Play Anywhere

Overview

Play Anywhere was one of the complex and exciting projects I've had the chance to lead. I worked on it from the ground up alongside a small development team of about nine people — as the sole product designer and design lead.

Over the course of the project, I was responsible for user research and usability testing to building dynamic design systems, marketing and branding. The product has now been live for almost five years, running successfully across multiple platforms worldwide.

The Challenge

Play Anywhere delivers interactive experiences during live sports broadcasts — connecting real-time game moments with advertising opportunities, trivia, and fan engagement features.

Designing such an experience posed unique challenges: it had to enrich the excitement of live viewing without distracting from it. We had to design for four different user contexts: Smart TVs, tablets, desktop, and mobile — each with its own behavioral patterns, attention spans, and interaction models.

In other words, we needed to create a system that augmented the joy of watching, not competed with it.

Research & Insights

The first proof of concept was tested with one of the largest sports broadcasting networks in the U.S. Viewers were invited to visit a website and predict live game outcomes during commercial breaks — with a chance to win a prize if they guessed correctly.

The response was overwhelming — servers crashed under the load of simultaneous requests. That success sparked the idea for Play Anywhere: a scalable, user-friendly platform that connects live moments, interactivity, and commercial engagement in real time.

Our research focused on three core questions:
• Who are our users? (market segmentation & audience understanding)
• What are they looking for? (value-driven solutions)
• How do we make them love using our platform? (emotional engagement & usability)

To answer these, we conducted extensive user interviews, surveys, competitor analysis, across different sports audiences.

Key Learnings & UX Decisions

1. Game Stats as Engagement Drivers

We discovered that users were most drawn to real-time game stats — more than any other feature. They kept returning to data screens showing team and player insights.

We leveraged this by linking interactive ad placements and merchandise offers directly within these screens — leading users to purchase fan gear tied to their favorite teams or players.

2. Timing User Actions with Emotion

Behavioral research showed users were most willing to engage right after positive emotional moments — like a goal, touchdown, or major play.

We used this to design post-highlight rating prompts, asking users to rate what they just saw. Ratings rewarded users with watch points, which they could later use for season-end giveaways, building both excitement and loyalty.

3. Simplifying the Betting Experience

Our user studies found that the digital betting market was losing users due to long onboarding processes and confusing terminology.

We simplified both the language and interaction flow:

• Replaced jargon (e.g., "Moneyline") with natural language questions like: "Who do you think will win this game?"

• Simplified odds presentation from "+110 / -110" to a human-readable format: "Bet $10 to win $100."

We also introduced a risk-free trial mode, allowing users to "place" predictions without real money, followed by a message showing how much they would have earned if they had registered. This approach strived to increased curiosity, emotional investment, and eventual conversion.

4. Seamless Commerce Integration

During games, we designed a "Quick Buy" feature that linked merchandise directly to on-screen player moments.

When a player scored or made a highlight play, viewers could scan an on-screen QR code to instantly purchase that player's exclusive gear — creating a strong emotional connection between fan excitement and purchase behavior.

5. Adaptive Design Systems

Each sports league — from the NBA to La Liga — had its own visual identity. To support multiple clients, we built modular design systems that allowed rapid re-theming for each league's brand, typography, and colors without reworking the core UX. This scalability made Play Anywhere visually flexible and consistent across sports ecosystems.

Design Highlights

Motion as Guidance

In live-broadcast interfaces (especially on TV and desktop), screens are constantly in motion, competing for user attention.

To solve this, we mapped user attention patterns throughout game moments and used strong, purposeful animations to draw focus to key messages without feeling intrusive. Motion became a visual language — subtle enough to blend with the broadcast, yet clear enough to guide action.

Progressive Disclosure

To reduce friction and errors in betting or interaction flows, we adopted a progressive disclosure approach.

Instead of overwhelming users with all options at once, we broke processes into smaller, digestible steps — each reinforcing the user's understanding and commitment.

This not only improved usability but also increased conversion rates by creating a sense of gradual investment and control.

Impact

Play Anywhere transformed how fans interact with live sports — turning passive viewers into active participants. It continues to operate today on multiple international platforms, powering interactive experiences for leagues and broadcasters around the world.

For me personally, this project was a deep learning journey in real-time UX, cross-platform systems, and designing for human attention in high-stimulus environments.