Honor Education
Transforming Education Through the Power of Human Connection
Honor is a learning and teaching platform for educational institutions and enterprises. It was founded on the simple but powerful belief that online learning can - and should - be just as transformative as in person learning.
I was hired as a founding member in 2020 by CEO Joel Podolny, former Dean of Yale School of Management and Dean of Apple University, which he co-founded with Apple CEO Steve Jobs. I directly oversee brand, marketing, and product design teams, and support nearly every function of a growing team of 60+.
Over three years, so much has been done that I broke our work up into five sections for this case study. Some metrics have been removed for confidentiality purposes.
Challenge
Bring design thinking in on the ground level to grow creative leadership and influence across every function.
Outcome
Honor has successfully integrated design thinking across all functions, enhancing customer journeys, brand identity, and product experience, reinforcing our value proposition and brand loyalty. Today, Honor hosts over 500 programs for thousands of learners worldwide, including a range of higher education institutions from Stanford University to Austin Community College, and from businesses like Netflix to non-profit organizations like 100 Black Men. In 2024, Honor raised $xx (undisclosed until public announcement) million in its Series A funding round, an unprecedented amount in today’s economic climate.
Design Thinking
A Timeline of Creative Influence
1
2020-21
Naming, Value Proposition, Design Principles, Tone of Voice Development, Logo Design
In the early days and without any design support, I had the incredible opportunity to hire my old boss (and forever friend) Michael Bierut at Pentagram. Together, we built the foundational brand for Honor.
2
2021
Market Overview, Sales Enablement Tools, Ideal Customer Profile Analysis
An immersive deep dive with our partnerships team helped produce our brand promise, competitive advantage, and our Ideal Customer Profile. Leading virtual and IRL workshops with the team produced an actionable playbook for generating and nurturing leads.
3
2022
Marketing Website, Product Marketing and Education
As the platform neared go-to-market, we collaborated with the marketing and customer success teams to lead all external facing materials, develop support articles, and feature release communications.
Introduction to Honor Education: Sales Tool
4
2023 – 2024
Head of Product Design, Visual and User Experience Creative Direction, Strategic Writing
Informal design critiques with the product designers turned into an official role as head of product design in addition to brand creative. By unifying these functions, we improve the customer journey by building closer alignment between our brand identity and product experience, allowing them both to feed off each other, reinforcing our value proposition, and enhancing brand loyalty. This holistic approach allows us to tell a cohesive story that resonates with customers from their very first interaction with our marketing outreach to their ongoing engagement with our products and services.
