Designing a Fan-First Experience

Role

UI & Interaction designer

Timeline

May 2025 - June 2025

Tools

Figma

Deliverables

Interactive Prototype, Visual Design

Overview

I designed a prototype for a unified fan hub that channels the energy of social media and the depth of college-football analytics into one cohesive experience. From live game chats and dynamic message boards to personalized team hubs and recruiting dashboards, CFB Lately redefines how fans experience the sport online—bringing community, conversation, and insight together in one place.

The Opportunity

Fans of college football rely on a patchwork of platforms: recruiting websites for stats, forums for discussion, social media for reactions, scoreboards for updates. There’s no single place that offers both community and context.

CFB Lately is a prototype that merges real-time social interaction, data depth, and personalized content — giving fans one seamless experience tailored to their team.

My Role & Goals

As Lead UI Designer, I produced the full visual and interaction prototype, including logo and brand system, and translated client insights into a coherent, developer-ready UI.

Goals:

  • Demonstrate how social + stats + chatter can live in harmony

  • Provide a clear design blueprint for future build

  • Establish a distinct, scalable brand voice

Design Approach

  1. Define structure — Sketch flows (sign-up, feed, chat, recruiting) to map interactions.

  2. Wireframe fast — Test core layouts and navigation before adding polish.

  3. Brand & UI direction — Bold, clean, with cues from college football (stripes, helmets, field lines), tempered with modern minimalism.

4. Prototype & iterate — Build interaction demos in Figma; refine based on feedback (client and peers) around readability, thread UI, search, and responsiveness.

  • Feed & Home: Infinite scroll with trending / latest / following toggles

  • Live Chat + Scoreboard: Real-time messaging synced with live game data

  • Message Boards: Card-style threads, collapsible replies, tagging, search filters

  • Recruiting Dashboard: Tabbed views, searchable player database, class comparisons

  • Team Hub / Personalization: All modules adapt based on favorite team

  • Auth & Onboarding: Effortless sign-up + team selection to seed content

Challenges & resolution

  • Balancing data vs social energy — Modular sections let users collapse or expand deep stats

  • Modernizing forums without losing structure — Combined Reddit-style threading with card UI and mobile-first layout

  • Delivering personalization without friction — Smart onboarding and default views based on team choice

Key screens & features

Outcome & next steps

I delivered a polished Figma prototype with annotated specs and brand assets. The client response was positive — they immediately saw the vision of a fan-first hub.

Moving forward: mobile native versions, AI-scored recruiting alerts, deeper analytics dashboards, and phase-by-phase development.

CFB Lately is a concept, but one with the ambition to change how fans experience college football — social, engaged, and data-rich — all in one place.

other work.