Fanatics Live Case Study
Year / Platform 2023 - 2024 iOS & Web
Role: Sr. Product Designer ( End-to-End UX / Prototyping / Interaction Design / Usability Testing / Ideation
Rapid Innovation in a Dynamic Market:
In the rapidly evolving world of sports memorabilia and card collecting, the need for agile and innovative technology solutions is paramount. This case study details my journey at Fanatics Live, where I spearheaded the design and launch of five key features for their iOS app, all within the first six weeks of my tenure. This project not only demanded speed and adaptability but also required a deep dive into the niche market of sports card breaking and collecting which was new to most of our team.
Background
Fanatics Live, a burgeoning player in the sports memorabilia industry, sought to create a digital presence in the iOS market. The objective was to develop an app that would resonate with the unique needs of card collectors and breakers. As a new addition to the team, with just a week's exposure to the company and its market, I faced the formidable task of designing these features under an incredibly tight deadline.
Challenges
Rapid Assimilation: Understanding the intricate market of card collecting and sports card breaking within a limited timeframe.
Speedy Execution: Designing and delivering five critical features in just five weeks.
Cross-Team Collaboration: Working with engineering teams across different time zones, mainly Amsterdam and China.
User Testing: No tools to validate our design ideas before development.
Process: No design process, product vision or true plan of attack.
New Team: Brand new design, product and engineering teams.
Creating a vision to work from
Since we lacked a clear vision for the product and its potential, I decided to explore how we could shape the app and think through the necessary steps for its development. This was a way for me to wrap my head around the possibilities and potential needs. I wanted a starting point to work from.



How will buyers find shows?
One of the most important views in the app was the show feed, serving as the central hub for buyers to discover and engage with shows and leagues of interest, and to initiate participation in breaks. Initially, the requirement was to present a list of upcoming shows and live shows using a 2x2 card layout. The directive was to emulate the functionality of the WhatNot app, the prominent player within our industry.
Initial Requirement:
Design a view where users can easily discover and access a catalog of current and upcoming shows, using a 2x2 card grid similar to Whatnot's interface.
Design Output:
2x2 Cards with Rail
Hero Carousel
League Filter
For You: During the onboarding process, buyers are prompted to indicate the teams they are interested in. Based on their selection, all relevant shows would be displayed to provide immediate satisfaction and strive to meet their expectations.
Bonus Idea
Live Topics: One idea that I found intriguing is the possibility of introducing a topics feature that enables buyers to engage in discussions about leagues, players, and other subjects of interest to them. The concept wasn't initially planned, but since our auction feature already included a live chat experience, I thought we could make use of that and develop a topics forum using the same functionality. We just needed to design the front end user experience.
Disagree & Commit
Although the Topics concept was originally beyond the initial scope I had a strong belief that we needed something to keep buyers in our app before and after a purchase. There was significant interest in the idea from both the development and product teams. In response, I put on my PM hat and created a PRFAQ to explore how we could viably implement it with minimal effort.
After reviewing the PRFAQ with our engineering group we decided to keep it in our back pocket and focus on the initial features necessary for launch. Which was the right move.
Iterative Exploration
After exploring various options and iterating through different design concepts, I narrowed it down to a few hybrid versions that incorporate elements and ideas from my previous iterations.
USER feedback
User testing plays a vital role in my design process. It gives me valuable feedback from real people outside our immediate circles. Even without dedicated testing tools, I was determined to gather this data to keep our design free from group bias and personal opinions. By making user testing a regular part of my design process, I always gain real insights that help make better design decisions and create experiences that truly meet users' needs.
After collecting feedback from several preliminary wireframes, I developed three versions that prioritized the most intuitive elements, which testers grasped immediately.
Launch & Learn
Given the constraints of my timeline and the need to design the experience of Profiles, Search, Activity Center, and Direct Messaging, we decided to conduct A/B testing on Mock 2 and 3. These mockups were chosen because they aligned closely with the original requirements and were the most feasible to develop alongside the other features.
Measuring Performance
After conducting A/B testing on the Show Feed, we discovered that Mock 3 showed significantly better performance, with a 10% increase in transitioning from feed view to show view compared to Mock 2. It effectively drove more users to engage with shows.
Diving into Analytics
Improvements
Tapped through rates on “View All” were quite dismal at 0.6%.
Hero cards had higher tap through rates than the 2x2 cards which meant fans missed additional content and upcoming shows.
Our original assumption was that users would scroll to find content but this was not the case instead they focused on whatever they saw first.
Wins
Conversion rates from the show feed to Live shows was 86.4%
App Store rating was 5 stars
Daily active users consistently grew
Outcome
The show feed has been instrumental in helping our users discover live shows that align with their interests, leading to increased purchases for our sellers. As we evolved, we began incorporating additional content for users to interact with, which not only provided a new way for users to make purchases without having to watching shows.