bondar.design/school21_arts

The first illustration pack was created for a foundational programming course. Together with the team, we developed a concept featuring a stylized "door" illustration as the header - symbolizing entry into each new topic. Supporting this were roleplay-style illustrations paired with the learning tasks, crafted to set the tone, bring in geek culture references, and immerse students in the broader context of programming and its history.

The illustrations were designed to support a visual-text interactive roleplay format - where students are immersed in a narrative scenario, guided by characters, environments, and stylized visuals. Each task opened with a thematic header image, like a metaphorical “door” into the topic, followed by narrative-driven scenes that explained programming concepts through storytelling, setting a relatable, geeky, and fun atmosphere that enhanced learning engagement.

We maintained close communication with programmers throughout the project to ensure the illustrations resonated with the course content and met the expectations of the student audience. Their feedback helped us fine-tune visuals to be both educational and genuinely engaging.

Additionally, the way the door and supporting illustrations were crafted often served as subtle hints or conceptual guides to help students intuitively grasp how to approach and solve the task at hand. This layered visual storytelling not only added depth to the experience but also encouraged independent thinking and exploration.

Based on feedback from both teachers and students, the interaction with tasks felt like communicating with an old-school terminal in a vintage indie game — exactly the kind of atmosphere and engagement we aimed to create. This retro-futuristic vibe made learning feel playful, immersive, and memorable.

By adding illustrations and editing task texts in a more engaging, gamified manner, we significantly increased course completion rates and knowledge retention. Students felt more motivated and immersed, and school directors were thrilled to see such a high level of engagement and satisfaction with the learning experience.

The second educational course was including these topics: 3D viewer, Cryptography, Docker, CI/CD, Linux, Assembler, Containers, etc...

This time, task lengths varied significantly - some required just one illustration, while others needed up to three. We approached each topic with a slightly different visual style, yet maintained consistency through shared design elements and a unified system of details. This balance allowed the series to stay visually engaging without losing coherence.

Once again, it was a real challenge to create illustrations for abstract and complex topics - but we managed to turn them into clear, engaging visuals that resonated with students and supported the learning experience.

This time, we had more creative freedom, which led to unique visual approaches — some illustrations were crafted using plasticine, others in the form of playful collages. These experimental styles added personality and freshness while still fitting within the overall visual system.