VegasSlotsOnline - Senior Product Designer
My focus on VSO was to explore the online product, whilst also using analytics and testimonials, to elevate the experience to focus on conversion, reducing bounce rates, and aiming to get users to play our games on site more. The role consisted of Wire-framing, UI & UX challenges, Design Systems, CRM Templates, Commercial Opportunities, Extensive Research (User, Market and Competitor), Prototyping, Testing and leading the engineering relationship with Design whilst also pitching new suggestions to stakeholders and managing expectations.
Key Responsibilities as a Senior Product Designer
Help construct a new, stronger design system for cross-team use ** whilst also following their current branding restrictions
Create a new Engineering and Design relationship and ensure that their team are also included in the full project process (the company felt this was a pain point before my position started, so it was something to assist with)
Construct a new relationship with Design and Commercial. The teams felt there were elements missing previously, to which this was then my responsibility to manage expectations for both sides, as well as create processes for regular projects (Paid Commercial Opportunities with client, CRM Assets, Pitch Decks, etc)
Create strong, detailed handover documents for the engineering team’s benefit on the numerous projects we carried out with
Lead brainstorming session with Stakeholders around elements that I believe can be improved, due to analytics, experience or research.
Key Considerations
Must learn and understand the product’s branding due to the established digital profile it already has
During the early stages, I must work together with product owners to learn the new terms and conditions/legislations that I must follow in my designs for this new industry (iGaming / Gambling)
Focus on elevating the brand’s presence, not completely changing, as there are thousands of loyal players who know and love the product as is
Ensuring that the design passes accessibility checks, whilst also being responsive, to allow users on all devices a smooth experience
Following on from the previous point, making sure that all content (Design and accessibility wise) caters to the brand’s largely older demographic
Hero Area Brand Elevation
The team at VSO were preparing to enter the engineering stage for some of the new pages, which we had elevated (Free Slots and Bonuses). The purpose of the project was to uplift the site's digital platform using new and updated assets, as well as creating a new set of components to beat the industry standard & tackle the asset upload issues at the time (Designs are below).
Reflecting on the new designs which were going into production, as well as the goal of an elevated online presence, I suggested that we should explore new ways to introduce our key information to our users. I understood that changing the site’s key branding style would impact all pages/geo’s, but I believed strongly that we could agree on a new, elevated style to impress our users and get the brand presence the product deserves
What were we doing at the time?
Across the majority of VSO, they introduced our users to our pages using either a Purple sectioned area or a white scrollable area. I suggested that we could beat the industry standard and our competitors by implementing a new hero style on our site.
We need to be aiming to match the new HD format of our assets, which were in production through the new designs. Block Colour was too safe in the industry, so I was focused on pushing the boundaries to wow our competitors, users, and most importantly, our returning customers, to elevate the product to what I believed it could be
The proposed design consisted of a noise grain motion component with a subtle animation, formed of VSO’s Black and Green brand colours. The animation has the intent to both complement and lift the content on the page, whilst also giving the impression that the platform is not just a flat design.
This elevation of our branding gave us a new, uplifting look whilst standing out from our competitors. The design is not drawing too much attention from the content, follows our vision for the future of VSO, whilst also not being too much of a drastic change that our users will not recognise the brand.
I also then tested the new designs with the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards. The contrast of the white text on both the black and Green areas of the motion graphic passes accessibility standards, which I was comfortable pitching the design knowing our older demographic is covered
