Illustration look & feel
I led the development of the illustration style and created guidelines that enabled the team to produce consistent sketches aligned with the visual direction I established.
Initial research
We conducted over 65 qualitative interviews with both parents and center staff, which informed a customer journey framework that revealed clear, actionable opportunities.
This framework served as a guiding north star throughout the project, helping us identify the key moving parts needed to deliver impactful outcomes.
Engaging with the clients firsthand
We made several trips to Portland, OR, to meet with the client and gain a deeper understanding of their needs. Through in-person workshops, we helped KinderCare truly step into the shoes of their users and align more closely with their day-to-day experiences.
To gather deeper insights, we visited several KinderCare locations across the New York City area—speaking with center directors and observing classrooms firsthand.
We conducted more than 65 qualitative interviews, with both parents & center employees. These interviews allowed us to generate a customer journey framework that led to key insights and actionable opportunities.
Engaging the brand through in-person research
Understanding what parents really need
Impact
The project ended a bit earlier than planned, as March 2020 brought the onset of the pandemic and families stopped sending children to daycare.
However, once operations began to normalize, the success of our initial engagement led KinderCare to bring Method back for two additional tracks of work—one focused on strategy, the other on design.
Kindercare: Extending content & support beyond the school day
KinderCare, one of the largest daycare providers in the U.S., asked us to help redefine their education and content strategy—extending the meaningful experiences they offer beyond the classroom. We focused on two areas: designing engaging content and refining the customer journey.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Senior designer
ROLE
1 lead
2 seniors
DESIGN TEAM
3 months
TIMING
Turning personas into mindsets
While defining our parent audience, we found that traditional personas didn’t fully capture their complexity. Instead, we focused on “mindsets”—emphasizing behavior, relationship to KinderCare, and communication preferences.
Opportunity development
The research & journeys we explored fed into our final ideation phase; each of our concepts had been pressure tested against KPIs and business cases to ensure long-term impact.
Business KPI
How the concept will develop today, tomorrow & in the future
Communication channels
Parent Interviews
Stakeholder Interviews
Parent Mindsets
Research
Living Frameworks
Technology
Operations
Synthesis
Opportunities
Platform Solution
Site Visits
Family
Journey
Service Blueprint
Existing Data
& Reports
©️ Claire Lorman 2025
