AthleteX is a peer-to-peer platform for discovering in-person sports activities anytime, anywhere. Users can explore, share, and invite friends to join them in creating unforgettable memories through the joy of sports. What sets AthleteX apart is the ability for users to effortlessly create and share their own sports activities with others.

Our team of three UX designers aimed to create a simple and engaging experience that makes it easy for people to get together and stay active. We focused on helping users quickly find nearby games or set up their own, with features that support easy planning, sharing, and participation.

Project Overview

Team

Group of 3

Role

UX/UI Designer

Tools

Figma, Photoshop & Canva, Open AI, google Form

FINAL DESIGN

DESIGN PROCESS

Business Goals

• Establish a user-friendly website to enable easy discovery and access to various sports activities from any location.

• Empower users to create their own sports activities effortlessly.

• Encourage user engagement by providing convenient navigation, and motivating both sharing and attendance of activities.

People interested in broadening their social circles through sports-related interactions

Athletes looking to create and share their activities with others

Individuals seeking diverse sports activities to join

Understanding Who We’re Designing For

We concentrated on designing the website for the first two target groups

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To understand the users' pain points and develop effective solutions, we employed a comprehensive research approach that consisted of the following methods:

• Competitive Analysis: Identified gaps and standout features from other platforms to inform our design’s differentiation.

• Online Survey:Collected quick feedback on user preferences and motivations to validate feature priorities.

• Interview: Dug deeper into individual users' needs and pain points to inform meaningful design decisions.

Let’s Walk Through the Journey to the Final Design

What Are Our Competitors — Both Direct and Indirect — Doing?

In the initial phase, we started by identifying sports websites with similar objectives to gain a clearer understanding of the essential features of our design. We conducted a thorough analysis of these platforms to grasp their overall structure and functionalities, providing valuable insights for our own design process.

Additionally, we expanded our scope to include platforms like Airbnb and Meetup, recognizing that their designs could also inform the development of our website. By examining these diverse platforms, we ensured that our design encompasses all the necessary elements to deliver a seamless and engaging user experience.

Above, we outlined the key aspects that influenced our design

Connecting with Users to Understand Their Views

To deepen our understanding of user preferences, we conducted a brief survey and collected insights from 54 respondents. Below are some key insights:

As indicated above, we determined that users expressed a desire to be informed about the age and gender of other attendees in activities. Consequently, we integrated small pie charts within the activity descriptions to provide users with a quick summary of the average age and gender contribution for each activity.

We aimed to address the top demands and preferences of users by implementing key features on the website, including:

- Simplified activity search functionality.

- Integration allowing users to add events to their calendar after attending.

- Capability for users to browse others' profiles and activity history.

- Ability for users to create and share activities with friends.

Next, We Engaged in Individual Talks to Dig Deeper into Their Experiences

The interviews with 8 people from our survey participants, provided valuable insights emphasizing the importance of providing detailed activities information and developing trust among participants. Specifically, users prioritize access to details such as organizers’ activity history and locations to make informed decisions and feel confident about attending an activity.

Some quotes mentioned by people in interviews:

"the photo posted by the host was the reason for my trust"

"age gap matters to me"

"I’d like to know about the previous organizer’s activities"

"knowing the level of activities’ difficulty is very important to me"

"a detailed description of the activity is really important"

"some sports events are too crowded because they don’t indicate the number of attendees"

Top Takeaways from Our Research

• Trust through Information: Users prioritize having comprehensive details about both organizers and activity specifics to feel confident in joining an activity.

• Desire for Social Engagement: Users express interest in having a social network feature integrated into the platform, which would encourage greater engagement among participants.

• Simplified Activity Search: Users emphasize the importance of a simplified and comprehensive search function, especially considering the dynamic nature of events being created and deleted by organizers.

Outlining the User Flow from Start to Finish

In designing the user flow, our aim was to find a hiking activity and then invite a friend.

Sketching Concepts to Visualize the Interface in Action

We started by sketching low-fidelity wireframes by hand, which helped us share ideas and align as a team in the early stages of design. As the concept evolved, we moved into Figma to build digital low-fidelity wireframes, allowing us to shape page structure and overall direction. These wireframes went through multiple rounds of refinement before we finalized the content.

Creating Tailored Solutions Based on Users' Needs

Challenges:

Solutions:

Enhance user trust to encourage greater participation in activities.

Developing a fast and effective activity search method.

We found that "Activity, Location, and Time" are the most useful search criteria for activities. Additionally, users can easily select activities by typing or choosing from diverse categories and regions.

The extensive list of activities makes it difficult to cover them all thoroughly.

Since activities are frequently created and removed, there's no need to list them all. Users can easily search for specific activities using the main search bar.

Developing engagement for users.

Enable users to personalize their profiles by choosing background images, saving favourite activities, and following friends.

Demonstrating the age and gender of participants.

We added pie charts showing the typical ages and genders of participants to the activities page description.

Mention attendee numbers for upcoming activities.

Enable users to view profiles, including activity history.

Challenges:

Solutions:

Challenges:

Solutions:

Challenges:

Solutions:

Challenges:

Solutions:

Creating a Moodboard to Guide the Creative Direction

We were inspired by how group sports activities bring people together, fostering joy and new friendships. We aimed to infuse these positive vibes into our design to motivate users and make them feel more courageous about joining in.

Conducting Usability Tests and Refining the Design for Better Flow

Throughout the project, we went through multiple iterations, driven by the insights we gained from usability tests. These tests were instrumental in shaping our decisions and constantly enhancing our project.

Finalizing and Delivering the Page Layouts

Landing Home page

Home page/ After login

Search result

Profile page

Upcoming activity description

Friends' upcoming activities

Friends' profile

Map/ After login

Profile/ Upcoming activities

Turning Wireframes into an Interactive Prototype

Here is the last prototype, displaying what we've achieved through our design process.

What I Learned and How I Grew During This Project

This project showed me how trust and clarity play a key role in encouraging people to take part in activities. Even small changes in design and the way information is presented can have a big impact on user confidence and overall experience.

Working through multiple feedback rounds pushed me to adjust flows, refine the search experience, and rethink how events were presented. In the end, the goal wasn’t just to list activities, but to make joining one feel simple, safe, and exciting.

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