Designing an Enrollment-Focused Landing Page for an Educational Nonprofit

Girls Athletic Leadership Schools (GALS), a nationwide all-girls charter school network, was preparing to open a new middle school in Columbus, Ohio: GALS Ohio. To support the launch, they needed an enrollment-focused landing page that would introduce the new school, communicate GALS’ mission, and begin establishing a localized Ohio identity for prospective families.

GALS Ohio logo variant alongside the enrollment-focused landing page displayed on a laptop.
GALS Ohio logo variant alongside the enrollment-focused landing page displayed on a laptop.

Role

UX/UI Designer

Project Type

Practicum Project

Sponsor

GALS, Inc.

Tools

Timeline

Figma

May - August 2025

Timeline

Tools

May - August 2025

Figma

Challenge

The main challenge was driving enrollment and awareness for a brand-new school with limited content and no local presence. I needed to identify the essential information parents and guardians would look for and present it in a way that clearly explained what GALS is, built trust, and supported enrollment goals. Every design decision had to be purposeful so a successful visit left parents confident enough to inquire or enroll.

Solution

I designed an accessible, enrollment-focused landing page that guides parents through clear calls to action and essential information, using research-driven content hierarchy and a localized Ohio visual identity to reflect GALS’ mission of empowerment and to build trust.

Hero section of the GALS Ohio landing page highlighting enrollment information and a primary call to action.
Hero section of the GALS Ohio landing page highlighting enrollment information and a primary call to action.
Hero section of the GALS Ohio landing page highlighting enrollment information and a primary call to action.
GALS Ohio landing page with an enrollment-focused hero section and a full-page layout overview.
GALS Ohio landing page with an enrollment-focused hero section and a full-page layout overview.
GALS Ohio landing page with an enrollment-focused hero section and a full-page layout overview.

Research

To understand prospective families, I researched why parents choose charter and all-girls schools and used those insights to guide how I communicated values, mission, and trust signals throughout the page. I reviewed scholarly reports (including GALS’ own publications) and created simple mother and daughter personas to clarify motivations, pain points, and technical comfort levels, which helped me sanity-check tone, content depth, and layout simplicity.

Key Insights

  • Through bi-weekly reviews with a GALS designer stakeholder, I clarified priorities such as enrollment-focused CTAs, key dates, and alignment with the national brand.

  • Brand discovery emphasized GALS’ value-driven mission, which guided my design decisions around empowerment and inclusiveness.

  • I conducted a competitive analysis of Columbus-area charter schools and sister GALS sites to set benchmarks and reveal opportunities for differentiation.

Design

I prioritized enrollment goals with prominent calls to action and a streamlined hierarchy that builds credibility and guides parents through key information. I created three landing page variations that present the same core content with distinct visual emphases (national brand vs. localized Ohio identity). In parallel, I developed a lightweight design system and incorporated WCAG-informed accessibility considerations from the start.

Wireframes

I created nine wireframes in Figma (three concepts at low, mid, and high fidelity) to explore different ways of presenting the same core content. Low-fidelity wireframes established structure and hierarchy based on patterns from comparable schools, while mid-fidelity wireframes introduced placeholder imagery and early visual treatments so I could refine layout and visual language at each stage.

Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.
Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.
Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.
Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.
Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.
Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.
Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.
Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.
Series of low-fidelity wireframes testing layout structure and enrollment-focused hierarchy.

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes

Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.
Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.
Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.
Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.
Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.
Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.
Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.
Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.
Mid-fidelity wireframes refining layout, content grouping, and enrollment emphasis.

Low- and mid-fidelity wireframes exploring enrollment-focused page structure across three concepts.

Iteration

Stakeholder feedback drove refinements throughout the process. Early concepts mirrored full school sites, including sections for academics, calendars, menus, and parent portals. Through bi-weekly reviews with a GALS designer stakeholder, I clarified that GALS Ohio’s immediate priority was enrollment and awareness, not full feature parity, so I simplified content and navigation to focus on enrollment CTAs, key dates, and essential school information. The primary concept introduced a localized identity inspired by the Ohio state flag, while other concepts relied on GALS’ official palette for consistency.

