Top Class AppsOverview
In 2012, I co-founded the educational app company Top Class Apps with Dr. Kent Steen to create engaging mobile learning experiences for elementary students. Our three apps, Spelling Star, Math Mountains: Add & Subtract, and Math Mountains: Multiply & Divide, were available in the Apple App Store from 2012 to 2024. Together, they were downloaded more than 500,000 times in over 120 countries. My Role
The Challenge Developing mobile apps was a new challenge for us. Neither of us had built an app before, so we spent a great deal of time learning about the app development process while thinking carefully about what would make the apps useful for students, teachers, and families. Our goal was to create simple, engaging apps that supported learning in meaningful ways. The Design We started each app by identifying the learning goal and then designing an experience that would help students practice that skill in an engaging way. I designed the instructional flow, created the interface and graphics, and worked closely with developers throughout the process. One of my priorities was keeping the apps simple and intuitive. I wanted students to spend their time learning and not trying to figure out how to use the app. Every design decision was intended to make the experience clear, engaging, and easy for students, teachers, and families. The Result Top Class Apps grew from an idea into a successful educational app company with more than 500,000 downloads in over 120 countries. Over 12 years, I gained experience designing educational products from concept to launch while continually improving the user experience. In 2024, we decided to retire the apps so we could focus our time on other professional and creative projects. Maintaining high-quality mobile apps requires ongoing testing and updates with every new operating system release, and we reached a point where it made sense to invest our energy elsewhere. The experience taught me a great deal about the product development lifecycle—from designing and launching software to supporting, maintaining, and ultimately retiring a product. Reflection Top Class Apps taught me far more than how to design educational software. It also taught me that creating a great product is only part of the challenge. You can build something that's useful, thoughtfully designed, and visually appealing, but if you don't have a strategy for helping people discover it, it won't have the impact you hoped for. That lesson has shaped the way I think about product design ever since. Great products need thoughtful design, but they also need a clear understanding of the audience, effective marketing, and a plan for getting the product into the hands of the people who need it. |
Audience: Elementary Students, Teachers & Families Role: Co-Founder, Product Design, UX Design, Visual Design, Instructional Design & Content Development Focus: Educational Mobile Apps Primary Goal: Design engaging mobile learning experiences that help students build foundational literacy and mathematics skills. |