Portfolio of Wes Stäbler
Collaborating with EdTech innovator and Cadet Portfolio founder Brian Srikanchana, I developed the brand identity and designed the user interface for Cadet Portfolio. Adopted by the US Army in 2021 and used by every cadet and instructor in the nation, the tool successfully digitized the Army JROTC program's curriculum.
To develop a digital platform for the Army’s JROTC program that will digitize their curriculum, making all assignments accessibe online and allowing instructors to grade and create assignments. The platform would also serve to track cadets’ success throughout their education.
Cadets were still carrying around three-inch binders in 2014, losing homework and struggling to keep track of assignments. The JROTC program needed to be brought into the twenty-first century so students could access their work from anywhere and on any device.
As the Lead UI/UX Designer, I collaborated with instructional designers, developers, instructors, and Army leadership to design a user experience that would simplify instruction and increase cadet engagement.
I aimed to craft a user experience with a frictionless onboarding process, making it easy for cadets to access their assignments and take ownership of their education. I worked closely with instructional designers to digitize the JROTC curriculum, designing scalable components to support personalized learning paths.
I designed and oversaw the development of the online educational platform that digitized the Army JROTC curriculum and provided a way for Army leadership to track cadets' progress year over year.
Ensured the platform was intuitive, user-friendly, accessible, and met the educational needs of cadets and instructors.
Working with active and retired Army JROTC instructors, we listened closely to their wants and needs, and what they believed would assist them day-to-day.
Our first step was to establish the brand. I drew inspiration from the official Army branding developed by Siegel+Gale, featuring a distinct black and yellow color palette and bold typography. Next my team brainstormed and experimented with ways to solve the instructors’ most pressing problems.
With the concept nailed down and the JROTC curriculum in hand, I began to design the platform. My goal was to make it as easy to use and intuitive as possible. Page-by-page I designed every element, from the icons and resume builder, to the messaging system and mentorship capabilities. In total it was over one hundred pages of designs, including separate experiences for cadets, instructors, and Army administrators. Once the designs were completed, I worked with a team of developers to bring the designs to life, ensuring that the platform was developed the way I intended.
We developed a beta version of the platform and were allowed to test it out on a hundred Army JROTC high schools, adding functionality and features as needed. We went back and forth with instructors, making sure the platform was intuitive and meeting their needs. Instructors loved that it reduced the amount of clerical work they were responsible for, freeing them up to focus on teaching. After six years of trial-and-error development, we were granted a contract with US Army. The platform is now in use by every Army JROTC cadet and instructor in the country, with over 350,000 users.
I aimed to craft a user experience with a frictionless onboarding process, making it easy for cadets to access their assignments and take ownership of their education. I worked closely with instructional designers to digitize the JROTC curriculum, designing scalable components to support personalized learning paths.
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Figma, Sketch, Asana, Trello, HTML/CSS/Java, Adobe After Effects, Various AI tools
Cadet Portfolio earned a significant contract with the U.S. Army. It is now used by over 250,000 cadets, instructors, and administrators, and is a requirement for all JROTC high schools in the nation.
Cadet Portfolio elevated cadets' learning experience by fostering deeper engagement with the curriculum. I believe the tool will lead to improvements in cadets' retention of key concepts and a feeling of ownership over their education.
Streamlined teaching workflows, easier access to resources, and more effective methods of communication with cadets contributed to a more enriched learning environment. Instructors were able to spend less time on clerical work and more time actually teaching.
“I think this is a very important tool in the advancement of our serious attempt to build leaders for life through the JROTC program. This helps cadets organize their accomplishments, identify their goals and aspirations, and gives them a means for tracking it through a digital tool. This is clearly moving us into the right direction and into 21st century.”
—Colonel (Retired) Paul Willis
Director of Army Instruction, Jackson, MS
“I’m excited for this website because it helps me become more organized and i wont be able to lose any of my information from my portfolio online.”
—Cadet Colonel Kayla Williams, Class of 2018
Staff Advisor, Atlanta, GA
