With sponsorship and franchising deals already pouring in, mainstream expansion is inevitable. Accessible personalized content and efficient marketing are crucial. Everyone wants to lead the pack.
Esports teams in particular are looking for ways to optimize their audience’s digital experience. Last year, one of our designers took an interest in TSM and created a self-initiated concept aimed at elevating the organization’s online presence. It was our team’s first venture into the world of esports. And the start of exploring all the ways we can support the new wave of competitive gaming.
Team SoloMid (TSM) has been renowned in the competitive gaming industry since its 2009 inception. It is North America’s top esports organization, and its flagship League of Legends team holds the record for most championship titles.
Obviously, TSM has impressive content. STRV’s goal was to make its presentation more comprehensive and to increase fan interaction.
To do this, we had to bring the website’s design to the next level, with a more engaging overall user experience.
The challenge was redesigning and implementing features to make the site dynamic, but never overwhelming.
To heighten the user experience, we had to improve:
- Website navigation (on multiple levels)
- Website layout & structure (organization of pages)
- Website visual consistency (unifying the brand)
- Information architecture
- General web design direction
- Business point of view & monetization
And to keep everything running at peak potential, we implemented:
- New interactive components & pages
- New content strategies (production & delivery)
- New sections allocated to building fan experiences & community
- An entirely new online store
We wanted to make the site visually attractive and accessible while coinciding with TSM’s business goals and needs.
Personalization was one of our key objectives. By introducing options like setting up reminders for a game and being notified via email, text, or calendar invite, we put the focus on individual need. The list of recent matches could be personalized thanks to an option to toggle spoilers (hide results).
To avoid scattered distractions and to keep users’ attention uninterrupted, we modified ad placement – a crucial aspect for partners, sponsors, and TSM itself. Ads now naturally fit the experience, increasing credibility and user appeal.
The current digital climate demands immediacy. So, we kept a feed of all ongoing player/team live streams as one of the main page’s front-and-center features.
Finally, our designers pinpointed details that benefited from some fine-tuning. For example, on pages featuring more in-depth content, we improved readability by switching between dark and light mode.
It all came together to create a well-balanced, all-encompassing result.
Fans expect to find everything they need on their favorite website or app. But hasty attempts at throwing too much into one place result in a mess. Getting it right takes expertise.
STRV was able to understand fans’ expectations and enhance TSM’s web presence because that’s what we do. We have almost two decades of experience with web, mobile, and Smart TV applications design and engineering. We consistently produce high-performing tech solutions respected by Silicon Valley and our peers. And we still think it’s all really, really fun.
A thrilling industry like esports has endless digital potential. That makes it a perfect playground for designers and developers, and it’s why we’re ecstatic to be a part of the revolution.
