Lighthouse Math Series K–7

The project began with misaligned creative direction—layouts were plain and inconsistent, illustrations were unsuitable for education, and the pacing made lessons difficult for teachers to navigate. Writers, illustrators, and designers worked in different time zones without shared templates or shared structure, resulting in content overflow and unclear teaching sequences, and endless revisions that slowed progress.

We took full creative control and conducted a comprehensive ground-up audit of the existing materials, redefining the system from content flow to final layout, while also establishing a clear illustration direction. Leveraging our production system—a workflow refined over eight years—we aligned remote writers, designers, and illustrators through structured Google Slides templates, InDesign GREPs, and a Trello-based production pipeline that tracked every lesson from draft to final print. This system became the backbone of the entire curriculum, enabling high-volume production with precision and consistency.

We built the Math Series around a distinctive Learn → Apply rhythm, supported by Lighthouse’s color palette: blue-labeled pages for concept introduction and red-labeled pages for guided practice. A modular 12-column grid allowed dense computations, models, and illustrations to sit clearly on the page without overwhelming students. Kindergarten–Grade 2 included non-reader’s visual icons and warm custom vector illustrations; upper levels introduced tighter typographic systems and more advanced layouts. The structure scaled seamlessly from K-7 while staying visually recognizable as one unified program.

The system cut production time significantly, reduced illustration costs substantially, and brought clarity to both teaching and learning. The K–7 Math Series became Lighthouse’s foundational curriculum model and a blueprint for all future subjects. Schools reported smoother implementation, better pacing, and a noticeable improvement in student engagement. Lighthouse later commissioned us to create the 2nd Edition (2023) and 3rd Edition (2025), proving the long-term durability of the system.