Expatiate Communications
Expatiate Communications is a special education consulting firm. I designed our website to highlight the our expertise in guiding school districts through data-driven planning, policy implementation, and stakeholder engagement. The site features, service overviews and tailored content for district leaders, all presented in a modern, trustworthy interface that balances clarity with credibility.
2025
Project Overview
Expatiate Communications is a leading special education consulting firm serving LEAs, charter schools, and private institutions across California. The company needed a welcoming website to showcase its wide-ranging services, tools, insights, and values, all tailored to special education professionals. I independently led this entire project from end to end: brand identity, full website design, responsive UI development in SvelteKit, and automated deployment to Azure Static Web Apps.
Problem Statement
Despite being a top-tier consulting agency in special education, Expatiate lacked a cohesive brand and a digital presence that matched our innovative work. Our core tools and services (like iTAAP and personalized services for LEAs) were powerful, but were buried in outdated layouts and unclear messaging.
Key challenges included:
- No centralized source for LEAs to understand our offerings.
- Weak visual hierarchy and brand recognition.
- Confusing navigation
- Lack of mobile responsiveness and accessibility compliance.
User Research
I began by interviewing internal stakeholders and reviewing onboarding documents, sales decks, and past client feedback.
Personas
- District Administrators: Looking for predictive tools and compliance reporting.
- SPED Educators & BCBAs: Want jobs, coaching, support, and training resources.
Findings
- Users wanted simple navigation, immediate understanding of services, and proof of outcomes.
- Admins valued data dashboards and cost-saving features.
- Educators were drawn to training and compliance support.
Ideation & Sketching
Using user journeys and content mapping, I restructured the information architecture around clear paths:
- Products – iTAAP, IEP Pilot, CALPADS Error Support
- Services – LEA Services, Professional Development, Social-Emotional Learning
- Quest – Targeted campaigns/newsletters for Special Education professionals
- About – Company story, team, mission, values, careers
Every page needed to strike a balance between technical credibility and emotional connection, something often missing in SPED consulting platforms.
Visual & Brand Design
To align with Expatiate’s mission and stand out in the special education space, I created a clean, modern design system, but still kept recognizable features for our existing clients.
Logo
A dynamic ribbon symbolizing guidance, care, and progress.
Color Palette
- Primary: Amber-400, Teal-600, Slate-800 (professional yet vibrant)
- Secondary: Off-white tones to soften the experience.
- Tertiary: Categorical colors for dashboards and SEL visuals.
Typography
- Headlines: Inter Bold with occasional Alegreya Italic for warmth and emphasis.
- Body: Inter Regular for maximum readability.
UI Details
- Rounded modular content blocks, organic shapes with masks.
- Motion and interaction design kept subtle but purposeful.
Feature Breakdown
Home
About
Careers
Quest Special Ed. Learning
- Database of relevant special education court cases
- Can search by title, date, or description
- Pagination for scalability
- On click, opens modal with PDF in an
iframe
Quest Special Ed. Communications
Quest IEP Connection
- On click, opens modal with PDF in an
iframe - Each bulletin is designed by me to match the Expatiate brand guide
iTAAP
For Local Education Agencies
Services
Social-Emotional Learning
SST & 504 Tracking
BCBA Behavior Services
Achievements
Development
I used 
SvelteKit for performance and reactivity, paired with TailwindCSS for rapid and scalable styling.
Tech Stack
- Frontend: SvelteKit + TailwindCSS + TypeScript
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions for automatic Azure Static Web Apps deployment
- Performance: Optimized images, lazy loading, and compressed builds via Vite
Outcomes & Metrics
The launch of the new Expatiate site improved our presence as a company. Also, working with the marketing team, this new brand empowered them to market confidently with a unified identity and ready-made assets.
“This is the first time our products and offerings actually look and feel like they belong to us. It’s polished and very beautiful. I love, love, love it.”
— Internal stakeholder at Expatiate Communications
