As a designer, I had the opportunity to work with a newly established casino team at PokerStars, where I collaborated with project managers, stakeholders, and cross-functional teams to design and develop the Web Smart Lobby (WSL). The WSL represented PokerStars' entry into the casino industry, and required a strategic approach to bring Poker players to casino.
As the largest real money poker site globally, PokerStars receives millions of players daily. I was tasked with the challenge of creating a seamless design for a portal, that would transition for these players as they ventured into the casino world through the WSL. Through user research, prototyping and testing, I designed an intuitive and user-friendly interface that met the needs of both the business and the players.
One of the key insights gleaned from our user research was the distinct characteristics of Poker players compared to casino players. We found that Poker players tend to exhibit a strong brand loyalty and are predominantly male
However, we also identified a commonality between the two groups - the motivation to use the platform as a form of relaxation during their downtime. These findings were crucial in informing the development of our user personas, which helped guide the design of the product to better meet the specific needs and behaviors of both Poker and casino players.
Our online casino faced tough competition with established players, but we assembled a team of experts to source the best games globally, quickly establishing ourselves as a reputable and appealing option for players looking for a diverse range of games.
Attracts professional players
Mobile compatibility
Focus on security and safety
Strong brand and reputation
Wide selection of games
Mobile compatibility
User-friendly interface
Popular live casino games
Strong reputation and bonuses
Wide variety of slot games
User-friendly interface
Excellent customer support
Sleek and modern design
Wide variety of games
Strong sports betting platform
Excellent customer support
Designing the Web Smart Lobby required a collaborative effort from multiple product teams and stakeholders. We worked closely with teams responsible for the global header navigation, player rewards, player account, and bonusing systems to ensure a seamless and cohesive user experience.
Given our casino's global presence, localization was a crucial consideration throughout the design process. Our team had to take into account the unique language and cultural requirements of each market, ensuring that the lobby was accessible and intuitive for players in different countries and languages. This included adapting the design for languages with different character lengths to ensure a consistent and user-friendly experience across all markets.
Additionally, our team had to navigate the legal challenges that came with supporting multiple countries. Each country has its own set of regulations and laws that we had to comply with, which added a layer of complexity to the design process. Our team had to work closely with legal counsel to ensure that all elements of the Web Smart Lobby adhered to the relevant laws and regulations in each market.
Due to the lack of a pre-existing design system for PokerStars Casino, we started the creation of our casino design system with the WSL using Sketch and Zeplin. This approach allowed us to quickly establish a cohesive look and feel for the platform.
When designing the layout of our casino lobby's homepage, we faced the challenge of determining the optimal arrangement of content to enhance usability and navigation. As every inch of space on the page was crucial, we sought to make data-driven decisions about the placement of elements.
With that in mind, I created a prototype and conducted user testing with players to gather feedback and understand their preferences. This helped us to create a widget ranking that guided the design process, ensuring that the most important and frequently used features were prominently displayed.
Adopting a new design system also presented challenges. Despite our efforts to educate and train other teams, not all designs were consistent with the Web Smart Lobby's look and feel. This required additional time and resources to ensure that all designs were aligned with the established guidelines.
Another obstacle we faced was the limitations imposed by legacy technology. The platform and analytics technology used in the lobby were outdated, which hindered our ability to implement new features and functionality. We had to adapt our designs to work within these limitations.
Building for multiple platforms was a significant challenge for the Web Smart Lobby project. The lobby had to be designed to support the Desktop Client, Android App, iOS App, and the Web Versions, which required careful coordination and testing to ensure a seamless user experience across all devices.
We were able to establish a comprehensive design system that is now the standard across different product teams, which has increased consistency and efficiency. Additionally, the adoption of Zeplin as a tool for designer-developer collaboration has streamlined the development process.
In under 2 years, we successfully launched the Web Smart Lobby in 24 different countries with minimal issues. The platform was quickly adopted by players, and we received positive feedback for our efforts.
Our team also learned valuable insights from player feedback, such as the importance of offering a wide range of games, good bonuses and ensuring security. By focusing on these key areas, we were able to deliver a user experience that met the needs and preferences of our target audience.
The casino Casino Races product won the EGR Marketing and Innovation Awards in 2020.
The release of Free Spins was met with great success, with over 50 million being used in the first year alone.
