Building Curio: A Journey of Design and Growth

The Spark Behind Curio

Curio began as a microlearning platform for designers. From the start, I was passionate about building something that empowered creativity and made knowledge easily accessible. As we brainstormed and shaped the early versions of Curio, I realized there was an even greater opportunity: to create a living, growing resource library specifically for designers — a place where inspiration, tools, and collaboration could come together.

The Pivot

Through feedback, testing, and reflection, it became clear that a microlearning platform wasn't fully meeting the needs of our audience. We made a pivotal decision: to evolve Curio into a curated repository of design resources. This shift required a complete rethinking of our strategy, brand, and user experience — and it taught me the value of adaptability, user-centered thinking, and trusting the creative process.

My Role

I led the visual design efforts and helped shape the platform’s identity. I developed the brand’s look and feel, crafted UI components, and designed a cohesive and intuitive user experience using tools like Figma, Squarespace, and Photoshop. I collaborated closely with my team, balancing independent creative work with iterative feedback to continually refine and strengthen the project.

The Problem:

Designers often spend more time searching for quality, free resources than actually creating. The current landscape is cluttered with outdated blog posts, unorganized lists, and scattered recommendations across forums, making it difficult to find reliable tools quickly.

The Solution:

Curio offers a curated, user-friendly platform that organizes the best free and royalty-free design resources in one place. With features like bookmarking, categorized browsing, and community suggestions, Curio streamlines discovery and helps designers focus more on creating and less on searching.

Curio Today

Today, Curio is a dynamic and evolving repository offering free, royalty-free resources to the creative community. Users can bookmark resources, suggest new ones, and engage through community comments. Curio is designed to make the creative process easier, more collaborative, and more inspiring — a true reflection of the values that shaped its journey.