Case Study: LearnGlazing

Overview

LearnGlazing.com is an online educational platform dedicated to the glazing industry — a niche, technical field focused on commercial glass installation. The platform provides structured video training, evaluations, and downloadable resources for professionals ranging from entry-level glaziers to senior estimators and architects.

I was brought in to lead a complete overhaul of the site’s visual design, user experience, and overall presentation. As someone with a background in architectural design, this project felt like a return to my roots — blending design, logic, and structure. It was a full-spectrum challenge that stretched me creatively and technically across design and development, from ideation through launch.

The Challenge

Before I joined, LearnGlazing.com was built on a generic WordPress theme with no distinct brand identity or design system. The site felt visually dated, content was difficult to access, and the course structure lacked clarity. Major issues included:

• A cluttered homepage with no clear hierarchy or messaging
• A poorly formatted pricing page with inconsistent visuals
• A linear, unsearchable course structure that overwhelmed users
• No ability to filter, tag, or explore relevant content based on skill or role
• An outdated look-and-feel that failed to connect with high-level professionals

Additionally, the platform needed to differentiate itself from major eLearning giants while still offering a polished, intuitive, and professional experience.

Research & Discovery

I conducted a research phase involving user surveys, stakeholder interviews, and analytics review. We identified clear trends:

• 65% of users struggled to find the right course content
• 70% felt the design was outdated or unappealing
• 40% found the course map confusing

We also defined key user personas — decision-makers, project managers, mid-management professionals — all seeking quality, on-demand training they could trust.

Stategy & Design Goals

My objective was to rebuild LearnGlazing from the ground up — visually and structurally. Core goals included:

• Creating a strong, recognizable brand identity with new color palettes, fonts, and patterns
• Designing a modern, professional experience tailored to educated professionals in the glazing industry
• Making training content easy to browse, filter, and access
• Introducing motion and visual storytelling to create a more engaging platform
• Ensuring responsive functionality across mobile and desktop

Design & Execution

Home Page

Instead of selecting one hero image, I implemented a rotating image system with over 50 high-resolution architectural photos that load randomly — giving the homepage a fresh feel every visit, without any manual intervention.

Course Explorer

The training library was overhauled using animated cards with at-a-glance info, visual filtering, and improved UX. Horizontal scrolling challenges were later solved via user testing and onboarding enhancements.

Pricing Page

We replaced the rigid 3-column layout with row-based pricing tiers — offering clarity, scalability, and flexibility for future pricing models. Hover and fade animations added polish and interactivity.

The Process

• Participated in exploratory sessions with the founder and senior leadership.
• Researched theoretical frameworks provided, including Aligned Autonomy and Org Physics.
• Interpreted the founder's conceptual diagrams and transformed them into visually digestible, interactive mockups.
• Created a new design language that was visually striking, engaging and had an almost futuristic aesthetic.
• Coordinated with stakeholders to refine visuals in line with the evolving (and often ambiguous) product narrative.

The challenge of course, was trying to make something visually engaging and a little more polished and professional than the initial Google Slides presented to me. The initial concept started off as a simple slide show, but quickly evolved into an interactive tool that would engage users and help anyone better understand the theory behind all of this.

Designing a Cohesive Language

Having specific images fade one into the other helped to animate this visualization project. I created identical frames in Figma which could be layered on top of each other in the final product. This would allow for a seemless transition between certain images where context could be placed. No 'jankiness' between images.

The Outcome

• Site grew to 20,000+ active users.
• Officially recommended by industry associations like NACC (North Amercian Construction Industry) and AMGT
• Strong user feedback citing improved usability, structure, and overall experience
• Created a scalable framework for future training, exams, and tiered packages

Tim was instrumental in the complete overhaul of LearnGlazing.com. He brought fresh design thinking, deep development knowledge, and a true understanding of how to improve user engagement. The finished product elevated our brand tremendously. He didn’t just make it look good — he made it work better. Our users noticed immediately, and we’ve since seen a significant uptick in engagement and overall site performance. Tim has an incredible eye for both UI and UX, and he’s a rare hybrid — a creative who can actually build what he envisions. Chris Martin - Sales and Marketing, Co-owner of LearnGlazing

Tim completely transformed how our content is presented. The redesign didn’t just modernize the site — it made everything more intuitive and visually engaging for learners. As someone who appears in many of the videos, I was blown away by how much more professional the overall platform felt after his work. He understands how to elevate content visually without distracting from it. Everything from layout to typography to responsive behavior feels intentional and polished. It’s rare to find someone who can take a vision and fully execute it in both design and code — Tim does both, and he does it exceptionally well. Alex Buechel - Creative Director

My Reflection

Redesigning LearnGlazing.com was a rare opportunity to merge visual creativity, user experience strategy, and technical execution in a single, cohesive project. From the start, I was deeply involved in every layer — from understanding the industry-specific needs of glazing professionals to rethinking how educational content could be structured for better accessibility and engagement.

This project also brought me back to my roots. I studied architecture at Lawrence Tech, and this work reignited that part of me — blending structural clarity, spatial thinking, and visual hierarchy in a digital space. It felt natural to apply that foundation to an industry I already had familiarity with, and it gave the work a strong sense of purpose and authenticity.

This wasn’t just about making the site look better — it was about making it work harder for its audience. I focused on clean, modern design systems, improved navigation flows, and responsive builds that held up across devices. One of the biggest challenges was reworking a content-heavy platform into something that felt light, intuitive, and brand-consistent — all while preserving the tone and educational intent of the original vision.

Working closely with stakeholders like Chris and Alex, I was able to move seamlessly between creative direction and hands-on development. The result was a dramatic leap forward in both usability and visual polish — and a site that now feels like a true reflection of the value LearnGlazing brings to the industry.