UI/UX
Avid Gaming
2016- 2023
UI/UX Avid Gaming 2016- 2023
Sports Interaction
In 2016, I joined the Avid Gaming team to work on Sports Interaction, a sports-book with over two decades of history and a strong reputation in Canada.
As Senior Product / UX Designer, I worked with PMs, engineers and other designers on cross-functional squads, covering end-to-end design from research and flows through to prototyping and testing. I also introduced a design system, moved the team to Figma, and ensured compliance requirements were met without compromising usability.
Sports Interaction faced several critical challenges in an increasingly competitive market
📊 Evolving interface
Years of feature additions had created a visually dense interface where users struggled to quickly scan and process betting information. The cognitive load was high, particularly impacting casual bettors who needed clear, confidence-inspiring interactions.
📱 Platform alignment
Mobile and desktop experiences had evolved separately, creating inconsistent user journeys and duplicated design efforts. Users switching between devices encountered different interaction patterns and visual languages.
🔄 Streamlining journeys
Essential user journeys—bet placement, banking, account management—were functional but cumbersome. Each extra step or unclear interaction represented potential revenue loss and user frustration.
🚀 Competitive momentum
Well-funded global competitors were rapidly innovating with modern interfaces, generous bonuses, and unique game features. Sports Interaction needed to modernize while maintaining their reputation for trustworthiness and reliability.
Cleaner, flatter UI that reduces noise
We streamlined and modernised the site, removing unnecessary noise and making key views easier to scan. Critical areas like banking and responsible gaming were simplified so they felt clearer and more actionable.
Impact: Clearer layouts improved scanability and helped drive higher completion rates for critical flows.
Establishing Design Foundations
I spearheaded the creation of a comprehensive design system with reusable components, design tokens, and Figma adoption across the team, moving from ad-hoc decisions to systematic design at scale.
Impact: Reduced design-to-development time by 40%, eliminated visual inconsistencies across 3+ product areas.
Seamlessly adapting to every device
We transitioned from separate mobile and desktop builds to a single responsive layout with clear breakpoints, creating a consistent experience across devices. This not only improved usability on every screen size but also reduced maintenance overhead and sped up feature delivery.
Impact : Reduced development time significantly and eliminated user confusion when switching devices.
Smarter, context-aware betting
Our team reworked the bet card so options and required inputs appear only when relevant. This reduced confusion for less experienced users while keeping power features available for advanced bettors. Micro-interactions such as above for our Piñata Pick feature - subtly enhance our site, bringing character and emotion.
Impact : The redesigned bet card reduced confusion for new users, supported smoother bet placement, and created space for new features.
A brand new type of game
I was the sole designer for a new hybrid product that brought casino-style excitement into sports-book markets: users pick minutes in a game and odds adapt dynamically based on selections and live events. The first release focused on essential elements and clear onboarding to reduce drop-off; we added tutorials and contextual cues after user testing.
Impact : Increased conversions, enhanced player engagement, and generated industry recognition while successfully cross-selling casino products.
For the fans.
Lead designer for a companion site for stats, guides and interactive odds that served users and improved SEO. We embedded conversion funnels (e.g., an odds widget that populates the main site bet card) so readers could convert with one click. This helped surface betting tools to new users and improved sign-up funnels.
Impact: Drove user acquisition and conversions through integrated design that reduced conversion friction and improved organic discoverability.
The toolkit to tackle these challenges
🔍 Research & Discovery
Reviewed analytics, ran workshops, and spoke with users to understand pain points around betting, banking, and onboarding.
✏️ Define & Ideate
Framed problems into design challenges, mapped user journeys, and created low-fidelity flows and wireframes.
🧪 Prototyping & Testing
Built interactive Figma prototypes to validate key flows like bet placement and onboarding, refining through usability tests.
🚀 Delivery & Scaling
Rolled solutions into a design system, supported dev handoff, and ensured consistency across desktop and mobile.
Outcomes
- Created a reusable design system, reducing bugs and improving consistency.
- Delivered a compliant Ontario product within tight deadlines.
- Simplified the bet card, improving accessibility for new users.
- Developed novelty features and a refreshed brand style that stood out.
- Introduced “SIA Originals” to group new features under a strong identity.
- Sports Interaction was acquired by Entain in 2022 for $300M.
What Was Learnt
- Proving value with one small win built support for the design system.
- Compliance pressure sharpened focus and prioritisation.
- Positioning the product as fun-first worked in a less mature market.
- Listening to both customers and internal teams uncovered key pain points.
- Aligning marketing and design turned features into brand strengths.
Looking Ahead
- Introduce predictive elements into the bet card experience.
- Expand novelty and hybrid games to keep the product distinct.
- Personalise the interface further to simplify for each user type.
- Carry design system practices into future products for scalability.
- Keep evolving the visual brand with bold, distinctive illustration.