LET'S GRAB A MATCH!
Project Timeline:
August 2024 - April 2025
Description:
“Let’s Grab a Match” is a UI/UX case study exploring how digital design guided by behavior change theory, gamification, and SDT can boost motivation, access, and sustained sports participation among Gen Z and millennials through user research and iterative prototyping.
My Contribution:
Secondary Research
Ideation
User Interviews
Thematic Analysis
UX/UI Design
Prototyping
User testing
Project Type:
Academic Capstone – UX Research & Interaction Design
Final deliverable videos
App Trailer (click to play):
Figma Prototype (click to play):
01. Motivation and problem
Statistics:
Top 3 barriers:
Logistical Challenges
Lack of accessible information
Reduced community engagement
The Problem:
Adults in Canada seem to give up playing sports after the age of 18. Further, when we wanted to play sports as newcomers to Canada, it was difficult to find people and spaces. This hampers the motivation and consistency in playing sports.
02. The design process
Double diamond
A diamond and a half
We used a simplified Double Diamond model, removing the 'Deliver' stage, since the thesis explored ideas rather than final solutions. This approach helped us understand the problem and explore possible directions.
'Exploring ways to help people play sports consistently'
03. Discover: Diary study
Purpose:
Real-world access & participation challenges
Scope:
7 sports, 20 km radius, 4-month study
Observed:
Booking, equipment, social setup
Venues:
Clubs, community centers, public parks
DIARY STUDY KEY LEARNING
There exist three levels of barriers:
Extrinsic: finding people, space and equipment
Intrinsic: consistency and motivation
Systemic: travel distance, time constraints, and cost of participating
04. Discover: User interviews
Assumption (before interviews):
People who want to play sports face logistical and motivational challenges. Those less interested choose easier activities due to less barriers.
Recruitment:
Posters at venues + Facebook & WhatsApp sports groups
Participants:
7 (Gen Z & Millennials, GTA residents, mix of casual & regular players)
Method:
Semi-structured interviews + Sports Motivation Scale-II survey
Analysis:
Thematic Analysis + Quantitative scoring
KEY FINDING: THEMATIC ANALYSIS
Motivation is highly individual. A sports community must cater to varied needs such as competition and skill-building to casual fun, injury recovery, or overcoming logistical hurdles.
KEY FINDING: QUANTITATIVE SCORE
Intrinsic motivation (engaging in sports for personal enjoyment, satisfaction, and self-improvement) scored the highest.
How might we design a sports community that caters to individual motivational needs of people while participating in sports?
05. Define: User personas
06. Define: Literature Review
We explored potential theories/applications through journals and scholarly research that are proven for providing individual and intrinsic motivation to play sports
Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
Solution must support choice, skill growth, and peer connection.
Gamification & Persuasive Design
Gamification should enhance, not undermine, intrinsic motivation.
Goal Setting
Users set flexible, trackable goals (e.g., “play twice a week”) that align with personal needs and resources.
07. Develop: Exploring directions
Hypothesis:
Scalable digital tools with persuasive design, gamification and autonomous goal setting might encourage people to sustain participation in sports.
To decide on a solution, we conducted an affinity mapping session and color coded to systematically evaluate the ideas.
Approaches to extrinsic problems
Approaches to intrinsic problems
Approaches to systemic problems
Community:
Adding friends who play sports
Goal setting:
Choosing from pre-defined fun goals or achieving together with friends
Positive reinforcement:
Earning achievements for achieving set/unset goals
10. Develop: User Flow
11. Develop: Final Designs
Defining solution
Narrowing down early
Persuasive design
More playfulness
