Sports IllustratedVault

January 2015–January 2016

Problem

Sports Illustrated’s rich 53-year history was locked away behind a rushed, search-gated product that placed undue burden on of users.

Solution

Completely revamp the Vault to bring delight and serendipity back into the experience, allowing people to both rediscover their favorite stories and uncover new classics — an experience that would resonate with our lifelong subscribers and a new generation of sports fans alike.

My Role

Cover Wall

Sports Illustrated's covers capture some of the most iconic moments in sports from the last half century. We made sure covers were central to the Vault experience.

Data Informed Design

After looking through Vault search data, I found that search terms were falling into one of two main categories: searches for teams and searches for players. Using this data, we decided to pre-seed some of these terms when the search field was focused to give people ideas of where to begin diving into the Vault.

Style Tiles and Personas

As the lead UX designer on the project, I introduced the team to styles tiles and personas as complementary discover methods to uncover unique visual explorations and user flows throughout a person's Vault experience.

Prototyping Screen Flow

I decided to experiment with our internal stakeholder review process, attempting to infuse it with new life by presenting screen flow prototypes instead of static comps. The immediacy of interacting with these wireframes on a device helped to prevent reviews from devolving into backseat pixel pushing. Instead, we began to have more meaningful conversations about the end-to-end experience and how we could focus our energies on creating as seamless and as delightful an experience as possible.