My design framework
How I design learning.
Three ideas shape every project I build.
01 · Understanding by Design
I design backward.
Understanding by Design, from Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, starts with the end in mind. Learning counts when people can use it on their own, in a situation they haven't seen before.
Stage 1 · The goal
Start with what they must do
Name the real action on the job, the court or in class. Not what people should know, but what they should be able to do.
Stage 2 · The proof
Decide the proof
Plan how I'll know they can do it, before I build a single screen.
Stage 3 · The practice
Build the practice
Only then do I design the scenarios, games and lessons that rehearse that exact action.
In my work
Coaching Through Conflict, designed backward
- The goal: new head coaches protect the player and the team's energy.
- The proof: each coach's guess at the real cause, and their first choice at every decision.
- The practice: 68 screens of branching scenes, built around three high-leverage habits.
02 · Universal Design for Learning
I design so more people can get in.
UDL means planning for different learners from the start, not fixing it at the end. Every module I build is shaped by its three principles.
Engagement
Mistakes become practice.
Replay the point lets coaches retry any decision without restarting. In Pip's Number Garden, a hint follows every wrong answer, then another try.
Coaching Through Conflict · Pip’s Number Garden
Representation
More than one way to take it in.
Pip reads every prompt and hint out loud for early readers. Lab Ready offers narration, a transcript and captions in every lesson.
Pip’s Number Garden · Lab Ready
Action & expression
More than one way to show it.
Pip can be played with a keyboard. Lab Ready has a click-to-place option for drag activities and a test-out path for experienced hires.
Pip’s Number Garden · Lab Ready
Every case study ends with an Accessibility & UDL section: what's built in, and what I'll improve next.
03 · AI and Innovation
I direct the vision. AI is my crew.
I make the design decisions. A crew of AI tools helps me build faster, and every piece gets my final human touch.
AI image pipeline
I set the look in Midjourney, then generate scenes in Flora AI with Nano Banana, keeping the same players, uniforms and gym consistent across all three sets of Coaching Through Conflict.
Action maps & storyboards
Claude helps me draft action maps and storyboard tables from my own experience. I decide which behaviors matter and what every screen says.
One design, any platform
The same script and images move from a Figma prototype to a web build to Storyline 360 in Articulate 360, so the module can run wherever learners are.
Branching prototypes in Figma
68 connected screens with prototype links, variables that remember a learner's guess, overlays and Smart Animate.
Vibe-coded builds
Pip's Number Garden, the TV Sales Enablement Simulator and this website were built by describing what I wanted and refining the code with AI.
Morning roundup
A scheduled task searches new instructional design roles every weekday morning and sends me the best matches before I start my day.
One rule on every project: no invented numbers. If I haven't measured it, it doesn't go on the page.
See how I work with AI