i5 is a pedagogical framework that the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) created in collaboration with the LEGO Foundation. It's designed to equip future business leaders with the holistic skills they'll need to practice sustainable leadership.
For this project, two different agencies (The DataFace and Polygraph) collaborated with PRME to "digitize" its i5 Playbook. PRME wanted to turn a traditional, 80-page PDF about i5 into something digital, immersive, and fun.
Our primary goal was to make this resource more accessible, engaging, and practical for educators and students alike. By creating this site, we hoped to facilitate interactive learning through examples, quizzes, and comprehensive insights into the i5 pedagogy.
We also developed an accompanying data story to underscore how using i5 in classrooms can help us secure a more sustainable future. This aspect of the experience was intended to make a broader case to academic leaders, press, and the general public about the need for i5 in today's world.
We started by dissecting the i5 Playbook, identifying key concepts and brainstorming digital equivalents that could convey its ideas effectively. We had numerous workshops with the PRME team to explore ways we could make the website feel immersive, modern, and entertaining.
The DataFace's design team created mockups of the website over the course of three design sprints. We wanted the website to feel like a companion to the PDF, not a completely separate experience, so we leveraged the color palette and iconography from the PDF.
Building the website involved a multidisciplinary team of web designers, developers, content creators, and educational experts. We prioritized user experience, ensuring the site was navigable, visually appealing, and accessible across various devices.
A significant challenge was distilling the extensive content of the playbook into digestible, interactive elements without diluting its educational value. Through iterative testing and feedback loops with educators and the PRME team, we refined the content and interactivity to optimize learning outcomes.
The data story component was crafted to complement the website, illustrating the tangible benefits of i5 pedagogy in real-world settings. By leveraging data visualization and rich storytelling techniques, we highlighted i5's potential to contribute to sustainable business practices.
Our project stands out due to its innovative approach to educational content delivery, transforming static information into an interactive learning journey. This not only enhances engagement but also deepens the understanding and application of the i5 framework in fostering responsible management education.
The digital transformation of the i5 Playbook into an immersive website exceeded PRME's expectations. PRME felt that the experience beautifully embodied the LEGO Foundation's mantra of "learning through play." And feedback from educators and students alike have highlighted the interactive quizzes and real-world examples as particularly beneficial in understanding and applying the i5 pedagogy.
The accompanying data story has also resonated with readers, effectively conveying the importance of integrating sustainability into business education. This has sparked increased interest in adopting the i5 framework, with several new institutions expressing intent to incorporate it into their curricula.
Overall, this project has significantly contributed to PRME’s mission, demonstrating the power of digital innovation in transforming educational resources for greater impact.
