Ian Rogers

Product & Experience Design

PBS Sprout

Visual Design/UI & Project Management
Activities webpage for Monster Cookie recipe. Elmo coloring page on laptop
Hero image for the PBS Sprout project showing Bob the Builder in front of a large monitor displaying a Monster Cookies recipe from the activities page. To the side, a laptop features tracing and coloring pages with Elmo. A large illustrated giraffe stands behind the laptop, with a child beside it. The background shows a landscape under a blue night sky filled with stars.

Overview

PBS's Kids Sprout was a cable channel for preschoolers in the process of being acquired by Comcast. Their original website required an overhaul to merge the brands, expand Sprout's digital footprint and become a central hub for their extensive digital content catalog. A reliable and cost-effective CMS supporting this high volume of media and admin publication workflows was a requirement.

The updated site focused on streaming video. But the main content was the cast of licensed characters that promoted Sprout's TV programming. These household names appeared throughout the site through online games and activities such as cooking recipes, printable coloring pages, and craft ideas. A completely new social media strategy used interactive birthday cards, home videos, and photo submissions from parents for further engagement.

Strict branding rules from both the old PBS website and the Sprout TV guidelines were adhered to and merged within the visual design. The page layouts integrated existing television imagery with new site-specific icons or graphic assets. Anything new followed Sprout's illustrative style for a seamless brand experience.

Note: Sprout became Universal Kids a few years after this rebrand, aligning the network directly with its programming and audience. It ceased operations in March 2025 when NBCUniversal shifted focus to the Peacock streaming platform.

Landing Page

Central Site Areas
Homepage

Video Content

TV Schedule, Online Videos, Featured Video Content
Three webpages: Schedule page, Shows filtering page, Video landing page

For Parents Section

Parent Info, Links, Articles
Laptop Showcasing video player

Games

Flash-based Online Gaming
Games Landing Page
Games Filtering Page