Lisk Academy

The primary objective of the Lisk Academy was to establish a free, universally accessible, comprehensive, and unbiased educational platform dedicated to blockchain technology. This platform would be rooted in Lisk's core values, which focus on democratizing blockchain development by making it more accessible and simplified for everyone.

As the Head of Design at Lisk, my responsibility encompassed leading the strategy and execution of the Lisk Academy's visual identity, ensuring that it was both appealing and effective in delivering educational content.

COMPANY
Lisk
YEAR
2018/20
TYPE
Brand

Key challenges

Sub-brand harmony.

One of the critical challenges was to create a cohesive sub-brand for the Lisk Academy that maintained a strong connection with the parent brand, Lisk, while also being unique and distinguishable. This required a delicate balance, fine tuning specific elements from Lisk’s visual language to inform the development of a distinct identity for the Lisk Academy.

Balancing engagement and complexity.

The Lisk Academy's content spanned various levels of complexity, from beginner to advanced topics in blockchain technology. Therefore, it was crucial to develop a versatile design style that could seamlessly adapt to all types of content, keeping the audience engaged without compromising the clarity of information.

Scalable visual style.

The visual language needed to be consistent yet scalable and flexible, allowing it to cohesively accommodate a diverse range of icons and illustrations needed to efficiently portray all the different topics, such as mascots, figurative elements, representations of different types of cryptocurrencies, etc.

High volume support.

With a library of over 150 articles and an ever-growing repository of content, the Lisk Academy demanded a visual style that could support a high volume of content efficiently. This required a design system that allowed designers to create visuals quickly and consistently without sacrificing quality.

Solution

The Creative team developed a unique visual style for the Lisk Academy, expressed through a predefined and documented language that allowed us to create engaging and exciting educational content, of all types, and in high volume.

Incorporating Lisk's essence.

To establish a strong connection with the parent brand while also creating a distinct identity, the creative team developed a unique visual style for the Lisk Academy, heavily influenced by Lisk's visual language. This included the use of saturated color palettes, typography, and a consistent approach to illustrations and iconography.

Prioritizing function.

To ensure that the visuals supported and enhanced the learning experience without distracting from the content, the design focused on functionality. The visual style was intentionally toned down and simplified through outlined elements of characters and elements and prevalent use of white space, emphasizing content legibility and accessibility for learners of all levels.

Consistent layout for recognizable content.

A systematic approach to the layout was adopted to make content easily identifiable and visually coherent. This included the implementation of a grid layout, fixed margins, locked titles, and a curated structure of the information architecture in every piece, that guided users through the learning process.

Make it fun!

To make the learning experience enjoyable and engaging, the design incorporated mascots and playful elements, such as dragons, robots, and other creative characters. These fun and lighthearted visuals served to highlight Lisk's core values and make the learning process more approachable for users from diverse backgrounds.

Editorial Infographics

These infographics are characterized by a strong emphasis on storytelling and visual communication, blending eye-catching imagery with informative text to convey complex concepts in an engaging and easily digestible format.

This style is particularly effective in capturing the interest of readers and simplifying complex subjects for a diverse audience, and it was commonly used to depict generic or historical information about the Blockchain technology in introductory chapters.

Lisk Academy: collection of Editorial Infographics

Technical Infographics

In addition to the editorial-style infographics, the Lisk Academy also produced a range of technical infographics that focused on the more intricate aspects of blockchain technology. These infographics relied heavily on the use of iconography rather than illustration, to convey complex systems and information in a clear, concise, and visually appealing manner.

Strategically selected technical infographics incorporated animation. This approach leveraged motion as a powerful resource for more eloquently conveying complex concepts and technical aspects. As a result, the animated infographics made the subject matter more engaging and accessible to a diverse audience, while giving the team a language to portray some specific dynamics that are better translated through motion.

Lisk Academy, Julius Caesar encrpytion animated gif
Technical Animated Infographic: Julius Caesar Encryption
Lisk Academy, hashing animated gif
Technical Animated Infographic: Hash Algorithm
Lisk Academy, consensus protocol infographic
Technical Animated Infographic: Consensus Protocols

Outcome

The Lisk Academy proved to be a tremendous success, making a lasting impact in the blockchain education space and consistently receiving amazing feedback from the Lisk Community. By the time the project was sunset in late 2019, the Lisk Academy had amassed an impressive collection of over 200 articles, totaling more than 200,000 words, accompanied by over 120 infographics and technical diagrams, and 15 animations.

Throughout its active period, the Lisk Academy remained the most frequently visited page across Lisk's web properties, demonstrating its effectiveness in attracting and engaging users.The visual identity of the Lisk Academy played a crucial role in its success, delivering a cohesive, engaging, and adaptable design system that supported a diverse range of educational content and a high volume of articles.

By staying true to Lisk's core values and emphasizing functionality, the visual identity contributed to a comprehensive and accessible learning experience that made blockchain technology approachable for everyone.

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