MIQ Bildung helps migrants in Berlin learn German and access job opportunities. However, the original website, built in 2012, was difficult to navigate, hard to read on mobile devices, and overwhelming for users still learning the language.
The redesign focused on creating a simpler, clearer, and more welcoming experience.
Key focus areas:
UX/UI Designer (self-initiated) — Heuristic evaluation, competitive analysis, information architecture, and visual redesign.
Education — Language school for adult migrants in Berlin (BAMF-certified, A1–C1 German courses)
I studied German at MIQ up to the B2 level. The website I redesigned is the same one that once confused me as a student.
MIQ’s website serves migrants still learning German — but the site itself assumed German fluency.
For a school whose mission is to make integration easier, the website was making the first step harder.
I followed the Double Diamond framework — moving from understanding the problem to delivering a focused, user-centered redesign.
To understand how leading language schools solve similar usability challenges, I analyzed 3 competitors — DeutschAkademie, Sprachinstitut Berlin, and die deutSCHule — each representing a different approach to course discovery and visual design.
I focused on 3 areas most relevant to MIQ’s users: navigation clarity, content structure, and how users are guided to key actions.
Three patterns from competitor research that directly addressed the main usability issues in the heuristic evaluation — unclear navigation, hard-to-read content, and low visibility of key actions.
MIQ serves a diverse audience. Based on my time studying there as a former student — where most of my classmates were Ukrainian, and many were young mothers — I built two personas representing the most common user types.
These personas are synthesized from three sources: my observation as a former MIQ student, heuristic findings from auditing the existing website, and competitive patterns from leading language schools.
How users find a course and contact MIQ
I mapped two flows based on the two personas — because each scenario has different needs and entry points.
The website’s information architecture was reorganized to create a simpler, clearer, and more user-friendly navigation structure.
The diagram below compares the original sitemap with the redesigned version and highlights the key structural improvements.
The redesign translated research insights into six core design decisions that directly addressed the most critical usability issues identified during the heuristic evaluation.
These mid-fidelity wireframes highlight the key pages of the redesigned website. They were used to define layout structure, content hierarchy, and user flow before moving to high-fidelity designs.
The final prototype covers 20+ pages designed in Figma — from the homepage to course details, enrollment forms, and mobile experience. Below are the key screens that brought the research, personas, and design system together. Built with accessibility, mobile-first responsiveness, and trust-building in mind for MIQ’s migrant audience.
As a former MIQ student, I thought I “knew” the user. I quickly learned that personal experience is not enough — every assumption needs research to back it up. Information architecture is harder than visual design. Reorganizing MIQ’s navigation took longer than designing the homepage itself. Designing for mobile-first made the whole site cleaner. Removing what’s not essential for Oksana on her phone helped the desktop version too.
I built personas from observation, but I should have talked to real MIQ students. Formal interviews would have validated or challenged my assumptions. I also went from mid-fi → high-fi → done. Next time, I would test the prototype with 3–5 users before finalizing.
— Run usability tests with current MIQ students
— Design the full online enrollment flow
— Add multilingual support (English, Ukrainian, Arabic)
— Run a WCAG AA accessibility audit