playful exploration.
That meant building reusable patterns and a coherent visual hierarchy instead of treating each new feature as a separate mini-site.
The goal was a system flexible enough for new product ideas, but predictable enough for young users to understand quickly.
What the replatform changed
A clearer foundation for study choice, discovery and everything that comes next.
From pages to journeys
Schools, programmes, maps, open days, travel time, careers and stories were brought together as connected parts of one decision-making experience.
Users can enter from different starting points and move towards a more concrete choice without having to understand the structure of MBO first.
Research stayed inside the product loop
Concepts, game mechanics and usability improvements were validated with users and translated into concrete design and backlog changes.
That loop between research, design, development and accessibility is what made the work more than a one-off redesign.
Complex public products can still feel simple.
I work with teams on services, platforms and digital products where research, accessibility, stakeholders and real-world complexity all need to come together in one usable experience.