Our challenge was to transform a 50 year old offline business model. Traditionally EF had used the online touchpoints to get people off the web, by ordering a brochure or booking a physical appointment. We transformed the online experience into a digital-first space, immersing the user into the products online and building emotional relationships with them there. This had to be done for 15 different divisions ranging from kids English education in China, to adventurous tours for young adults in the USA. We started the transformation by designing a radically different digital first experience in one of our markets as a pilot project, focusing on transparency and immersion. On the back of this experiment we built out a complete design system, as well as a pool of knowledge about how to handle the friction that the transition — due to the fundamental effects on the way the company does business.

There is a vast range of products within EF, all with varying metrics of success and requirements from their digital ecosystems. Along with this, there is a hugely varying level of skillset amongst creatives around the globe within these products. The design system was born to accommodate for these, the biggest of considerations. By creating a UI kit that is flexible, modern and applied easily to match a product need — no matter the skill level of the designer — was the key differentiator compared to other digital design systems. This flexibility allowed malleability for EF products and their varying demographics, as pre-created modules could be used to create a website design in hours rather than days. Likewise, more experienced designers could create bespoke modules based on the design direction within the UI kit.

Delivered in the form of a comprehensive Sketch file, the vision for the visual are based on a modern, material approach to digital design. Friendly in demeanour and soft to the 'touch', the overarching approach is one of inclusion, approachability and accessibility to not only ensure that people feel comfortable and safe while browsing EF websites, but also confident and re-assured that they will find out the information they need to, when they need to. UX considerations tie directly into the UI designs — down to the smallest details — across buttons, check boxes and forms. Once the creative was settled and the files set up, multiple workshops with a number of EF creative teams were held across the globe, to ensure a smooth implementation of the new digital reality in the company.

As this transformation is impacting 15 business units across 110 markets we have not seen the end of this yet. The transformation is well underway however and we have seen some very positive impacts. The sales teams on the transformed markets have been adopting chat as a key means of conversation with the customer and has turned the web into a virtual office. The overall online customer satisfaction have increased with magnitudes as the transparency has increased. Things like time on site, page views, bounce rates etc has gotten a massive improvement and several qualitative studies shows that the customers build a stronger relationship to our brand through the experience, are more likely to share it with friends.