LEAGUE
LEADERS
Role(s): UX/UI Design
Duration: 6 Weeks
Year: 2023
DETAILS
“Design a peer-to-peer platform that will re-engage young people that are currently disengaged or unmotivated with physical activity.”
PROJECT BRIEF
Efficiently lead a team of five throughout the 6 week project and hosted workshops with the client.
Our designs were integral to the charity securing further government funding.
We designed a co-creation platform, where young minds are empowered to embrace their creativity and be active on their own terms, while earning rewards for further motivation and inspiration.
THE SOLUTION
UX:
> Primary Research
> Secondary Research
> Data Synthesis
> Persona Building
> Empathy Mapping
> Experience Mapping
> Storyboarding
UI:
> Design Workshops
> Service Design
> UI Wireframe
> Usability Testing
> Information Architecture
> High Fidelity UI Designs
Skills:
> Presenting
> Pitching
> Team Leadership
> Hosting Workshops
DELIVERED
PROCESS
QUALITATIVE & QUANTITIVE RESEARCH
Stakeholder Interview > Surveys > Interviews > Secondary Research > Competitors
> 94 responses to 3 different surveys
> 56 interviews across 2 weeks
> 1,000+ Data Points
> 500+ Rapidly ideated designs
> 36 Usability tests
League Leaders is a sport, education and citizenship charity. Being active AND being creative are key to the concept.
The three areas of focus are:
> Fitness Fundamentals
> Improving Lives
> Creating Futures
There are three main groups to explore:
> 11-18 year olds
> 19-25 year olds
> Parents / Teachers / Guardians
BACKGROUND RESEARCH
PARTNERS
We found that reasons for inactivity in young people stemmed from:
> Bad experiences from primary school
> Peer pressure
> Identity conflict and lack of body confidence
> Unflattering uniforms
> Boys dominating classes making girls feel left out and anxious
> Competition is stressful and creates pressure
> Lack of teacher support at school
Government Guidelines:
“Moderate activity will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you're working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing.”
DESKTOP RESEARCH
COMPETITORS
GoNoodle
Videos for elementary school kids that focus on movement, mindfulness, and self-discovery.
> Targeted at young children
> No creativity/content creation for user
> UI is very loud
Happify
Happify’s science-based activities and games can help reduce stress, overcome negative thoughts, and build greater resilience by providing effective tools and programs to improve emotional well-being.
> Targeted to an older audience
> Some content is not free
> Content can be less digestible than other products
USER RESEARCH
Age: 11-18 years old
User Goal: Content creation and fitness
Survey Insights: 82% wished they were more physically active, and the most significant reasons preventing them from engaging in more physical activity was lack of confidence and time.
Interview Insights:
> Mental health is not taught properly
> Lack of confidence, being self-conscious and mixed-sex teams were the biggest barriers
> Too embarrassed to try something new
> Having to commit to a sport was quite time-consuming
> They didn't want to have to wake up early on their days off school
> Semantics of fitness are off-putting
Age: 19-25 years old
User Goal: Fitness , seeing friends and employability
Survey Insights: 24% said they do not do anything for their mental health. 63% said they were open to learning new skills.
Interview Insights:
> Lack of time for working out with a busy work and social schedule
> Lack of motivation and feeling lazy
> Ability level affects confidence
> The intense competitive nature of physical activity can be off-putting
> Working out in front of others at the gym is intimidating
> Some people felt more motivated going with friends
> Most people feel worried about finding a job. They feel like imposters
Age: 35 years old+
User Goal: Leading by example
Survey Insights: 41% were concerned with their child’s physical or mental health
Interview Insights:
> Positive role models are important
> Leading by example is the most effective technique
> Using positive reinforcement for motivation helps with habit-forming
> Creative skills should be encouraged more. They have real life applications (eg. public speaking)
> Small goals are more achievable and therefore more engaging
> Lack of variety means a lot of young people can’t find a physical activity that they enjoy and are often ‘pushed aside’ or forgotten
“I hate running into people I know when I’m gross and sweaty”
Female, 22, London
“It’s good to go to the gym with someone because I can’t cancel on them but I can easily cancel on myself”
Female, 25, London
“Fixing physical health is easier than mental health”
Male, 53, Nottingham
“I’m confident when I'm good at the sport, but not confident when there are better players than me”
Male, 16, London
“I don't want to play in the rain!”
