Why beautiful digital tools matter for the future of learning

Teachers started implementing flexible seating on their own, Starbucks became a flagship model for classroom redesign and #ditchdesks started trending on Twitter.

This push to reconsider the look of the physical classroom was welcomed by the right-brain-inclined inner aesthete. It’s also been well-researched as an advantageous pedagogical shift to increase efficacy and performance in schools.

One such study, undertaken by The University of Salford in 2015, found that the physical characteristics of a classroom, like air quality, colour and light increases the learning progress of primary students by as much as 16 percent. 

Historically, society has valued exceptional architecture, prominent public installations and ‘civic beauty’ zones. Our physical spaces are reflections of who we are and the aspirations of who we want to become.

Beauty allows us to express who we are and who we hope to be. Beauty has the potential to create meaning in our lives and the classroom is no exception. 

bulb Digital Portfolios began with one big idea for education: to design a simple, beautiful and powerful learning environment.

Beauty allows us to express who we are and who we hope to be. Beauty has the potential to create meaning in our lives and the classroom is no exception

At bulb, we take design seriously, because we believe it’s the foundation of a quality education. We know beautiful tools inspire beautiful work, and beautiful work changes the world. 

This is why everything about how bulb functions is thought through with an eye for beauty, an affinity for good design and the realisation that students take pride in creating beautiful work.

Covering the ‘how’ so you can focus on the ‘what’

Some of the best tools get out of the user’s way. In bulb, we want you to get working on what really matters: creating, refining and publishing, right away. bulb is intuitive and consistent, from our tile and list view layout to our dialog boxes. You shouldn’t ever have to guess how to do something on bulb. We make it obvious and hope this simplicity and ease frees up your time and energy to focus on your quality content, not the app.

Controlled style options

Not everyone has time to be a web designer. We understand the amount of time and training it takes to design good websites. Plus, most students don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time they want to share their work. This is why we offer a limited number of fonts, colors and formatting. We promise your work will always look good.

Plenty of whitespace

White space, or negative space, is the space between elements in a composition. You’ll see plenty of space between collections, pages and lines of text on bulb. Avoiding noise and clutter gives students a sense of balance, harmony, time and empowerment to create from a clean slate. You’ll notice your eye likes whitespace, too – it’s easier to read, pick out important information and connect ideas when your eyes have time and space to rest between bits of information.

Winston Churchill once said: “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” Our digital environments, just like our physical ones, remind us who we are. 

Just as beauty and good design are deeply powerful forces in the ‘real world’, so they are in the digital one. bulb Digital Portfolios is leading learning to the future.

Sign up for a free trial today at bulbapp.com