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Designing a tutor platform by fostering authentic relationships
For
Zipply
With
Studio Curious Circle
and Studio Mesmer
What
Brand Identity, Platform Design
Scope & Role
Research, Brand Strategy and Positioning, Brand Identity, Illustration System, User Interface
Zipply is a Singaporean learning platform that connects students and teachers seamlessly. To establish a distinct presence in the market, Zipply collaborated with Studio Curious Circle and Studio Mesmer to research and develop strategy, brand identity, and website experience for Zipply's Admin, Customer and Teacher platforms.
Final Outcome
Process
1. Competitor Research
2. User experience benchmarking
3. Competitor research conclusion
4. Strategy: Moodboard selection
5. Strategy: Archetypes
6. Explorations
6. Feedback
7. Refining explorations
8. Illustrations
9. User interface design
Beginning
Problem Statement
Competitor research
Understanding Singapore's tuition landscape
We conducted secondary research to gain insights into Singapore's market via research articles, exploring Facebook groups and Quora discussions. This allowed us to understand the landscape as thoroughly as possible while working from India.
Children often feel overlooked in group classes, leading to frustration and a lack of inspiration. Meanwhile, online tutoring agencies suffer from a lack of transparency and manual processes, preventing both parents and tutors from ensuring the best outcomes for students.
Parents are left with limited options—either relying on word-of-mouth recommendations or online agencies that often lack trustworthy feedback from other parents.
Different types of business models
Aspects of a platform for an online tuition brand
Summaries of all competitors
Different types of business models
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Competitor research
User experience bechmarking
We explored competitor platforms from both a student’s and a teacher’s perspective, identifying what works well and where gaps exist, allowing us to introduce meaningful improvements.
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Competitor research
Competitor research conclusions
Sign-Up Barrier Reduces Engagement
Requiring users to sign up before they can see key information makes things harder and can turn them away.
Make Sign-Up Effortless
Keeping questions short and few, while using prompts to guide users, makes the process feel easier and more approachable
Trust Drives Parent Decisions
Parents need to trust the platform before committing. Highlighting tutor credentials, verified reviews, and student success stories builds credibility and reassures parents of quality.
Visual Introductions Build Confidence
Tutor introduction videos create a sense of familiarity. Seeing and hearing tutors before booking builds trust and helps students and parents feel more confident in their choice.
Humanize the Learning Experience
Most platforms feel transactional, lacking the warmth of real teacher-student relationships. Building trust means showcasing the human side — tutor stories, teaching philosophies, and genuine interactions help foster connection.
Strategy
Moodboard and archetypes
To create a brand that genuinely resonated with the audience, we employed the archetypal branding strategy. Archetypes are universally familiar characters that are used to give brands a more human feel.
Chosen direction
Chosen direction
Make a statement
Chosen direction
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Execution
Explorations
These are some of the final renders of our shortlisted iterations
Shortlisted logos
Iterations
Iteration 6
Shortlisted logos
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Execution
Illustrations
I developed a set of cohesive illustrations for the platforms, keeping in mind that they feel approachable yet serious
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Execution
User Interface Design
Studio Mesmer was responsible for crafting the user experience strategy and flow, our role centered on designing the visual user interface elements.
The End.
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