UX/UI design
Jan 16, 2024
The competition aimed to create an attractive and interactive prototype for the landing page of the Baltic Games, which is part of the Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture additional program.
Final presentation in Estonian is down below!
About "Baltic Games"
The games take place annually in one of the three Baltic countries, with participants from vocational schools in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania competing in sports such as basketball, volleyball, and table tennis. The goal of this competition was to design a website that promotes the event and provides additional information, explaining to users what the Baltic Games are, when and where they take place, which sports are represented, and who supports the event.
Requirements
The requirements for the competition included creating content in English, adhering to the VOCO visual identity, including logos and style guide, and developing user-friendly solutions for information about the competition schedule, activities, and venues. Accessibility principles had to be implemented to ensure usability for a wide target audience. Additionally, the website had to include information about organizers, sponsors, contact details, and a brief overview of the history of the games.
Tasks
The team's tasks included finding a suitable slogan for the games, creating a dynamic banner using photos from the previous year's Baltic Games, developing Hi-fi prototypes for both desktop and mobile views, establishing a design system based on the VOCO visual identity, and writing a comprehensive analysis that explains the design process, teamwork, the creation of the design system, and the choices made in the design solutions.
Design process
Beginning
Our design process began with the collaboration of a three-member team, dedicating time to shaping the content structure. The deadline was "noon tomorrow," so it was crucial to initially establish a plan to guide our activities and identify the necessary components. We also selected primary colors to ensure a seamless design without major color corrections later.
Subsequently, we continued with task allocation, adapting it during the process.
My responsibility was to create a foundational design system based on VOCO CVI, excluding typography. I was also tasked with creating a banner carousel, schedule blocks for both desktop and mobile views, adding interactive features to menus, documenting the design process and analysis, and finally, compiling the presentation.
From there, each team member proceeded to work independently.
My work
I started adapting my previously created design system based on VOCO CVI for the competition. My tasks included creating a banner carousel and schedule blocks for both desktop and mobile.
I began my work with designing the agenda blocks. I needed to make these blocks clear, concise and easily understandable at a glance. For the mobile view, I decided to hide some information behind an accordion to reduce user scrolling. I kept the time and the name of the sport visible, as they were the most crucial for a quick overview. When opening the accordion, the user can also see where the competition takes place and which countries are participating.
Creating the banner posed a challenge in selecting photos from the previous year, as there were many images I wanted to showcase. Initially planning three banners, I ended up making four later on, as it was challenging to choose between the pictures. I added our team-created slogans, "Three countries, one passion" and "Baltic bonds, vocational & beyond," to the banner component. I incorporated automatic movement and navigability with buttons.
I created menus for both views and provided interactive scrolling for the desktop menu. Additionally, I actively assisted team members in resolving emerging issues and documented the design process and verbal analysis of the team for presentation preparation.
During the presentation, I was responsible for answering questions. A few weeks later, based on feedback from the judges, I compiled a comprehensive summary and implemented most of the suggested changes, documenting this process as well.
Our team took second place in the competition.
Team members were Anu Tõiste, Heidy Loikonen and me, Kaisa Reimal.
My takeaway
I mostly learned the importance of dividing the tasks between team members, and the necessity of clear communication in a team setting, especially if the project is as time critical as this was.
Besides that, it was very refreshing to get feedback from professionals in our field and to read their thought process behind the feedback and tips to make the design better and more accessible to all users.
Here is the final presentation, including the changes we made based on the feedback from the judges.
