Realize LMS

Where it all started

Realize was the first professional project I worked on as a UX designer. I was brought onto a team to help deliver the next iteration of Pearson's flagship K–12 learning platform, where teachers create classes, assign content, and track student performance, and over 6.5 million students complete work, check grades, and browse content.

The platform is divided into three core sections, each with its own identifying color carried consistently across all sub-pages: Programs, Classes, and Data.

Three pillars, one platform

Home, Programs, Classes, and Data: the four core views of Realize

LTI integration, from the ground up

After Pearson received LTI Certification from IMS Global, they needed a way to ingest and export common cartridges to link to external content. This feature didn't exist; I designed it from scratch within the existing Realize design system.

The biggest challenge: presenting metadata-rich content in a way that was easily accessible but unobtrusive. The solution was a clickable, hoverable row pattern where full details could be viewed and edited inline without navigating away.

LTI list, edit, and cartridge repository views

Desktop-first, then tablet-ready

With over 20% of users on tablet devices under 768px, I worked with another designer to make nearly every screen and scenario in Realize responsive down to 540px, an unusual challenge given the product was built desktop-first.

Home, Programs ToC, and Classes responsive transitions

What I learned

• 1Working at scale changes how you design. Every decision on Realize touched millions of students; that weight makes you think harder about edge cases and accessibility.
• 2Retrofitting responsiveness to a desktop product is genuinely hard. Going mobile-first whenever possible is a lesson I carried forward from this project.
• 3Rapid prototyping with Axure and HTML/CSS taught me that fidelity should match the question you're trying to answer, not the ego of the designer.