Designing educational content that connects

The world has changed and so have learners. The resources I was handed at school were printed in black and white (featuring cut off words), stapled together and lacked any kind of engaging content.

In 2025, with Gen Z and Alpha growing up on TikTok, YouTube and immersive apps, these resources wouldn’t stand a chance. Expectations are higher, attention spans are shorter and engagement has to be earned.

For outreach and education providers, this presents a real challenge. With rising pressure on delivery and shrinking budgets across the board, there’s just not the time to create new, high-quality resources in-house. But staying the same isn’t an option either.

The gap in the system

We know that your team is stretched. They’re focused on planning lessons, delivering sessions and keeping kids and parents happy. But as new priorities emerge, like AI, digital safety and future skills, the content they’ve been used to using to support these conversations hasn’t kept up.

Speaking to providers like Higher Horizons has highlighted the need for engaging up-to-date materials that help learners explore big themes in meaningful ways. Take a look at some of their resources here.

What makes a great resource in 2025?

Designing for young people is about creating emotional connection and making learning active. And there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach – demonstrated in our recent partnership with The Inspirational Learning Group.

Faced with the challenge of getting learners to explore cyber threats and think about career opportunities in cyber security, we had to go beyond typical worksheets. So, we created three distinct experiences tailored for upper Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3 and post-16 learners.

• For KS2 learners, we leaned into storytelling and history. In practice, this featured historical encryption and realistic classroom decoration, including posters, books and pencils that helped to tell the story and guide the students through the clues.

• For KS3 learners, we shifted the tone and format by designing a magazine-style challenge full of red herrings that mimicked real online spaces.

• For post-16 learners, we got social. We created a digital footprint of a fictional influencer and asked learners to piece together how much personal data she’d exposed.

Each resource felt real, relevant and age-appropriate – all designed to speak the audience’s language.

Boosting learning outcomes

A strong visual identity can guide students through complex material, hold their attention for longer and help them retain key messages. Good design isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s a core part of effective teaching.

And that’s why we consider tone of voice as much as curriculum relevance, design with accessibility standards in mind and handle sensitive topics with care while simplifying complex information.

Outreach and education have never been more important. Young people are navigating a world of uncertainty, socially, economically and digitally. Helping them feel informed, empowered and connected to learning will become more and more vital.

With limited time and increasing demands, you need tools that actually work. Resources that connect with learners, reflect the world they live in and make a lasting impression.

That means resources that are:

1. Tailored to the age of your learners
2. Visually engaging and emotionally resonant
3. Easy for you to deliver and for your learners to use

A creative partner that gets it

Today’s learners need to feel seen and like resources are made for them.

Here at Starbots Creative, we specialise in helping organisations connect with young audiences. We love to work with universities, colleges, outreach teams and careers services across the UK – translating complex information into accessible, engaging formats.

If you and your team are focused on delivery, we’re the creative partner you need to develop resources that align with your goals, your learners and your organisation.