Popdog - platform for gaming creators to truly own their community, live healthier lives, and grow their loyal fanbase.
Character Design and Illustrations by Aaron Campbell
The Project
Our initial goal was to help lesser-known streamers get discovered in a market that was completely engulfed by Twitch. At the time when team was building out Popdog, Microsoft created a competitor called Mixer, Facebook created Facebook Gaming, and Youtube was pouring more resources in the live-streaming space for gaming content. We created a platform that would aggregate all of the live-stream channels across this fracturing market and create ways for viewers to easily find content creators based on a multitude of search and browse criteria. Along the way, we wanted to provide a premium user-experience in areas that were being neglected on these platforms.
Onsite + remote user testing
Visual direction
Design system
Prototyping
Marketing website
User experience
Agile project management
Key experiences
Design system
Primary / Neutral
Primary / Brand
Secondary
Success
Tertiary / Warning
Error / Negative
Creator-first approach
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, market changes and company vision shifting, we pivoted away from this initial product to become more creator-focused. We hit the reset button and went back to the drawing board on sitemap, personas, user-flows. We had a lot of features that were already in progress that still fit within our previous vision and with all of the knowledge we had gained from user behavior study and feedback, we quickly launched a new product within a couple months. Our main goal was to create deeper connections for creators and their true fans, rather than the passer-by audience members. We eventually wanted to capture this loyal fanbase by creating features that would allow creators to monetize directly and for fans to get access to exclusive experiences.
Game profile integrations
Creators could enable API information of games they play to enrich their profile. We hypothesized that in the discovery process of Character / Class - driven games, viewers would want to watch content of the specific characters they played.
Algorithmic stream highlighter
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, market changes and company vision shifting, we pivoted away from this initial product to become more creator-focused. We hit the reset button and went back to the drawing board on sitemap, personas, user-flows. We had a lot of features that were already in progress that still fit within our previous vision and with all of the knowledge we had gained from user behavior study and feedback, we quickly launched a new product within a couple months. Our main goal was to create deeper connections for creators and their true fans, rather than the passer-by audience members. We eventually wanted to capture this loyal fanbase by creating features that would allow creators to monetize directly and for fans to get access to exclusive experiences.
Reflections
Popdog was a lesson in adaptability. When the streaming landscape shifted with giants like Microsoft's Mixer and Facebook Gaming entering the space, we pivoted from aggregation to creator empowerment. This taught me the importance of staying close to users and being willing to rebuild when market conditions change.
The creator-first pivot proved that deep fan connections matter more than broad reach. Features like the algorithmic stream highlighter and rich creator profiles gave streamers tools to build authentic communities around their content.
Key Outcomes
- Designed and shipped two distinct products based on market learnings
- Built comprehensive design system enabling rapid iteration
- Integrated game API data creating unique creator profile experiences
- Developed algorithmic highlight system reducing content discovery time