This case study contains minimum product visuals as this is currently a pre-launch product in production. But sit back and enjoy the story.
The Project
SPEX is a multi-portal sports tech app designed to bring every corner of the athletic world under one roof. The platform blends social media, e-commerce, event scheduling, and messaging into a single ecosystem that connects athletes, teams, and fans in new ways. With ambitions that stretch from grassroots sports to professional organizations, SPEX aims to be the all-in-one digital arena where sports communities thrive.
When I joined, the team had spent months stalled in debate over the most basic deliverables. Within five months, we shifted from standstill to a working MVP — a critical milestone that set the stage for full launch. This is an ongoing project, and I continue to lead the design effort as we push through the trenches toward official release to the public.
Version History: My UX Journey with the Company
v1.0 — UX Consultant (2020 – 2024)
UX Stage: Foundation
When I joined, the project was still searching for its identity, first a fitness app, then a broader concept in sports technology. I was brought in as a consultant while I was completing my UX education, helping define product direction, user needs, and MVP feasibility.
Impact:
Conducted early user and competitor analyses to shape the app’s purpose
Introduced accessibility and UX thinking to a team still operating on aesthetics alone
Helped leadership recognize how research and strategy could guide design decisions
v2.0 — Lead UX/UI Designer & UX Manager (2025)
UX Stage: Structure
By early 2025, the CEO asked me to step in and stabilize a UX department that had stalled in endless debate. My first objective was to rebuild structure, clarity, and trust — and to establish the foundation for a true UX practice within the company.
Impact:
Implemented the company’s first design system and organized previously chaotic Figma files
Established sprint schedules, design standards, and weekly design critique sessions
Founded the company’s UX Research department, defining methods and deliverables from the ground up
Actively participated in recruiting, interviewing, and mentoring designers and researchers to expand the team
Shifted the organization’s decision-making culture from opinion-based to data-informed across both design and product
v3.0 — Director of UX (2025 – Present)
UX Stage: Scale
With the department operating smoothly, my role expanded into strategy and cross-functional leadership. I now oversee UX direction for the multi-portal platform and lead ongoing brand and naming initiatives.
Impact:
Unified product, marketing, and development under a single design vision
Directed rebranding efforts and coordinated with legal on naming and trademark strategy
Continued evolving the design system into a scalable foundation for future products
The Product Journey
The Challenge
When I took over as Lead of the UX/UI Design team, the product was drifting without structure and the UX team was struggling to move forward. The design files were overloaded and disorganized, debates over the color palette had stalled progress, and communication between design, product, and marketing was almost nonexistent. My first task was clear: bring order to the chaos so the team could finally focus on building a product worth launching.
Early Wins
Before we could design great experiences, we had to create a space where great design could actually happen. My first few weeks as Lead of UX/UI were a complete overhaul of how our team worked:
Color sanity restored. Months of internal debate over the color palette ended when I reminded the team we were UX designers, not decorators. So I conducted a user survey to let our actual users decide. The result became our official, data-backed color system that balanced accessibility, brand recognition, and visual energy. (View the survey HERE, view results HERE)
Figma: cleaned and reborn. I archived years of chaotic design history (some of it truly terrifying) and built new, organized files that loaded quickly, followed naming conventions, and were easy to navigate.
Design system established. Introduced a unified system that standardized fonts, sizing, iconography, spacing (hello, 8px grid), and reusable components, giving us consistent UI and faster design-to-dev handoffs.
Visual consistency overhaul. Ran a UI audit to document every inconsistency, then rolled out updates for typography hierarchy, button states, corner radius, and touch target specs.
Process and collaboration. Formalized design-to-dev handoffs, created dedicated feedback sessions, and built stronger communication between UX, Product, Dev, and Marketing so the left and right hands finally worked together.
“These foundational changes didn’t just make our designs cleaner, they gave our team clarity, confidence, and a shared language to move forward.”
Design System: Taming the Chaos
Our growing product needed a shared language that could scale across features, teams, and future releases. The SPEX Design System became that foundation.
Core Goals
Every designer and developer needed the same visual language. The system defined how color, typography, and components work together so design decisions became predictable and scalable.
Create Clarity
Buttons, cards, icons, and spacing now share one set of rules. The result is a product that feels cohesive across every SPEX feature, from Gear Hub to Community.
Build Consistency
Reusable components and tokenized styles cut design time in half and reduced development rework. Teams could focus on innovation instead of chasing alignment.
Work Faster
All colors, text sizes, and interactions were checked for WCAG compliance to make sure the experience works for everyone.
Stay Accessible
Component Examples from the Component Library
With the system in place, designers could build faster, developers could implement with confidence, and every new product feature felt cohesive. The design system became the single source of truth across design, product, and marketing.
How UX Thinking Led to a New Brand Identity
For years, our product shared its name with the parent company, Sports Excitement LLC. The company was running three major projects, and while the other two had their own unique names, our flagship product still operated under the parent brand. The overlap created confusion, even internally, about where the company ended and the product began.
We didn’t need a new logo. We needed a new identity.
The existing Sports Excitement logo had some design issues that I felt that needed to be updated, such as the kerning issues shown above.
During a collaborative brand session about the existing Sports Excitement logo with Luis Fernando Ribeiro, our Senior Graphic Designer, we explored visual directions for our product. That’s when a rejected logo prototype sparked the idea that changed everything.
While reviewing the design, I said offhand, “SPEX would actually make a great name for the app.” Luis stopped mid-scroll and we both had an AHA moment!. It was one of those rare moments of instant clarity. Within minutes, we were running trademark and domain searches. Everything was available.
SPEX brought clarity on every level. It created a clear distinction between the company and its flagship product. It shortened a cumbersome name into something smart, unique, and easy to recall.
Four letters, simple to spell
Reduces cognitive load and improves memorability
Distinct visual identity that fits our modern UX-driven product
Perfect for the tech landscape where short names of 4-6 letters thrive
To solidify the rebrand, I built a presentation outlining the cognitive and strategic advantages of the name change. The data, paired with the new visuals, made the case immediately clear:
SPEX wasn’t just a new name. It was a smarter identity.
SPEX logo ideation
