LIV Golf Digital Design Intern
The rundown
I joined LIV Golf at an uncertain time for the company. That uncertainty ended up working in my favor, it gave me room to take on more than an intern usually gets. I left with lessons in design, and in how a corporate team actually operates.
The Project
The Live Event Hub
The main project I tackled over the summer was the Live Event Hub. I contributed to the UX strategy, helped define what the leaderboard intelligence should look like, and shaped the personalization framework. I worked with two other product designers, alongside the whole product team.
The Problem
Accurate, and completely mute
The leaderboard gives you names and numbers, and nothing else. Nothing tells you who just birdied the last four holes, or who dropped 8 spots after a great start. On TV the announcers fill that in. Online, you are on your own.
Wherever they are
Fans can check in on the Live Event Hub from anywhere, being able to access from both mobile and desktop.
Insights from the PRD
Fans want more than the data. They want the story it implies.
The story is there, just behind all the data. There was no need to add more information, we just needed to personalize the way fans follow an event, wherever they are.
“For fans, it should feel like following a live sporting event through BBC Sport or Cricinfo rather than repeatedly refreshing a leaderboard.” - PRD
“The next generation leaderboard should explain why it happened, what it means, and what is likely to happen next.” - PRD
Planning Phase
Looking at what already worked
None of this is new. We started by looking at what already worked for platforms across the web. What did they do well? What parts stood out? From there I worked out which pieces to carry forward to the next stage of the design.
The solution
What I solved
Leaderboard intelligence to tell a 3-hole story. Personalization to decide who and what you want at the top of your feed. A dual-scrolling news section, with main stories and the teams you like.
3-Hole Story
See what just happened
Tuning in for a quick glance while at your kid’s baseball game? See how the top performers on the leaderboard are playing through the last 3 holes.
Following
Keep up with your team
Have a team you support throughout the season? Let’s make sure you can see where the team sits on the leaderboard, and how its players are doing.
News
Two feeds, one place
LIV constantly has stories coming out about tournaments, players, and teams. Keeping up with all of it is a hassle. In the Live Event Hub, the dual-scrolling news and following sections fix that.
The Result
Not pushed
The CTO backed the direction, but nothing shipped, the company’s state was uncertain. The work will hopefully be there for the new business model with LIV 2.0.
Other Creative Work
Digital Marketing Campaigns
Alongside the product work, I worked with the digital marketing team to promote ticket sales for the LIV Golf NY event. I created assets that ran across paid social and display.
Video
Video for the New York event
I created several kinds of video creative — player spotlights, quick shorts, and promotional pieces. Working with the head of promos and a motion designer, I turned briefs around same-day.
Static
Directing the static campaign
Along with video, I led creative direction on static assets. I wrote and produced the briefs the graphic designers executed against.
Takeaways
What I learned this summer.
The small things matter at this level. In school, and at the smaller companies I worked for, the finished piece mainly had to look good. Here, it had to perform. My work was being seen by millions, and every person sees a tiny error a professor might only note, not mark me down for. This changed how I work. I hadn’t ever used large design systems before this. By the end they were the something that helped me, not constrained me like before.