PLAYSTUDIOS

UI - Creative Direction & Visual Design

DISCIPLINES

As a Creative Director at Playstudios, my primary focus is on branding and marketing. In marketing, I devise and execute visually compelling campaigns that resonate with our audience. In branding, I own the visual identity for the entire playAWARDS, including the UI team, ensuring that every design element aligns with our brand's identity and maintains a high standard of quality and consistency.

A significant aspect of my role in marketing is CRM. One of my key tools in achieving this is Figma, which I use extensively to build and refine all of our CRM communications and digital marketing templates. This involves creating and maintaining style guides and design systems. By leveraging Figma's collaborative features, I streamline the design process, facilitating seamless communication and collaboration within the team.

My role demands a keen eye for detail, a deep understanding of brand aesthetics, and the ability to translate complex ideas into clear, actionable designs. Through my leadership and creative direction, I ensure that every project not only meets but exceeds our brand's visual and functional standards, delivering a cohesive and impactful user experience.

THE REWARDS STORE

THE PROBLEM

Playstudios' proposition is "Play Free Games. Earn Real Rewards." This model extends to every single app/game under the Playstudios umbrella and always has. Each app operates independently and has autonomy for the most part, which resulted in each app having its own version of a loyalty program and rewards store. Consequently, there were disparities among the apps and discrepancies in terms of loyalty points and player tiers.

TIPPING POINT

Due to these accumulating inconsistencies, in 2022, Playstudios undertook a massive initiative to unify their loyalty program into a single brand, myVIP. This required a complete redesign of every aspect of the loyalty program in all apps and games, from visual identity to the rewards store UX/UI. As the Loyalty Division Creative Director, I co-led this effort with the Games Division Creative Director, directing every aspect, including user experience and interface.

TEAM EFFORT

Unifying the entire loyalty program was truly a team effort. On the UX/UI side, we simplified and enhanced the user journey. The engineers made it possible to have one re-skinnable reward store per app, eliminating player confusion and creating a unified, scalable loyalty program across the entire Playstudios family of games. Players now have the same amount of loyalty points and can collect them in any game they play, from Tetris® to Solitaire or any of the casino games. They also retain their tier status regardless of the game they play. The layout and functionalities of the reward store are shared across all apps, ensuring players are familiar with the environment and enjoy a more pleasant experience overall.

A BETTER JOURNEY

To make the player journey more intuitive and user-friendly, we undertook a comprehensive redesign of the user experience and interface. We streamlined navigation, ensuring that key features and actions are easily accessible. Simplified menus and clear, concise instructions guide players through each step, reducing cognitive load and making interactions more straightforward. We also implemented consistent design elements and visual cues across all apps, creating a familiar environment for players regardless of the game they are playing. This consistency, combined with enhanced functionality and responsive design, ensures that players can effortlessly engage with the loyalty program, track their points, and redeem rewards, resulting in a seamless and enjoyable user experience.

100% SCALABLE

 
Our approach to unifying the loyalty program has resulted in a highly scalable model. By creating a single, re-skinnable reward store that can be easily customized for each app, we have ensured that new games can be integrated into the loyalty program without significant additional development. This modular design allows for consistent updates and improvements across all games simultaneously, maintaining a unified experience for players. Furthermore, the centralized system for tracking loyalty points and tier statuses simplifies management and enhances scalability, allowing us to effortlessly expand the program to accommodate new titles and features. This scalable model not only supports current operations but also positions us for future growth, ensuring that the loyalty program can evolve and adapt alongside our expanding portfolio of games.

DESIGN SYSTEMS AND STYLE GUIDES

As Creative Director, a key part of my responsibilities involves building and maintaining style guides and design systems. These tools are essential for ensuring brand consistency and quality across all our projects. I develop comprehensive style guides that outline the visual and interactive elements of our brand, including color palettes, typography, iconography, and spacing guidelines. Additionally, I create and manage design systems that provide reusable components and patterns, enabling our design and development teams to work more efficiently and cohesively. Figma is the best tool for this job because of its collaborative nature and real-time updates. With Figma, team members can simultaneously work on designs, provide feedback, and make instant updates, ensuring everyone stays aligned and any changes are immediately reflected. By regularly updating these resources and ensuring they are adhered to, I help maintain a unified brand identity and streamline the design process, making it easier to deliver polished and consistent user experiences across all Playstudios products.