Newsela STEM

Science Learning Product Brand and Launch

  • Brand Design

  • Website Design

  • Creative Direction

View Site

When Newsela acquired Generation Genius, the existing Newsela Science product needed to become Newsela STEM, a more powerful science learning tool that incorporated the acquired brand without looking like a bolt-on addition.

Developing the lockup

Lockup development showing Newsela Science's flask icon and Generation Genius's orange diamond G merging through several iterations into the final Newsela STEM microscope and G lockup

The new lockup follows Newsela's product lockup system, while still nodding to Generation Genius through their orange and the "G" shape from their microscope icon. I explored several directions, different microscope mark treatments and different ways of crediting Generation Genius, before landing on a mark that read as native to the Newsela system while still standing on its own as a product identity.

Extending the color system

Newsela STEM color palette, including Science Orange in three shades plus a six step condensed ramp, alongside Neutral and Bisque

Alongside the finalized lockup, I updated the brand colors as we transitioned Newsela Science into Newsela STEM with Generation Genius, building out a full Science Orange ramp (from a deep #CE4C00 down to a pale #FFEBDF) so the new product color had the same range and flexibility as every other product in the Newsela system.

Launch marketing

Newsela STEM launch marketing, including a webinar graphic and social graphics featuring Dr. Jeff, the recurring scientist from Generation Genius video content

Launch marketing was built around a new illustration of Dr. Jeff, the recurring scientist from Generation Genius's video content, carried across a webinar graphic ("Introducing Newsela STEM: Make Real-World Science Relevant For All Learners") and a series of "A Scientific Breakthrough" social graphics.

The product page

Newsela STEM product page design, with a hero section and tabs for Fostering Curiosity, Deeper Learning, Cross-Curricular Connections, and Classroom-Ready Resources

The key piece of the launch was a product page for Newsela STEM that could express the value of the new offering quickly. I designed a wireframe and worked alongside our development and product marketing teams to stand it up for launch, built around a "Make Real-World Science Relevant" hero and a set of tabs covering curiosity, deeper learning, cross-curricular connections, and classroom-ready resources.

Folding an acquisition into an existing product line under real launch pressure is exactly the kind of test a brand system needs to survive. Newsela STEM shipped with a lockup, a color system, and a full marketing and product launch built on the same rules as everything else in the Newsela family, so it never read as a separate, bolted-on brand.