Impact / Kaplan digital ecosystem
Building the foundation for Kaplan’s digital ecosystem.
Beginning in 2022, Jonathan created the strategy and point of view for a new enterprise digital foundation at Kaplan, selected Code and Theory as the agency partner, and sponsored the work through final implementation and launch.
Original project visuals are reproduced with permission and attributed to Code and Theory.
Download case study PDF ↓
The challenge
Creating one foundation for a complex education ecosystem
Kaplan’s growth had produced a broad portfolio of digital properties serving learners, professionals, universities, and enterprise partners. The opportunity was larger than redesigning a single website: Kaplan needed an architectural, experience, and technology foundation that could support consolidation and modernization across the ecosystem.
Code and Theory’s published account describes an ecosystem of more than 100 websites and a mandate to create an information architecture and design system capable of supporting continued migration over time.
Jonathan’s leadership
From enterprise strategy to accountable product ownership
Jonathan created the transformation strategy and executive point of view, established the roadmap, selected Code and Theory, and served as executive sponsor. As product owner, he was accountable for the architecture, CMS selection, design-system approval, implementation decisions, and final launch.
His role connected executive ambition with delivery: defining what the new ecosystem needed to enable, making foundational platform and experience decisions, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring the resulting system could be adopted beyond the first launch.
The partnership
A shared transformation with Code and Theory
Kaplan partnered with Code and Theory to assess the digital ecosystem and translate the strategy into a new Kaplan.com foundation. The agency designed and developed the first iteration, supported the information architecture and design system, and helped migrate the first ecommerce property into the new experience.
Jonathan selected and sponsored the partnership, directed the strategic and product decisions, approved the design system, and owned the final implementation and launch on Kaplan’s behalf.
Read Code and Theory’s Kaplan case study ↗
The result
A launch designed to become a system
The initial project was completed approximately one year after it began. It delivered the first iteration of the new Kaplan.com, an enterprise design system, a scalable information architecture, a selected CMS foundation, and the first ecommerce-site migration.
Kaplan has since seen significant improvement in site engagement, conversion, and revenue growth. The work continues as a multi-year transformation, with the design system and CMS being rolled out to additional properties across the digital ecosystem.
Key questions
What did Jonathan Sullivan lead?
He created the strategy and point of view, selected the agency, sponsored the program, and owned the roadmap, architecture, CMS selection, design-system approval, implementation, and launch.
What did Code and Theory contribute?
Code and Theory helped assess the ecosystem and designed and developed the first Kaplan.com iteration, its information architecture and design system, and the initial ecommerce migration.
What happened after launch?
The foundational system and CMS continue to roll out across Kaplan properties as part of a multi-year enterprise transformation.