VOLO sports app

Project Prompt: Mobile app design for VOLO sports"

Client: VOLO Sports

My Role: UX/UI Designer, Researcher

Software: Figma

Responsibility: my responsibility was to enhance the user experience by simplifying the sign-up process for players. I conducted user research to identify pain points, redesigned the app’s interface for better navigation, and implemented UI/UX improvements to create a more intuitive and engaging experience.

Background

VOLO Sports is a social sports league platform that provides opportunities for adults to participate in recreational sports and social events. It offers leagues for various sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball, and kickball, fostering community engagement through friendly competition. The platform also includes an app that allows users to sign up for leagues, manage teams, track schedules, and connect with other players. VOLO Sports focuses on creating a fun, inclusive, and social experience for players of all skill levels.

To improve the user experience of the VOLO Sports app, I conducted a survey to gather feedback from players and identify key pain points. The survey revealed that users struggle with discovering pick-up games and drop-ins due to a poorly organized list. A suggested improvement is to allow users to filter by sport, making the list more manageable and easier to navigate.

To gain deeper insights into player frustrations and behaviors, I created a quadrant mapping how users feel and react while navigating the VOLO Sports app. By observing their interactions and studying their goals,

I identified patterns in their experiences—ranging from frustration with unorganized pick-up and drop-in listings to difficulties locating key features. This quadrant helped categorize user emotions, from confusion and frustration to moments of ease and satisfaction, allowing for a clearer understanding of where improvements are needed. These insights will inform design decisions aimed at optimizing the sign-up process and enhancing overall usability.

These were their comments

Discovering pick-ups and drop-ins, the list is not organized well. The best way is to choose a sport with a shorter list and venue.
Move maps, written out instead of icons, to the right side of the league and make league/daily/tournament a drop-down.
Merge the sports icons into the filter section. Make the map icon more visible by moving it away from the filter bar. Make the price information (next to the register) have larger text.

Using the insights gathered from the user survey and quadrant analysis, I began sketching several design concepts to address key pain points in the VOLO Sports app. My focus was on reorganizing the pick-up and drop-in listings, improving navigation, and refining the layout for a more intuitive experience. I explored different ways to streamline the sign-up process, enhance filtering options, and reposition key UI elements like the map and league categories. These sketches served as the foundation for refining the app’s interface, ensuring a smoother and more user-friendly experience for players.

From there, I built out the layout in Figma, incorporating new elements to improve usability. I added visual indicators to clearly show whether sign-ups were available or sold out, addressing a major issue where players struggled to find this information. Additionally, I redesigned the app’s landing screen by enlarging and spacing out buttons for better accessibility and a more user-friendly experience.

The second improvement was adding a dropdown list to better organize event types, such as pick-ups and drop-ins. This made the selection process more intuitive and ensured that users could easily filter and find the events they were looking for. By making the options clear and selectable, the app now provides a more streamlined and user-friendly experience.

Challenges Faced in the VOLO Sports App Redesign

Unorganized Event Listings – Players struggled to find pick-ups and drop-ins, requiring a more intuitive filtering system.
Lack of Sign-Up Visibility – Users couldn’t easily tell if events were available or sold out, necessitating clear visual indicators.
Landing Screen Usability – Small, crowded buttons made navigation difficult, requiring a more spacious and accessible design.
Dropdown Implementation – Organizing event types into a dropdown had to be clear, intuitive, and easy to use.
User Adaptation – Significant UI changes required careful design to ensure a smooth transition for existing users.

Through testing and iteration, these challenges were addressed to create a more user-friendly experience.

Next steps

As a growing company, there are still improvements to be made, but this redesign has set the foundation for a more user-friendly experience. Moving forward, we will continue refining the app based on user feedback, optimizing navigation, and enhancing features to ensure a seamless sign-up process. Ongoing iterations and updates will help VOLO Sports evolve into an even more intuitive platform for players.