Disciplr / David C Cook

David C Cook was a primarily print publishing company watching its market shift to digital. Their teaching materials — used by volunteer educators in churches nationwide — were trapped in print formats. The organization needed to transform from print distribution to digital product delivery, but had no digital product team, no platform, and no technical infrastructure. The risk of inaction was existential: lose relevance as the audience moved online.

This was a legacy organization with deep print-era processes. There was no existing engineering team, no product management function, and no digital design capability. Budget was limited. Leadership buy-in had to be earned incrementally. The user base — volunteer church educators — was not technically sophisticated, which meant the platform needed to be radically simple. And the content itself was complex: structured lesson plans with rich media, teacher guides, and student materials.

We used the Lean Canvas approach to build the business case, which helped secure leadership buy-in to invest in building and branding the business. Rather than attempting a full digital transformation at once, we focused on a single, high-value use case: making lesson content accessible on any device, anytime. This focused the initial product scope and created a proof point that could justify further investment.

Disciplr / David C Cook · How we framed it — How we framed it

I led design and engineering to build Disciplr, a digital platform that turned lesson content into clear, practical teaching prompts. We tested early prototypes with users before committing to full development. The platform brought together a content library, preparation tools, and a responsive teaching experience that volunteers could use during a lesson. I built and managed the design system for the first version and provided creative direction for the second release.

Disciplr / David C Cook · What we built · 1 — What we built / 01

Animated Disciplr calendaring flow on a phone in an earlier design language — An earlier design language · Calendaring made it possible to schedule teaching content from a phone.

We implemented a tailored workflow blending Kanban pull methodology and Scrum ceremonies, with designers working a sprint ahead of development. Challenging to execute, but the payoff was a seamless process that kept creativity and progress aligned. The visual design focused on radical simplicity — clean typography, clear hierarchy, and generous white space that made complex lesson content feel approachable for non-technical volunteers.

Disciplr branding sketches in a notebook — Branding sketches

A team workshop whiteboard with interface sketches and sticky-note feedback — Design thinking exercises · Exploring flows together through sketches and workshop feedback.

Disciplr purchase journey diagram mapping gaps from campaign discovery through checkout and the content library — Identifying user journey gaps · Mapping discovery, purchase, and the handoff into the library.

Disciplr grew from an internal innovation project into a standalone digital product operation. Its success led to a dedicated business unit, a new LLC, and an in-house design and development team at David C Cook. For a company with more than a century in print publishing, it established a new way to build products and serve teachers.

Concept for Disciplr as a curriculum platform, showing teaching plans on a laptop — Concept for Disciplr to evolve into a curriculum platform organized around teaching plans.

I helped build and launch Disciplr from zero within an established company, leading design and engineering while shaping the business behind the product. Over two years, I went from pitching the concept to shipping a platform that created a new revenue stream and organizational structure. This is what design leadership looks like when the canvas is blank and the stakes are existential.