Designerfist developed a strategic design proposal presentation for a redesigned student handbook for The Open University. The objective was to demonstrate how design thinking could improve clarity, accessibility, and student engagement within a complex academic information system.
Rather than delivering a finished handbook, the project focused on how the handbook should be designed, structured, and evolved over time.
Student handbooks often contain essential information but are difficult to navigate, dense, and overwhelming—particularly for new or diverse learners.
The key challenges were to:
The solution needed to demonstrate process, not just outcome.
Designerfist was responsible for developing the concept, structure, and visual presentation of the proposal, including:
The proposal was built using the Clothesline Method, a design technique used to:
This method allowed the handbook content to be organised along a learning and engagement timeline, ensuring students encounter the right information at the right moment.
Rather than treating the handbook as a static document, the proposal framed it as a living system that improves through iteration.
Key principles included:
The final output was a clear, structured presentation demonstrating:
The proposal positioned design as a strategic partner in improving student experience, not just a visual layer.
This project highlights Designerfist’s ability to translate design methods into clear, persuasive communication for academic and institutional contexts.
It reinforced strengths in:
The Open University
Design proposal presentation, content strategy, iterative framework
