IN-HOUSE PROJECT
Ezugi
Timeline
2018–2021
Platform
React WebApp
My Role
Senior UX/UI Designer
Description
Ezugi is a digital platform revolutionizing the online casino experience, providing a seamless environment for live dealer gaming and enabling casinos to focus only on marketing and player engagement.
I joined the company during a pivotal moment when its technology, which relied on Flash, was no longer supported by browsers.
My responsibilities
- 1. Process Design: Created the work processes between the livestream studio, the developers, and the design team (comprising myself and another designer).
- 2. Design System: Developed the new design system to ensure consistency and efficiency across projects.
- 3. UX/UI Design: Designed 8 of the 15 games, focusing on user engagement and experience.
- 4. Design Consultancy: In 2021, helped the new design team organize and create a new design language to unify the visual and interaction design.
Impact
Between 2018 and 2021, we launched more than 15 games and were acquired by the industry's biggest player. Due to the sensitive nature of the project, specific figures for these metrics have been excluded.
2x
Gross Gaming Revenue growth year-over-year
50%avg.
Increase in earnings year-over-year
42%
Increase in conversion rate
$18million
Acquisition deal by competitor Evolution
Final Designs
Below you can see 2 of the 15 projects I've been involved in over a period of 3 years.
Pain Points
Upon joining in 2018, Ezugi's platform wasn't updated since 2012 and there were some key issues with their product offerings that needed attention.
Fixed-width platform
Users could access the platform only from a desktop interface.
EXAMPLE
Customer's only device is a mobile phone.
IMPACT
Limited accessibility and reach.
Outdated design
UI design and the livestream studio design were very outdated.
EXAMPLE
Skeuomorphic design elements and non-responsive layouts.
IMPACT
Unattractive interface, difficult to use, leading to higher bounce rate.
Small game catalogue
Limited selection of games available (Blackjack, Roulette, and Poker).
EXAMPLE
Indian customer who wants to play country specific games.
IMPACT
Restricted player engagement and market competitiveness.
Problem Statement
How can we create a better experience for our customers so they can access our platform from anywhere?
Business Goals
Increase Revenue
Ezugi aims to offer a new, responsive platform that supports a wider range of games to expand its customer base.
Expand Global Reach
Ezugi is committed to continuing its expansion into new geographic markets by leveraging its scalable business model and forming strategic partnerships with gaming operators worldwide.
User Goals
Gaming from Anywhere
Users wish to access Ezugi's services from any location, on any device, at any time, without limitations.
Entertainment
Users seek an immersive and engaging gaming experience that provides a diverse range of games, including live dealer games, slots, and other entertainment options.
Decisions I took
Being hired at the start of the new project, I understood that the initial decisions would lay the foundation for how the platform would function and feel, as well as how the company would be perceived for the future.
Video is the focus
The interface should only help the user take decisions, without stealing the spotlight from the video stream.
IMPACT
This gives us the opportunity to build livestream studios in any color theme and create dedicated live casino environments for any brand.
Universal design system
Ensures consistency and efficiency, enhancing brand recognition and providing a seamless user experience.
IMPACT
Customers could have the same experience on all of our games.
This also speeds up the design process.
Reusability of the design
Before starting to design the games, I analyzed all the game portfolio we would create in the future.
IMPACT
I designed elements that could be used on multiple games, speeding up both the design and development process.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
Having an entirely new team created a couple of challenges for the company, including miscommunication, technical limitations, and unexpected changes in the product.
Innovative idea poorly communicated to developers
For blackjack, it was tricky to achieve good contrast for the player's seat on all felt colors. My idea was to create a double-color seat: white stroke on the interior, black stroke on the exterior, ensuring visibility on any felt.
This design decision wasn't efficiently communicated to the development team, and they only coded a white stroke.
What I learned?
It's generally better to over-communicate.
Perspective in development it's tricky
For blackjack, I assumed the team could skew the player's seat, but they could only rotate it.
Additionally, I designed the new interface based on an old livestream studio mockup while they were building a new studio. Consequently, there were discrepancies in camera position, angle, and table size.
What I learned?
Understanding the development process helps design components that are more efficient, allowing anticipation and planning for specific requirements and constraints during implementation.
A small oversight can quickly become a big headache
A small slip caused a significant issue: the studio team ordered light-colored table felts without consulting the product team.
We had designed our interface with dark felt in mind. Unfortunately, the felts couldn't be changed, as they had bought stock for the next couple of years.