High-Fidelity Wireframes

The primary layout. High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure with a localized Ohio-inspired color palette..
The primary layout. High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure with a localized Ohio-inspired color palette..
The primary layout. High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure with a localized Ohio-inspired color palette..
High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure using GALS' national brand palette.
High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure using GALS' national brand palette.
High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure using GALS' national brand palette.
High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure using GALS' national brand palette.
High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure using GALS' national brand palette.
High-fidelity landing page concept for GALS Ohio exploring a distinct visual direction while maintaining the same enrollment-focused structure using GALS' national brand palette.

High-fidelity designs for three enrollment-focused landing page concepts, refining layout, messaging, and visual hierarchy.

Layout

I designed the hero section for clarity and accessibility, helping parents quickly understand what GALS Ohio is and how to take the next step. To establish credibility and trust, I paired prominent enrollment CTAs with contextual information and official GALS photography.

Enrollment-focused hero section emphasizing a clear call to action.
Enrollment-focused hero section emphasizing a clear call to action.
Enrollment-focused hero section emphasizing a clear call to action.

Enrollment-focused hero section with a clear primary CTA and concise introduction to GALS Ohio.

As users scroll, the page introduces GALS Ohio’s mission and audience without overwhelming them. The GALS pillars (Move, Feel, Inspire, Celebrate) reinforce brand cohesion and add emotional resonance, while timely enrollment events and a repeated CTA near the footer encourage engagement and action.

Landing page sections introducing GALS Ohio’s mission, enrollment events, and supporting information in a clear scrolling sequence.
Landing page sections introducing GALS Ohio’s mission, enrollment events, and supporting information in a clear scrolling sequence.
Landing page sections introducing GALS Ohio’s mission, enrollment events, and supporting information in a clear scrolling sequence.
Landing page sections introducing GALS Ohio’s mission, enrollment events, and supporting information in a clear scrolling sequence.
Landing page sections introducing GALS Ohio’s mission, enrollment events, and supporting information in a clear scrolling sequence.
Landing page sections introducing GALS Ohio’s mission, enrollment events, and supporting information in a clear scrolling sequence.

Mission, identity, GALS pillars, timely enrollment events, and footer CTA supporting a clear enrollment path.

Design System

I developed a lightweight design system to keep color, typography, and spacing consistent while allowing for localized brand expression. I used the official GALS palette for cohesion and created an Ohio-inspired accent palette based on the state flag, with red for primary CTAs.

Color Palette

Core Brand Palette

#CD1F44

#CD1F44

#055093

#055093

#5A388D

#5A388D

#F36F21

#F36F21

Localized Palette

#BF0A30

#BF0A30

#FFFFFF

#FFFFFF

#001C5A

#001C5A

Typefaces

Headings

Century Gothic

Century Gothic

Century Gothic

Century Gothic

Century Gothic

Century Gothic

Century Gothic

Century Gothic

Century Gothic

Body Text

Open Sans

Open Sans

Open Sans

Open Sans

Open Sans

Open Sans

I chose Century Gothic for headings to align with the brand and paired it with Open Sans for body text to support readability. I also designed a localized logo variant by integrating the GALS mark with the Ohio state flag’s burgee shape.

Logo Variant

Logotype

Localized GALS Ohio logo variant integrating the GALS mark with the Ohio state flag’s burgee shape.
Localized GALS Ohio logo variant integrating the GALS mark with the Ohio state flag’s burgee shape.

Logomark

Localized GALS Ohio logo variant integrating the GALS mark with the Ohio state flag’s burgee shape. Just the logomark.
Localized GALS Ohio logo variant integrating the GALS mark with the Ohio state flag’s burgee shape. Just the logomark.

Conclusion

This project was my first opportunity to collaborate with a real-world client and design an enrollment-focused experience from the ground up. I delivered three landing page concepts that balanced GALS’ national brand with a localized Ohio identity and provided a clear, accessible path for parents to learn about GALS Ohio and take action.

Along the way, I saw how research-driven information architecture, stakeholder feedback, and accessibility standards work together to simplify scope and keep the page focused on what matters most: enrollment and parent confidence. These lessons directly informed my later capstone project, where I expanded my use of design systems, responsive design, and structured stakeholder communication.

Attribution

This project was completed as an academic practicum through Franklin University in collaboration with Girls Athletic Leadership Schools (GALS), Inc.
All trademarks, logos, and brand assets are the property of GALS, Inc. and are shown for educational and portfolio purposes only.