where It Began
Overview
Where Gamers Don’t Just Play, They Belong
It started with a simple observation. Gamers wanted more than just a place to play, they craved community, connection, and competition, all in one seamless space.
So we asked ourselves, what if there was a platform that felt like home base for every kind of gamer either casual, competitive, or just curious? That was the birth of Respawn, a mobile-first gaming community built to be more than a chatroom or leaderboard. We designed it to be an all-in-one hub, where players can discover teammates, join tournaments, share highlights, and grow their circle all with an interface as smooth as a well-timed combo move.
Problem
Modern gamers often lack a centralized, user-friendly platform that allows them to connect, communicate, and compete seamlessly. Most existing platforms are fragmented with separate apps for communication, team coordination, content sharing, and tournaments. Thus, leading to frustration, disconnection, and missed opportunities to engage with the gaming community meaningfully.
In Numbers
42.5%
struggle to find players with similar skills, 37.5%face difficulty finding gamers who play the same game.
52.5%
52.5% finds it challenging to coordinate gaming schedules.
52.5%
52.5% are ver6y concerned about toxicity; 35% prefer moderated groups.
32.2%
32.2% miss community updates and event notification.
The Goal
Design a vibrant, inclusive, and engaging space where:
Build features that help players find teammates with similar skill levels and shared game interests.
Encourage collaboration and content sharing through chat tools, status updates, and community-driven events.
Design intuitive tools for coordinating game times, registering for tournaments, and staying updated on events.
Introduce moderation tools and group settings to reduce toxicity and support positive, respectful interactions.
Reading the Room
To design with purpose, I took a deep dive into the habits, hurdles, and hopes of modern gamers. From casual players to competitive pros. Somethings were clear; they want a space that’s social, seamless, and built for connection not clutter. Existing platforms felt fragmented, forcing them to juggle multiple tools just to stay in the game. Respawn sets out to change that.
My Design Process
04
Iteration & Refinement
Gathered feedback and made thoughtful improvements to enhance usability, accessibility, and cohesion with the overall product vision.
02
User Flow Mapping
Outlined intuitive journeys for matchmaking, chatting, and community events to ensure ease and clarity at every touchpoint.
03
Wireframing to High-Fidelity
Moved from low-fidelity wireframes to polished UI designs, maintaining simplicity, warmth, and focus on user connection.
01
Discover & Define
I framed core user problems through research, then brainstormed solutions with early sketches to visualize key features.
User Persona
Temi Adebayo
Age: 26
Occupation: Marketing Cordinator
Location: Ogun State
Gaming Habits
Temi plays casual mobile games and occasional console titles. She spends 1-2 hours gaming a few times a week, usually after work.
Pain Point
Temi struggles to find active, welcoming communities for her preferred games and Feels intimidated by competitive gamers in traditional forums.
Goal
Her goal is to find a community of casual gamers to share screenshots and gaming tips, and make new friends with similar gaming interests.
Just like scribbles in the corners of a favorite book, user insights often hold unexpected truths. This section is full of raw observations that guided my design direction.
Getting people to participate in this research proved to be quite challenging. Who would have thought, right? This was why I opted for a more quantitative research approach. I distributed an online survey and got over 120 respondents which gave me insights on their use-cases and struggles
Scheduling Conflicts
Lack of accessible tools for organizing casual or community-driven events
Mobile-first Event Creation: Gamers can easily create and join events from their phone, with a few taps. Optimized for casual users and quick planners.
Smart Scheduling System: Players set time preferences, and our system recommends the best time based on mutual availability. Automated reminders help reduce no-shows.
Invite & Discovery System: Host can invite specific users, open the event to friends-of-friends, or share a public link. Players can discover events based on interest, region, or game type.
Social Layer Built-In: Event pages have built-in chat, RSVP updates, and even a “Find Squad” feature to connect solo players with a team.
Difficulty accessing tournaments
60% want tournaments but find it hard to find the right level (casual vs competitive).
Tiered Tournament System: Casual and competitive brackets let players join based on comfort level and skill. Newbies aren’t thrown in with pros.
Smart Scheduling System: Players set time preferences, and our system recommends the best time based on mutual availability. Automated reminders help reduce no-shows.
Live Moderation & Fair Play: Tournament hosts can assign moderators, and AI helps flag toxic behavior in real-time. Players are rewarded for sportsmanship.
Seamless Experience: Players get live brackets, chat with teammates or opponents, and share highlights all in one place.
Difficulty finding Compatible Players
42.5% struggle to find players with similar skills; 37.5%face difficulty finding gamers who play the same game
Tailored Matchmaking: Users are matched based on skill,interests, and game preferences which makes it easier to meet and befriend like-minded gamers.
Solution
Imapct
Design is quiet until it changes how people feel. The impact of Respawn isn’t just in screens and flows. it’s in the confidence of a shy gamer joining their first tournament, or the ease of finding teammates without the chaos. Here’s how thoughtful design reshaped the way users engage with their community.
This section reveals how Respawn’s UX choices translated into meaningful shifts in behavior, connection, and confidence among gamers."
70% of users reported feeling more confident participating in tournaments thanks to clear matchmaking and onboarding.
Engagement rose as users spent more time browsing and joining community-driven events, not just competitive matches.
Toxic behavior reports dropped by 30% due to built-in moderation and positive behavior reinforcement.
Solo players felt more included, with over 60% using the “Find Squad” feature to join teams they otherwise wouldn’t have.
The number of completed events increased, as flexible scheduling removed coordination barriers.
Next Project
AmoredTrust: An unconventional Banking App
Role: UI/UX Designer
Impact: Simplified onboarding Process
Respawn: A Gaming Community Platform
I led the design of Respawn- a gaming community platform. Respawn provides a vibrant, inclusive, and engaging space where gamers of all skill levels and interests can come together to share experiences, build connections, and elevate their gaming journey.
Product
All Platforms
Skills
Product Design
Stakeholder Management
Interactive Prototyping
User Research & Testing
UX writing
My Role
Product Designer
Timeline
Q2 2024 - Q2 2025