ESPN
An app refresh for a trusted brand amongst sports fans.
(Client)
ESPN
(Year & Time)
2023
4 Days
(Services)
UX/UI Design, Research, User Testing
Problem
Too much content, not enough curation.
ESPN is a trusted hub for sports fans, offering an expansive range of news, stats, and updates. However, the current app experience overwhelms users with general information, making it difficult to quickly access updates about their preferred teams, players, or leagues. Users need a more personalized way to cut through the noise and get to what matters most to them.
hypothesis
By introducing a dedicated feature or homepage tailored to each user’s selected teams, leagues, and athletes, we will reduce cognitive overload and frustration. In addition, by prioritizing relevant content such as personalized news, stats, scores, and videos, the ESPN app will feel more intuitive and user-centric.
We will know this to be true through an increase in overall engagement, higher user satisfaction, and greater adoption of the personalization tools throughout the app.
Research
User testing revealed widespread dissatisfaction with the ESPN app's current customization options. Many users reported wasting time scrolling through unrelated stories to find content about their favorite teams. The existing “Favorites” tab was often overlooked or considered hard to find, and its functionality felt clunky.
Most interviewees used the app specifically to follow one or two teams, indicating a strong desire for a more direct, personalized experience.
personas
Through qualitative interviews and research, we developed two personas representing common user frustrations. Both individuals struggle to efficiently navigate the app and locate their desired content.
These personas helped us better understand user pain points and inspired a more thoughtful, simplified customization experience that delivers the clarity and focus they’ve been missing.
Garth J.
Vikings Superfan
Kennedy P.
Volleyball Lover
“I love the ESPN app, but I often get confused trying to find news and stats pertaining to my favorite team.”
Garth is a Vikings superfan who wants team updates immediately upon opening his app. He knows there are customization options within the app, but often gets confused and frustrated when trying to navigate it himself. He feels the app can be convoluted, and not user friendly for an older generation who haven't grown up with knowledge of this type of technology.
“I want a place where I can see all things volleyball without having to sift through a bunch of other sports.”
Kennedy is a former collegiate volleyball player who avidly keeps up with the sport since her departure. She gets upset with the lack of coverage and spotlight put onto women’s volleyball, and doesn’t like being bombarded with news and stats of more popular male sports. She is tired of having to search for information rather than it being upfront on her personal devices.
Needs:
A quicker, simpler way to see his personally catered news and stats
A more straight forward customization process
Needs:
Her favorite sports news highlighted
Less information about teams and sports she is not interested in
Pain Points:
Gets confused with new technology
Doesn't want to have to sift through teams to find his favorite's updates
Pain Points:
Women’s sports tend to get lost in the background
Is tired of scrolling through pages of other sports news to find her specific interests
“This feature is exactly what I need to simplify the process of finding my team's news. It's clean and concise, and much more efficient than the customization they have now.”
-Garth, Tested User
low
fidelity
Home
page
preferences
overview
Preferences
Selection
personal
news
personal
page
high
fidelity
conclusion
The majority of users felt overwhelmed by the current app layout, describing it as cluttered and impersonal. They wanted faster access to preferred content and were frustrated by how hidden or unintuitive the existing customization tools were. Our proposed solution including a tailored homepage prioritizing each user’s selected preferences addresses these concerns directly.
By putting user priorities front and center, we expect to see a rise in satisfaction, engagement, and trust in ESPN’s digital experience.
ESPN
An app refresh for a trusted brand amongst sports fans.
(Client)
ESPN
(Year & Time)
2023
4 Days
(Services)
UX/UI Design
Problem
Too much content, not enough curation.
ESPN is a trusted hub for sports fans, offering an expansive range of news, stats, and updates. However, the current app experience overwhelms users with general information, making it difficult to quickly access updates about their preferred teams, players, or leagues. Users need a more personalized way to cut through the noise and get to what matters most to them.
hypothesis
By introducing a dedicated feature or homepage tailored to each user’s selected teams, leagues, and athletes, we will reduce cognitive overload and frustration. In addition, by prioritizing relevant content such as personalized news, stats, scores, and videos, the ESPN app will feel more intuitive and user-centric.
We will know this to be true through an increase in overall engagement, higher user satisfaction, and greater adoption of the personalization tools throughout the app.
personas
Through qualitative interviews and research, we developed two personas representing common user frustrations. Both individuals struggle to efficiently navigate the app and locate their desired content.
These personas helped us better understand user pain points and inspired a more thoughtful, simplified customization experience that delivers the clarity and focus they’ve been missing.
Garth J.
Vikings Superfan
Kennedy P.
Volleyball Lover
“I love the ESPN app, but I often get confused trying to find news and stats pertaining to my favorite team.”
Garth is a Vikings superfan who wants team updates immediately upon opening his app. He knows there are customization options within the app, but often gets confused and frustrated when trying to navigate it himself. He feels the app can be convoluted, and not user friendly for an older generation who haven't grown up with knowledge of this type of technology.
“I want a place where I can see all things volleyball without having to sift through a bunch of other sports.”
Kennedy is a former collegiate volleyball player who avidly keeps up with the sport since her departure. She gets upset with the lack of coverage and spotlight put onto women’s volleyball, and doesn’t like being bombarded with news and stats of more popular male sports. She is tired of having to search for information rather than it being upfront on her personal devices.
