The NBA
Mobile App and Connected Devices
Services
Research, Product Design, Systems, User Testing
Partners
Design Research, Product Management, Engineering, Analytics
Timeline
2021-2026
When I joined the NBA as Director of Product Design, the native digital products were disconnected across iOS, Android, and Connected Devices - each built by different agencgies with no shared standard, andspread across 30 team brands with no single owner for quality.
Rather than fix screens one at a time we set about buiild a new system the system first: NBA Kinetic, a design language that could scale across platforms and support 30 unique teams. I hired and led the team that built it in lockstep with Engineering, Product, and Analytics and is currently serving over a million users around the globe.
This resulted in a Sports Emmy nomination and an Apple Design Award, along with:
+43%
YoY growth in NBA App subscribers
+42%
YoY increase in downloads across iOs
4.7
Star rating on App Store (from 2.2)
Understanding our fans
I worked with our Head of Design (Michelle Lawson) and the operations team, partnering with outside agencies to help stand up the foundations of "NBA Kinetic": a new design language built to honor the NBA's heritage while ushering the product into its next era.
Key issues we identified
"The app feels generic"
Users we sp
"I can't watch games where I want"
A fractured UI tells fans the product can't be trusted, before they've read a word of copy.
"I dont trust you"
User's felt
Strategy
I'll admit my first instinct was to start fixing what I saw on the screens - but that's exactly the instinct that put the NBA in this position to begin with.
My team and I made the case for something fundamental: break the cycle, craft a design system first, then bring in the right designers to build on it.
The Kinetic Design System
I worked with our Head of Design (Michelle Lawson) and the operations team, partnering with outside agencies to help stand up the foundations of "NBA Kinetic": a new design language built to honor the NBA's heritage while ushering the product into its next era.
We began compiling reference points for what Kinetic could be
We began compiling reference points for what Kinetic could be
We began compiling reference points for what Kinetic could be
Making the band
My next mandate was hiring. I recruited and hand-picked almost all the designers who eventually became my direct reports (Dayna Bieber, Matt Krueger, and Vimal Bisundial).
With a designer now assigned to a key position per platform, I built a structure of weekly 1:1s and team meetings that allowed me to oversee the work being output while giving designers the automoney to craft work for their respective platform.
This let a small team operate at the output of a much larger one.
Making the band
My next mandate was hiring. I recruited and hand-picked almost all the designers who eventually became my direct reports (Dayna Bieber, Matt Krueger, and Vimal Bisundial).
With a designer now assigned to a key position per platform, I built a structure of weekly 1:1s and team meetings that allowed me to oversee the work being output while giving designers the automoney to craft work for their respective platform.
This let a small team operate at the output of a much larger one.
Mobile: iOS + Android
The iOS redesign established the new consistent design language. Android came shortly after as a thoughtful adaptation of the same language to Android conventions. For the first time, iOS and Android felt like the same app.
Android launched with [X%] feature parity and [Y rating]. Both platforms hit [X million] users combines.
Make your personal leadership unmistakable. “We built” is good, but regularly specify “I set the strategy,” “I hired/managed,” “I aligned product and engineering,” and “I made the sequencing decision.”
[IMG: Side-by-side of iOS and Android showing how same component adapts to platform conventions — button style, navigation, color application]
Connected Devices
tvOS proved the system worked outside mobile. Same component library, completely different context (10-foot viewing, non-touch input, social watching). Shipping tvOS in 4 months proved Kinetic was doing its job.
Top-Performing Features
Feature 1
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Quick moments to digest
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Apple Vision Pro
Vision Pro had no prior playbook. But Kinetic gave us a language to speak from — principles, patterns, tokens — that we could extend to spatial. No playbook meant we had to think carefully about what makes NBA App feel like NBA App, beyond just "what do buttons look like." That's systems thinking.
Testing and iterating
Here I am at the New York office testing the app.
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
The iOS redesign established the new consistent design language. Android came shortly after as a thoughtful adaptation of the same language to Android conventions. For the first time, iOS and Android felt like the same app.
Android launched with [X%] feature parity and [Y rating]. Both platforms hit [X million] users combines.
Make your personal leadership unmistakable. “We built” is good, but regularly specify “I set the strategy,” “I hired/managed,” “I aligned product and engineering,” and “I made the sequencing decision.”
[IMG: Side-by-side of iOS and Android showing how same component adapts to platform conventions — button style, navigation, color application]
