Boom Sports

Clients I have worked for

02. Play XFL App

MY ROLE:

I was responsible for the Data Report Design, User Testing, Iterations, and App Store Screenshot Design. During this project, I learned Invision Studio for prototype and animation purposes, presented my design decisions, and iterated based on user/client feedback. 

04. Play Barstool App

MY ROLE:

I was responsible for Stoolstream Contest Card Design, High-fi Design Iterations, Design Library Creation, NFL Game Iterations, Asset Creation (Icons, Headshots, Helmets changes), Implementation, and App Store Screenshot Design. During this project, we reinvented a new design-engineer collaboration pipeline to allow designers directly input CSS/HTML to improve engineering efficiency by 40%.

What I Learned at Boom Sports:

• Design for use cases and business, not for trend.

  When I first joined Boom, I realized how different our visual design style is from the current minimalism/clean UI trend. I was once frustrated about it; however, I later learned that design is all about context. We are designing in the sports betting and casino industry for a specific target audience group, and we need to follow the design guidelines from our clients and leaderships. Each design decision is not for “fitting into the trend” but for “designing for the actual user and business needs.” In our case, it is about how to use design for the best monetization strategy within a limited app lifetime.

• Always seek chances to learn. If you don’t have senior designers, learn from PMs, Engineers, and Leaderships.

Boom has a culture of focusing more on the product and engineering team since established. Therefore, as one of the first UI/UX designers, we don’t necessarily have an established design team or senior designers to learn from yet. Most of the time, I have to navigate in the design space on my own and not sure where to get the design mentorship. However, I realized soon that learning does not only exist in the design space, it exists everywhere. Therefore I started spending a lot of time speaking and collaborating with engineers to understand what their current needs/frustrations are and try to help out. They kindly explained coding knowledge to me and we ended up inventing a new pipeline that allows designers to provide CSS directly into the production workflow, which shrinks engineering effort by 40%.

• Take initiative, contribute to team-building, and don’t be afraid to speak up your mind.

  I have always been the type of person who continually seeks opportunities to improve efficiency and collaboration in a workflow. What I enjoyed most at Boom was being able to stand in the intersection of product, engineering, and design. This gives me a chance to understand the company structure and production workflow better. After months of observation, I initiated the very first design workflow review and presented the leadership ways that could make cross-functional teams collaborate better. It achieved great success, and 90% of the suggestions were taken and implemented. I have also been advocating for UX design by leading user researches, presenting new ideas, and organizing UX workshops.

• Be passionate about the problem, transparent about the process, and open to the solutions.

  One of the most important things I have learned in the workspace is that: it is not a competition where you need to prove you are the best one on the team. Instead, it is a collaboration where all team members work together to achieve the end goal. I used to take on projects that I am not good at and try to spend a lot of time solving it on my own to prove “I can do it.” However, it not only wastes my teammate’s time but also doesn’t always have the best result. I realized that it is ok to admit that “I don’t know how to do it” and seek help. Be transparent about your concerns, and be open to ideas that can benefit the company overall. In this way, you will bring the most value and efficiency to projects.

• Understand fully about the timeline, context, and requirements before start. Be visionary but also practical.

  A designer can make a perfect redesign of the whole app. But if it is launching tomorrow, it will be impossible for the engineering team to re-do everything. It is crucial to understand the constraints and needs. Make the best design for practical use, not for personal satisfaction. It will save time and energy for both sides and be efficient at the same time.

• Be proactive and get to know your colleagues. A better connection can lead to a better work experience.

  One thing that I wish I could do better is to get to know my colleagues on a personal level. During my time at Boom, I was mainly talking to my manager and 2-3 teammates on my team. One time, I reached out to our social media manager to chat about his understanding of user behavior, and I was so inspired to learn his story, insights, and daily job. It gives me a brand new perceptive of looking at our products and a more homie work experience. I deeply value the human relationship. As designers, we care about and emphasize with our users. But we also need to pay attention to and connect with teammates/people around us. Try to schedule a 1:1 meeting with someone you have never spoken with before, and you will be surprised how inspiring it is to learn each other’s stories. Take care and check in with each out during this remote working time ;)  

Thanks for viewing :)

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