Leseo:
A Better Way to Learn to Read
A classroom tool grounded in pedagogy and shaped through real-world use.
TL;DR
Creating a literacy platform that motivates students and supports educators.
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👩💻 Role: UX/UI Designer
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⏰ Timeline: 3 years (MVP in 6 months)
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👥 Team: Product, pedagogy experts, engineers, and external agencies.
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🎯 Challenge: Build a classroom-ready app that works for students, teachers, and schools at scale.
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🏆 Outcome: Launched in 800+ German schools. Expanded for home use during the pandemic. Awarded for usability, classroom fit, and learning impact.
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🔗 Link: Cornelsen's Digital Reading Platform
The Opportunity
Cornelsen had decades of credibility in literacy, but little to show for it digitally. Teachers were using outdated PDFs, students weren’t engaged, and existing apps were either too gamified or too rigid to be useful in real classrooms.
The tools on the market didn’t fit. Teachers avoided them, kids ignored them, and admins had no way to measure success. Everyone wanted digital transformation but no one trusted what was available.
Leseo started as an experiment: could we turn 70 years of pedagogy into a tool that actually worked? One that kids enjoy, teachers rely on, and schools can scale? We had 6 months to prove it.
Lessons from the Classroom
Everything started with observation. I sat in classrooms, watched how teachers worked, how they assigned texts, how they moved between students. I noticed what slowed them down, what they ignored, what they hacked together.
To understand our users and their needs, we tried a range of research methods:
Contextual inquiries in classrooms to see what really happens day to day.
Diary studies to track how Leseo fit (or didn't) into routines.
Focus groups to uncover shared pain points and must-have features.
Co-creation workshops with teachers, students, creatives, and designers to create a thoughtful and meaningful story and motivational concept.
Hallway testing to validate ideas fast.
Usability testing to make sure even first-time readers could use it on their own.
Comparative analysis to see where we could stand out.
Surveys to back up insights with numbers.
Once live, we tracked what we could in-product, and filled in the rest through conversation.
The most useful thing we set up was User Feedback Day which allowed us to do weekly testing with real teachers and students. This kept the work grounded and sped up decisions.
Our Users
Students (ages 7–10)
First-time readers at different ability levels who needed structure and confidence.
Student Goals
- Feel confident using Leseo on their own
- Stay motivated without gamification overload
- Understand their own progress
Teachers
Teacher Goals
- Assign texts quickly
- Track comprehension and effort at a glance
- Avoid extra admin or training time
School Admins
Admin Goals
- Manage access and roles easily
- Monitor usage and outcomes
- Ensure compliance with school-wide policies
What Shipped
Motivational concept
Presenting the app
Kid's e-book
Storytelling workshop
This is Gromo
What I did
Defined product structure, user flows, and interaction patterns.
Designed wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes.
Built a modular, accessible design system from scratch.
Ran user research, workshops, and co-creation sessions with students and teachers.
Collaborated closely with design, product, pedagogy, and engineering.
Presented concepts and progress to stakeholders and external partners.
Communicated design decisions clearly across disciplines.
Collaborated with marketing to write clear, motivating copy.
Supported handoff and QA to ensure implementation stayed true to design.
Impact
Let's Connect
If you’re building a SaaS product and need someone with clarity, experience, and a get-shit-done mindset, let’s talk.