CASE STUDY 01 · 4 MIN READ
ENAE Graduate
An alumni network, built with AI.
The day graduates collect their diploma, the network switches off. ENAE wanted to keep it on.
ENAE Business School has more than 18,000 graduates. At Playroom I designed ENAE Graduate, its alumni network: the public website, the private platform and the design system, built with Claude Code.
The challenge
How might we give 18,000 graduates a reason to come back, and keep coming?
Hypothesis
If joining takes two minutes and every action earns points, graduates will activate their account and invite their classmates.
How I work
I turn a business goal into a system people want to use, and give the client clear options when there is a hard decision.
Two products in one: a public site that explains why to join, and a private platform where taking part earns points and unlocks levels.
Join in two minutes
Onboarding is four short steps, shown as a path on the home. Activating the account only takes an alumni email or a student ID number.
- Activate your account
- Complete your profile
- Use the community
- Earn points, reach Premium
Why
If joining feels like paperwork, graduates leave. Showing the whole path upfront makes the first step feel small.
How I would measure it
Activation rate: accounts activated versus invitations sent, and time to finish onboarding.
A loyalty system, not a mailing list
Taking part earns points: completing your profile, going to events, posting and inviting other alumni. At 500 points members move from Connect to Premium, and points never expire.
Connect → Premium · 500 pts → Ambassador
Why
Points turn a passive list into a habit. Rewarding invitations makes every member help the network grow.
How I would measure it
Points earned per member each month, and invitations sent per member.
Launching before the platform was ready
The website had to go live on 29 September, before the private platform existed. I laid out three options for the launch so the client could decide.
- Waiting list Collect sign-ups now, open later.
- Entry to the Digital Hub Send new members to the existing hub.
- Web and panel at once Launch everything on the same day.
The school chose to launch the website on its own: sign-ups from day one, platform later. Sending new members to the Digital Hub was ruled out.
Why
Showing the trade-offs of each option turned a technical problem into a clear business decision for the school.
How I would measure it
Sign-ups collected before the platform opened, and how many activated on launch day.
Why this work matters
These are the numbers that show the network is alive.
00 → 00
Activated accounts out of 18,000 graduates.
Activation
Graduates who activate their account after the invitation.
A reason to come back
Members who return at least once a month.
Onboarding time
Minutes to finish the four onboarding steps.
What I learned
Key takeaway
Building with AI let me ship a full site and platform as a designer, and taught me to write specs as clearly as I design screens.
With more time, I’d…
- Launch phase 2: blog, community stories and events
- Measure activation and invitations per member
- Test the levels with real graduates
With less time, I’d…
Launch the public site with a waiting list first, and open levels and points in a second phase.
That’s the short version. The full process is below if you want the evidence.
- Join in two minutes No long forms: the account is already waiting.
- Value from day one Events, offers and contacts as soon as you’re in.
- Grow by taking part The more you join in, the more you get.
Starting from the questions
I started from the school’s brief and the questions graduates ask most, then mapped everything that happens on the website and inside the private platform.
What the research told me
- Graduates want contacts and opportunities, not another newsletter.
- The questions they ask most are about who can join, what they get and what it costs.
- The network only works if it is useful without anyone having to publish.
From structure to interface
I started in low fidelity to agree layout and hierarchy before adding the brand.
ENAE’s brand, made digital
I worked within ENAE’s real identity: deep ink blues, the school’s orange and warm gradients, with Inter for everything, from 64 px headlines to 13 px labels.
- Text · ink
#2D3847 - Ink soft
#464B54 - Brand · orange
#F26522 - Light orange
#F98A25 - Warmth · cream
#FBEEDF
A design system for a real brand
I turned ENAE’s graphic system into tokens, components and three levels of graphic intensity for the web. Clear rules (“things we never break”) let the AI-assisted build stay on brand page after page.
Accessible by default
- Text and secondary text pass AAA on white and grey
- Body at 17-19 px with generous line height
- Orange used for actions, never as the only signal
Feedback and iterations
Agencies rarely have time for formal testing, so I validate with what we have: client feedback rounds, team reviews and quick checks. This is what changed because of it.
How I validated it
- Feedback rounds with ENAE’s team
- Decisions presented as options (e.g. the launch plan)
- Next: measure activation and invitations