Female, 13, London
It became clear that the brief was too wide for an MVP, and would struggle to gain early traction. Our early personas needed to be refined to strengthen the concept. Our final personas can be seen on the right.
Removed:
> Teacher Persona and Flow
> Parent Persona and Flow
Added:
> The ‘Hero’ Persona and Flow
Edited:
> Ben - Restructured and now our personas accurately represent all MVP uses cases
PERSONAS
> Ben is now a creator, not a consumer
> Bens main goals are to expand on his employability skills
> We added a ‘Hero’, someone like Sam Kerr, Marcus Rashford or Anthony Joshua
> League Leaders have access to ‘celebrity’ sports people
> The ‘Hero’ can offer challenges, prizes, promotion and inspiration
WHAT HAS CHANGED?
TESTING
Evolution from wireframe screens, to high fidelity designs
USABILITY TESTS & WORKSHOPS
> 36 Usability tests of wireframes
> 5 different user flows tested
> 2 hour stakeholder design workshop
STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP
The purpose of stakeholder workshop was:
> To get early validation from the League Leaders team where applicable
> To discuss the website styling for hifi designs (after wireframes)
> Clarification on any questions we have. eg:
> What sort of prizes we can offer
> Type of ‘influencers’ for the platform
> Increasing the user age from 11-13
Each pile of paper represents a different user flow that we presented to the stakeholder
After it had become clear that the brief was too wide for an MVP, my startup experience kicked in and we cut the concept back in order to create an attractive proposition for funding. This was communicated to the stakeholder who agreed.
KEY FINDINGS
> Gamification - Restructured the points and incentives inline with final user goals
> Safeguarding - Raised age to 13 in line with other platforms
EDITS
> A focus on mental health
> A focus on nutrition
> Desktop flows
REMOVALS
DELIVERY
With the new personas, we are able to more accurately represent all uses cases for our MVP:
> We have Avani who enjoys creating content but is shy in person
> Alice, who is a passive consumer of digital content
> Ben who likes actively creating and staying fit
> Finally, the hero, who can inspire others to get active
GAMIFICATION
CONTENT = POINTS = PRIZES
USES CASES & USER GOALS
Some screens from the extra-gamified flow after testing and edits
Tier 1 Rewards (money can’t buy):
> Q+As
> Talks / Panel Discussions
> Clubhouse Events
> Internships and Work Experience
> Workshops
> Advisors / Mentors
> Office Tours
PRIZES & REWARDS
Tier 1 Sectors:
> Sports People
> Sport Science
> Sport Psychology
> Advertising
> Operations
> Marketing
> PR
> Design / Branding
> Fashion Design
> Retail
> Game Design
> Coaching
Tier 2 Rewards (social experiences):
> Mini-golf
> Ice Skating
> Horse Riding
> Venue Memberships
> Driving Range
> Theme Parks
> Water Sports
> Paintball
> Laser Tag
> Cooking Lessons
> Discounts
Tier 3 Rewards (equipment and merchandise):
> Balls
> Rackets and Bats
> Sportswear / Athleisure Wear
> Stickers / Keyrings
OPPORTUNITY AREAS & RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are the areas I have suggested the client focus on over the next 6 months. Some are platform suggestions and some are strategy suggestions.
> Flows for sponsors
> Sign up / log in flow
> Flow for uploading rewards
> Parental resources
> Desktop version (for parents, teachers and young people with limited access to tech)
> Safeguarding for under 13s
> Introducing social media APIs
> Desktop website for discovery
> Filters on videos
> Secure partnerships
> Brands to work directly with influencers to offer prizes and incentivise influencers with brand exposure
> Content guidelines
> Review CMO guidelines
A full fun through video of the League Leaders app. Skip forward to 2:42 to see Bens flow
REFLECTION
Reflecting on the League Leaders project two months later, I’m more aware of the challenges that stemmed from the client's limited availability, which hindered progress. I regret not recognising the need to streamline the project earlier, resulting in wasted time.
Our Tinder-style swipe concept could have been executed more effectively, and I see potential in doubling down on this idea in future iterations. Simplifying the game by removing the ‘voting’ flow could have decluttered the concept. Additionally, providing example games for the app's content upon delivery would have been beneficial and something I’ll consider for the future (being more interactive in delivery).
Despite these observations, I am proud of the work. The project's broad and complex nature demanded considerable effort to isolate its core concept, and we ultimately delivered a product I am happy with.