Maker park

A digital platform for STREAM education through informal learning and games.

ilmi Science Discovery and Innovation Center, Riyadh (SA), Expected opening in 2025

Architectural rendering of Ilmi Center at sunset, featuring a glowing spherical structure at the center of a landscaped cultural park filled with visitors.

Overview

Ilmi is a new science and innovation center opening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With 38,000 square meters of immersive and interactive installations, it is conceived as a national cultural hub for families and a flagship for informal learning in STREAM disciplines (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art, Mathematics).

Beyond the physical space, Ilmi includes a digital platform that extends the experience nationwide. Designed as a freemium ecosystem, it combines educational content, gamified mechanics, interactive features, and external integrations to support continuity between on-site and off-site learning.

  • Daytime view of Ilmi Center showing families and school children walking toward the iconic reflective sphere, surrounded by gardens and flowering trees.
  • Portrait of a young boy smiling in traditional Saudi attire, representing the target audience of the educational initiative.
  • Aerial night rendering of the Ilmi Center lit up against a dark desert landscape, with illuminated pathways and the luminous central sphere at the heart of the design.
  • Front-facing rendering of Ilmi Center at dusk, showing visitors entering the museum through a tunnel-like entrance beneath the glowing orb.

Contribution

Over 3+ years, I led the creative direction and the overall experience strategy for the prototype of the digital platform and its ecosystem, contributing to the center’s Learning Digital Strategy while guiding accessibility guidelines.

I led the full design cycle and UX/UI strategy in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, translating playful learning objectives and business needs into retention-driven concepts and scalable experience frameworks.

The process combined extensive research and continuous testing, using qualitative and quantitative methods to shape design iterations and validate decisions. I coordinated an international network of partners and vendors, ensuring alignment between learning content, creative intent, technical constraints, and delivery objectives.

  • Colorful 3D illustration of a robot hands holding a smartphone displaying the “Maker Park” gate from the Ilmi app, with gamified learning visuals in the background.
  • 3D illustration of a transparent ruler and compass on an orange circle over a blue background with circular white graphics, symbolizing mathematics.
  • 3D digital illustration of a microchip on a light blue circle over a blue background with circular white graphics, symbolizing technology.
  • Two smartphones display a colorful, hexagonal map-based interface of a virtual learning environment, featuring a cartoon robot character. The robot waves beside the screens, against a vibrant gradient background.
  • Two smartphones show a digital challenge interface with chain reaction instructions. A cheerful robot holds large gold coins and a trophy is seen in the foreground, all set against a colorful background.
  • 3D digital illustration of a green science beaker surrounded by orbital rings, set against a blue background on a yellow circle, symbolizing science.
  • 3D digital illustration of a rocket launching with stylized pink fins and grid texture, set against a green circle on a blue background, symbolizing engineering.
  • Three mobile screens showing different stages of a digital learning activity: defining energy, identifying innovations, and accessing a “Chain Reactions” challenge in the Maker Park.

Key achievements

  • Led end-to-end UX/UI and experience strategy for a large-scale digital learning ecosystem.
  • Built scalable experience frameworks and guidelines to ensure consistency across multiple touchpoints.
  • Coordinated international, cross-functional teams and external partners.
  • Embedded accessibility as a structural requirement.
  • Used research and testing to validate design decisions and reduce risk.
  • Contributed to shaping a new vision for informal education in KSA.
  • A cheerful robot holds its face in surprise next to a floating game controller and a smartphone showing a colorful hexagonal map interface from the educational platform, all set against a vibrant gradient background.
  • 3D digital illustration of an artist palette with colorful paint blobs and brushes, set on a vibrant pink circle on a blue background, symbolizing arts.
  • Cartoon robot wearing large golden medals, with a glowing electric battery being activated by a tap gesture, set on a blue background with lightning effects.
  • Four mobile screens showing a game on buoyancy and density. A cartoon robot introduces the activity, followed by scenes of ships being loaded in different stages.

Warning!

The final platform is being developed by a local company and will be released in the coming years. Due to NDA constraints, the material shown here is for reference only. Although this was a three-year project, I am unable to showcase the full work.

  • Continuation of the buoyancy game interface showing increasing cargo being loaded onto a ship, total score display with weight values, and a success screen with three stars and a robot avatar.
  • Cartoon robot with dizzy expression and stars orbiting its head, illustrating confusion or information overload, set on a bright blue background.
  • Cartoon robot wearing a green jersey with the number 1, cheerfully raising a golden trophy with confetti falling around, celebrating a game achievement on a bright blue background.
  • A colorful isometric map made of hexagonal tiles showing various interactive stations, including a robot character at the center and icons such as a trophy, camera, and film reel, representing different educational activities.
Are you curious?
Watch the teaser!
3D rendering of a stylized camera lens gripped by a pink robotic hand with yellow and blue wrist, representing a recording or video function.

Credits

Role: Creative Director | Strategist
Employer: IJsfontein
Client: Misk Foundation
Photography: Unsplash
Renders: Provided by client
Mockups & video: IJsfontein

© All rights reserved to IJsfontein

Explore the next project or drop me a message.
Children using a multi-user touchscreen to uncover virtual artifacts in a digging-themed game, while parents look on, in a gallery designed to simulate a layered archaeological dig site.

Awarded

Family Exhibits

National Museum of Qatar, Doha (QA)