Case Study
Imaci.am - Designing an education discovery platform for ArmeniaHow I founded and designed a platform to help parents and learners discover, compare and choose educational opportunities in one place.
- Founder
- Product Strategy
- EdTech
- Discovery UX
- Information Architecture
- Role
- Founder, Product Designer, Product Strategy, UX/UI, Information Architecture
- Industry
- EdTech / Education Discovery / Marketplace
- Scope
- Education discovery platform, listings, categories, search, comparison, reviews, events, tutors, schools and educational centers
- Tools
- Figma, Claude, Product strategy, UX research, Information architecture, Content structure, Platform design
01 · Overview
The short version
Imaci.am was created to make educational discovery in Armenia easier for parents, learners and families. Instead of searching across scattered Instagram pages, websites, recommendations and personal networks, users could explore schools, kindergartens, educational centers, tutors, courses and events in one place. I founded and designed the product concept, UX structure, information architecture and brand direction.
02 · Context
Where it started
In Armenia, many educational opportunities are discovered through fragmented channels: social media pages, personal recommendations, search results and direct messages. This makes it difficult for parents and learners to compare options, understand what is available and make confident decisions. The opportunity was to build a centralized discovery platform that could bring educational institutions, courses, tutors and events into one structured experience.
03 · Problem
What was broken
The main challenge was not only listing educational places. The real product challenge was creating a clear discovery and comparison experience for users with different needs: parents looking for schools or kindergartens, learners looking for courses, families looking for kids' places, and people searching for tutors or events.
- Educational information was scattered across many channels.
- Parents and learners lacked one trusted place to discover options.
- Categories needed to support very different education types.
- Users needed search, filters and structured listing information.
- Trust and comparison were important for decision-making.
- The platform needed to feel warm, educational, trustworthy and approachable.
04 · My Role
Where I stood
I owned the product vision, positioning, UX direction and information architecture. My role included defining the platform concept, structuring categories and listing logic, designing the discovery flow, shaping the brand feel and thinking through how users would search, compare and choose educational opportunities. This was not only UI design — it was product strategy, marketplace logic, discovery UX and founder-level product thinking.
05 · Team & Tools
How it was staffed
- Team
- Founder-led product, Devops Specialist
- Timeline
- Dec/2025 - May/2026
- Tools
- Figma, Claude, Product strategy, UX research, Information architecture, Content structure, Platform design
06 · Constraints
What shaped the approach
- The platform needed to support many different education categories.
- Listing information had to be structured but not overwhelming.
- Users could have very different goals: school search, course discovery, tutor search or event discovery.
- The product needed to build trust without becoming too complex.
- Content quality and data consistency were important challenges.
- The experience had to work well on mobile because many users discover education options from phones and social media.
07 · Process
How it moved
Market and user need understanding
I started by identifying how people in Armenia usually discover educational opportunities and where the experience breaks down: scattered information, inconsistent details and limited comparison.
Category and information architecture
I structured the platform around clear education categories such as schools, kindergartens, educational centers, kids and family places, tutors, courses and events. This helped make the platform flexible while keeping discovery understandable.
Listing structure
I worked on the logic of what a listing should include: name, category, location, description, contact details, images, pricing or format where relevant, and signals that help users compare options.
Search and discovery flow
The discovery experience had to support users who know exactly what they are looking for and users who are exploring. Search, categories, filters and listing cards were designed around that behavior.
Trust and review logic
A key part of the product direction was trust. Reviews, structured information and clear listing pages were part of making decisions easier and more confident.
Brand and experience direction
The product needed to feel warm, educational and approachable, not cold or overly corporate. The visual and content direction supported that trust-building goal.
08 · Key Decisions
Choices that mattered
Design Imaci as a discovery platform, not just a directory.
Why: Users did not only need a list of places. They needed a way to explore, compare and make better education decisions.
Use flexible category architecture.
Why: The platform had to support schools, kindergartens, centers, tutors, courses, events and kids' places without making the experience confusing.
Prioritize structured listing information.
Why: Comparison becomes difficult when every institution presents information differently. Structured listings help users evaluate options more clearly.
Make trust part of the product experience.
Why: Education decisions are emotional and high-trust. Reviews, clarity and warm presentation help users feel more confident.
Design mobile-first discovery behavior.
Why: Many users discover education options through mobile and social media, so the platform experience needed to be fast, clear and easy to browse on smaller screens.
09 · Solution
What we built
The result was an education discovery platform that brought multiple types of educational opportunities into one structured experience. Users could explore categories, search for relevant options, view listing details and discover courses, tutors, centers and events more easily.
- Education category system
- Search and discovery experience
- Structured listing pages
- Review and trust layer
- Course and event discovery
- Warm, approachable brand direction
10 · Product UX
Designing for the team
The UX work focused on helping users move from uncertainty to a clearer shortlist of options. The experience had to support exploration, comparison and trust-building without overwhelming users.
- Clear category structure for different education needs.
- Search and filter logic for faster discovery.
- Listing cards designed for scanning and comparison.
- Detail pages structured around decision-making.
- Review/trust layer to support confidence.
- Mobile-first browsing behavior.
11 · Impact
What changed
Imaci.am created the foundation for a centralized education discovery platform in Armenia. It clarified how educational opportunities could be structured, searched and compared in one place, and established a product direction for building trust between learners, parents and education providers.
12 · Visuals & Artifacts
Supporting material
13 · Key Learnings
What I keep
- This project reinforced that discovery products succeed when the information architecture is clear. Users do not only need more information — they need the right structure to understand and compare options.
- The biggest lesson was that trust is part of UX. For education decisions, clarity, consistency and emotional confidence matter as much as visual design or search functionality.