Redesigned the Yearbook Theme Kit Discovery Experience

OVERVIEW

Treering is a digital yearbook platform that combines collaborative design tools, personalized content, and print production to reimagine how schools create and experience yearbooks.

I redesigned the experience for browsing and selecting yearbook theme kits to make discovery more intuitive and inspiring for users. The existing flow made it difficult to compare themes and understand what each kit included, leading to friction during selection.

ROLE

As Design Director, I identified an opportunity to rethink Treering’s yearbook theme discovery experience. I led the project from discovery and research through strategy and design, defining the core user problem, and drove the design from concept through final direction.

THE PROBLEM

The yearbook theme discovery experience made it difficult for users to understand the full potential of each theme.

Themes lacked visibility: Users couldn’t easily see everything included in a theme kit or understand the breadth of assets available to them.

The value was unclear: Without seeing the complete kit, users struggled to understand what they were getting and how they could customize their yearbook.

Discovery lacked inspiration: The experience focused on browsing themes rather than helping users envision how a theme could come to life in their own yearbook.

The opportunity: Create a more immersive, transparent, and inspiring way for users to explore themes—one that showcases the complete kit and helps them imagine what they can create.

RESEARCH & DISCOVERY

Focus group sessions of 10–15 people per session helped uncover hidden issues.

THE OLD FLOW

Users only could see the cover and two designed spreads, and unable to see any of the artwork included.

The full theme can only be seen by selecting it, and changing all their pages in their book.

THE REDESIGN

Simplified browsing
Improved discoverability
Help users compare themes faster
Reduced friction in decision-making
Created a more inspiration-driven experience
Improved visual hierarchy