OnlineILS Tutoring · OnlineILS2026-09-23

Six directions for the tutor search page

Students from many countries come here to find a tutor they can trust, at a time that fits their week, for a price they can pay. Most compare a few tutors on a phone in the evening, and many are unsure what a lesson time means in their own time zone.

Look at the first screen of each, on desktop and on a phone. Pick the one that feels most like a place you would trust with your money and your time. Mixing is fine, for example “D, with B’s colours”.

A

Timetable

Calm and exact. The page answers “who is free on the day I pick, in my own time”, with one blue for actions and a clear price on every row.

Why it fits

  • “When” and “in your time zone” are the first things on the screen, which is where students get confused most
  • Each tutor is one easy row: face, what they teach, price, rating. It reads the same on a phone
  • Closest to the blue in the proposal, so the least change for you

Trade-off

Quiet. It depends on good tutor photos and headlines to feel warm.

  • #FFFFFFPaper
  • #121829Ink
  • #2447D6Cobalt
  • #F5F6F9Mist

Geist for everything

Draws on: preply.com: the price is large and always in the same place on each row (principle only), italki.com: the time zone is stated next to times (principle only), italki.com, signed-in dashboard: pick a day, see who is free that day (principle only)

B

Faces

Warm and personal. Big photos first, like choosing a person, not a product. One big search box asks what you want to learn.

Why it fits

  • Faces build trust fastest when paying a stranger in another country
  • The search question at the top makes the first step obvious

Trade-off

Needs good photos from every tutor. A tutor without a photo stands out more here than in A or C. Shows fewer tutors per screen.

  • #F4EFF7Lilac
  • #3D1E4FPlum
  • #FFC53DSunflower
  • #FFFFFFPaper

Bricolage Grotesque for headings and names, Figtree for text

Draws on: superprof.se: tutors shown as a grid of large photos (principle only), preply.com: large square photos rather than small round avatars (principle only)

C

Sentence

Plain words instead of a filter panel. The student completes one sentence, and each tutor leads with their own promise, in their own words.

Why it fits

  • Filters read as a normal sentence, which is easier for people reading English as a second language
  • On a phone the sentence simply wraps; nothing is hidden behind a filter button

Trade-off

Serif headlines feel more like a school than an app. Weak tutor headlines will show more here.

  • #0F3D35Deep green
  • #9FE3C8Mint
  • #FFFFFFPaper
  • #16211EInk

Brygada 1918 for the sentence and tutor headlines, Hanken Grotesk for text

Draws on: italki.com: the tutor’s own headline is shown in bold at the start of each card (principle only), superprof.se: the tutor’s own words are the title of their page (principle only)

DOur pick

Week panel

See real free times without leaving the list. Pick a tutor on the left; their free hours for the chosen day appear on the right, ready to book.

Why it fits

  • The only direction that shows actual lesson times on the search page, which answers “when” fully
  • Booking takes one fewer page: pick a time next to the list
  • On a phone, each tutor opens to a row of free times in place

Trade-off

Its look is plain on purpose: the idea is the time panel. That idea can be joined to another direction's look, for example “A with D's time panel”. Needs one call for free times per tutor opened (the API already has it).

  • #F3F5F7Cloud
  • #FFFFFFPaper
  • #0B6F6BTeal
  • #14201FInk

Onest for everything

Draws on: italki.com: a tutor’s week appears beside the list when you point at them (principle only), preply.com: price, rating and the book button stay together in one box (principle only)

E

Evening

Made for the evening on a phone. A dark, calm page where tutors’ faces are the brightest thing; the search sits at the bottom, under the thumb.

Why it fits

  • Most students look in the evening; a dark page is easy on the eyes then
  • Faces and names are the first thing seen, like choosing a person
  • On a phone the search is always in thumb reach

Trade-off

Dark pages feel more like an evening app than a school, and show fewer tutors per screen. Needs a light version too for daytime and for the tutor and admin areas.

  • #15171BNight
  • #1E2126Slate
  • #F7B58BApricot
  • #EDEBE7Chalk

Host Grotesk for everything

Draws on: superprof.se: the tutor’s name is written on their photo (principle only), superprof.se: on a phone, the search bar sits at the bottom of the screen (principle only)

F

Subject colours

Every subject family has its own colour, like a school timetable. The platform teaches many subjects, not only languages, and this makes that visible at once.

Why it fits

  • Shows that this is not a language-only site: maths, sciences, music and more are one tap away
  • Colours make a long list easy to scan by subject
  • Big, narrow price numbers are easy to compare

Trade-off

Eight colours need care to stay adult, not childish. When the client adds a new subject family, it needs a colour.

  • #1B1D22Ink
  • #1D5FB0Languages
  • #A84A14Mathematics
  • #1E7A52Sciences
  • #8B3FA3Music

Archivo, narrow and heavy for headings and prices, normal width for text

Draws on: superprof.se: subjects shown as a row of large, easy targets at the top (principle only)