TL;DR
I led the redesign of Matthew Berry's high-speed fantasy sports app with over 300K users, creating a modular design system that improved clarity without sacrificing performance. The new UI supported future features like betting tools while preserving the fast, alert-driven experience users loved. The redesign helped position the app for successful acquisition by Betsperts Media.
Impact & Results
A cleaner, faster UI that made it easier to access core features under pressure.
A modular design system that supported future features (like betting integrations).
Positive feedback from users highlighting the improved flow and usability.
Positioned the app for acquisition by Betsperts Media, where it was rebranded and relaunched.
Situation
The Fantasy Life App had a loyal base of over 300,000 users, known for delivering lightning-fast fantasy sports alerts. While beloved for speed and insider content, the app’s UI was outdated,
Problem
The company was preparing to roll out major new features, but the current design was dated. The challenge: modernize the UI without slowing down performance or losing the fast, direct experience users valued.
Solution
I led the visual redesign and developed a clean modular design, balancing design flexibility with speed and clarity:
- Created a modular card system for breaking alerts, tools, and editorial content
- Simplified visual hierarchy to reduce decision fatigue and streamline live-game navigation
- Maintained lean visuals to avoid performance drag
- Collaborated with product and dev to ensure seamless integration without bottlenecks
- Retained the app’s user-driven identity while improving usability and layout consistency
Before
Before UI w/ Updated App Store Background
Final App Store Background
Redesigned UI
Learning
This project reinforced that clean design isn’t just about aesthetics. Design always comes second to functionality.
Effective design focuses on comprehension before decoration.
I learned how to build structure that could scale and adapt without losing the character that made the app special in the first place.
Constraints
Small, high-velocity team (devs, PO, CEO, COO)
No time for formal process, I led with high-res mockups to jumpstart collaboration
Worked iteratively: icon system → Pick'em feature → cards and layout
Used my own streamlined design system for rapid handoff and consistency
Navigation Icon Exploration
I kicked off the actual redesign by focusing on the top navigation bar, a high-visibility, low-risk area ideal for quick iteration. Working with a small, fast-moving dev team, I knew it was important to build early momentum without overwhelming engineering.
To do that, I delivered a series of icon options for each nav item, grounding them in both user expectations and visual clarity. We gathered quick feedback, narrowed to the strongest set, and shipped the update as a standalone improvement.
This approach gave us an early win, improved UX immediately, and created space for deeper system-wide changes. It set the tone for a collaborative, modular redesign where each small step moved us toward a clearer, more scalable app.
Final Icons
Pick-Em Chat & Betting Additions
Fantasy Life App: Designing in the Wild (Literally)