When Tech Stacking and Optimization Becomes a Branding Exercise
Let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be us if we didn’t relate, even tech use, back to brand. 😉
What I love about our international school community is moments like this;
moments where you join a group of people, and suddenly ideas start to bubble.
That’s exactly what happened last week during a [YC Chat] with the Yellow Car team, David Willows, Suzette Parlevliet, and Gitane Reveilleau (G), where G led a conversation on digital systems, auditing tech stacks, and designing communication that works for communities.
And it got us thinking (thanks, G 👋).
When Digital Excitement Turns to Fatigue
In education, “digital transformation” usually starts with excitement.
New tools. New features. New ways to “connect.”
But somewhere along the way, that excitement turns into fatigue. When schools keep adding platforms without taking any away, something starts to break.
From our work, we’ve seen it happen everywhere: Each department chooses what works for them, and before you know it, families are getting messages from three different systems, in two languages, and no one’s quite sure where the permission form actually lives. Suzette put it so clearly, we work in silos (most of the time) - this is bound to happen!
The problem isn’t the technology itself, it’s the behaviour around it. People hold on to old platforms because they’re comfortable. They don’t want to start over. So new tools get added on top of old ones, and suddenly your “streamlined system” looks more like a digital Jackson Pollock.
As I shared during the session:
“I see this personally too. My daughter’s French school sends information across multiple platforms, email, portal.... As a non-native speaker, I’m constantly asking myself, ‘Did I already read that? Did I complete that form?’”
That’s exhaustion.
The Questions That Matter
Before introducing anything new, schools should be asking two simple but critical questions:
1️⃣ What will this replace or simplify?
If the answer is “nothing,” then it’s not solving, it’s stacking.
2️⃣ Are we designing this system around how our community actually works?
Their language needs. Their digital habits. Their psychology.
Not just what the platform can do, but how it feels to use it.
When schools co-design systems with their community, especially in bilingual or multicultural contexts, technology becomes, ironically, more human again.
From Digital Systems to Brand Systems
And this is where we circle it back because it wouldn’t be us if we didn’t.
Every digital touchpoint, app, portal, email, notification, is a brand experience.
It’s what parents feel when they interact with your school. What teachers feel when navigating systems at work.
Schools doing this well don’t treat digital systems as operational tools.
They treat them as relationship builders.
When platforms feel intuitive, families feel connected. When communication is clear, trust builds.
That’s brand experience. And that’s the goal, isn’t it?
To make schools not just enjoyable for the kids but reassuring and stress free for the parents?
💬 Banter Prompt:
Are we designing digital systems that help families feel more connected or more confused? Drop your thoughts below ⬇️
We would also love to know, would you love to co-build systems with tech providers so that the systems is unique for you community behaviors?