Linx League

My Role:

Project lead

UI/UX Lead Designer

UX Researcher

Brand Designer

Tools:

XD

Illustrator

Timeline:

September 2018 - December 2019

App Creation

Linx League is a unique golf league app designed to reconnect golfers with local competitors while tracking progress and providing national rankings. The app aims to blend traditional golfing competition with modern technology, creating an engaging platform for golf enthusiasts.

Process

01. RESEARCH

  1. Competitor Analysis: Rationale: Understanding the existing market helps identify gaps and opportunities. Design Impact: This research informed unique features that could set Linx League apart from other golf apps.

  2. Market Research for Inspiration: Looking beyond direct competitors can bring fresh ideas to the golf app space. This broader perspective influenced the app's visual design and feature set, ensuring it feels modern and appealing to tech-savvy golfers.

  3. Persona Research: Clearly defining the target user is crucial for creating a relevant and user-friendly app. Understanding the potential users (e.g., casual golfers, competitive players, various age groups) shaped the app's complexity, feature prioritization, and interface design.


02. DESIGN

  1. Extensive Wireframing: Thorough wireframing ensures the app's functionality is well-thought-out before visual design begins.

    a. This step helped optimize user flows, ensuring that key features like score tracking and rankings were intuitive and easily accessible.

  2. Brand and Design System Creation: A consistent brand and design system is crucial for creating a professional, cohesive user experience.

    a. This system ensured visual consistency across the app, reinforcing the Linx League brand and making the app feel polished and trustworthy.

  3. Investor Prototype: A prototype is essential for demonstrating the app's potential to investors.

    a. This step focused on showcasing key features and the unique value proposition of Linx League, potentially influencing which aspects of the app were highlighted or further developed based on investor feedback.

  4. Key Design Decisions:

Social Integration: Incorporating features that allow users to connect with local golfers, addressing the 'linking up with local golfers' aspect of the app's mission.

Competitive Elements: Designing a ranking system that's both local and national, catering to different levels of competitiveness among users.

Progress Tracking: Creating intuitive visualizations for tracking individual progress over time, encouraging continued engagement with the app.

Accessibility: Ensuring the app is usable for a wide range of ages and tech-savviness levels, given the diverse nature of the golfing community.

Gamification: Incorporating elements of gamification to make the experience engaging and motivate continued use.

Data Visualization: Designing clear and appealing ways to display rankings and statistics, making the competitive aspect of the app immediately understandable and engaging.

Offline Functionality: Considering that golf courses may have limited connectivity, designing features that can work offline and sync when connected.

03. PROTOTYPE

  1. User Journey and Workflow Testing: Ensuring the app is intuitive for everyday users is crucial for adoption and retention. Design Impact: This testing likely led to refinements in navigation, feature placement, and overall user experience.

Conclusion

This approach demonstrates a user-centered design process that balances the traditional aspects of golf with modern app design principles. The extensive research phase ensures that the app is grounded in user needs and market opportunities. The iterative design process, moving from wireframes to a full prototype, allows for refinement of ideas and user flows.

The focus on creating a comprehensive design system shows foresight in building a scalable, consistent product. This is particularly important for an app that aims to engage users over time and potentially expand its feature set.

Overall, the design process for Linx League seems geared towards creating an app that not only serves its functional purpose of tracking golf leagues but also creates an engaging, social experience that keeps users coming back to the platform.