Needs:
A quicker, simpler way to see his personally catered news and stats
A more straight forward customization process
Needs:
Her favorite sports news highlighted
Less information about teams and sports she is not interested in
Pain Points:
Gets confused with new technology
Doesn't want to have to sift through teams to find his favorite's updates
Pain Points:
Women’s sports tend to get lost in the background
Is tired of scrolling through pages of other sports news to find her specific interests
“This feature is exactly what I need to simplify the process of finding my team's news. It's clean and concise, and much more efficient than the customization they have now.”
-Garth, Tested User
“This feature is exactly what I need to simplify the process of finding my team's news. It's clean and concise, and much more efficient than the customization they have now.”
-Garth, Tested User
Research
User testing revealed widespread dissatisfaction with ESPN’s current customization options. Many users reported wasting time scrolling through unrelated stories to find content about their favorite teams. The existing “Favorites” tab was often overlooked or considered hard to find, and its functionality felt clunky.
Most interviewees used the app specifically to follow one or two teams, indicating a strong desire for a more direct, personalized experience.
low
fidelity
Home
page
preferences
overview
Preferences
Selection
personal
news
personal
page
high
fidelity
conclusion
The majority of users felt overwhelmed by the current app layout, describing it as cluttered and impersonal. They wanted faster access to preferred content and were frustrated by how hidden or unintuitive the existing customization tools were. Our proposed solution including a tailored homepage prioritizing each user’s selected preferences addresses these concerns directly.
By putting user priorities front and center, we expect to see a rise in satisfaction, engagement, and trust in ESPN’s digital experience.
ESPN
An app refresh for a trusted brand amongst sports fans.
(Client)
ESPN
(Year & Time)
2023
4 Days
(Services)
UX/UI Design
Problem
Too much content, not enough curation.
ESPN is a trusted hub for sports fans, offering an expansive range of news, stats, and updates. However, the current app experience overwhelms users with general information, making it difficult to quickly access updates about their preferred teams, players, or leagues. Users need a more personalized way to cut through the noise and get to what matters most to them.
hypothesis
By introducing a dedicated feature or homepage tailored to each user’s selected teams, leagues, and athletes, we will reduce cognitive overload and frustration. In addition, by prioritizing relevant content such as personalized news, stats, scores, and videos, the ESPN app will feel more intuitive and user-centric.
We will know this to be true through an increase in overall engagement, higher user satisfaction, and greater adoption of the personalization tools throughout the app.
personas
Through qualitative interviews and research, we developed two personas representing common user frustrations. Both individuals struggle to efficiently navigate the app and locate their desired content.
These personas helped us better understand user pain points and inspired a more thoughtful, simplified customization experience that delivers the clarity and focus they’ve been missing.
Garth J.
Vikings Superfan
“I love the ESPN app, but I often get confused trying to find news and stats pertaining to my favorite team.”
Garth is a Vikings superfan who wants team updates immediately upon opening his app. He knows there are customization options within the app, but often gets confused and frustrated when trying to navigate it himself. He feels the app can be convoluted, and not user friendly for an older generation who haven't grown up with knowledge of this type of technology.
Needs:
A quicker, simpler way to see his personally catered news and stats
A more straight forward customization process
Pain Points:
Gets confused with new technology
Doesn't want to have to sift through teams to find his favorite's updates
Kennedy P.
Volleyball Lover
“I want a place where I can see all things volleyball without having to sift through a bunch of other sports.”
Kennedy is a former collegiate volleyball player who avidly keeps up with the sport since her departure. She gets upset with the lack of coverage and spotlight put onto women’s volleyball, and doesn’t like being bombarded with news and stats of more popular male sports. She is tired of having to search for information rather than it being upfront on her personal devices.
Needs:
Her favorite sports news highlighted
Less information about teams and sports she is not interested in
Pain Points:
Women’s sports tend to get lost in the background
Is tired of scrolling through pages of other sports news to find her specific interests
“This feature is exactly what I need to simplify the process of finding my team's news. It's clean and concise, and much more efficient than the customization they have now.”
-Garth, Tested User
“This feature is exactly what I need to simplify the process of finding my team's news. It's clean and concise, and much more efficient than the customization they have now.”
-Garth, Tested User
Research
User testing revealed widespread dissatisfaction with ESPN’s current customization options. Many users reported wasting time scrolling through unrelated stories to find content about their favorite teams. The existing “Favorites” tab was often overlooked or considered hard to find, and its functionality felt clunky.
Most interviewees used the app specifically to follow one or two teams, indicating a strong desire for a more direct, personalized experience.
low
fidelity
Home
page
preferences
overview
Preferences
Selection
personal
news
personal
page
high
fidelity
conclusion
The majority of users felt overwhelmed by the current app layout, describing it as cluttered and impersonal. They wanted faster access to preferred content and were frustrated by how hidden or unintuitive the existing customization tools were. Our proposed solution including a tailored homepage prioritizing each user’s selected preferences addresses these concerns directly.
By putting user priorities front and center, we expect to see a rise in satisfaction, engagement, and trust in ESPN’s digital experience.