ART LEAD | LEAD UX DESIGNER
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OVERVIEW
Towards the end of the Madden NFL 23 seasonal cycle, I was offered the role of Lead UX Designer for all Live Service modes, including Madden Ultimate Team (MUT). This opportunity came with the condition that I would continue overseeing Live Services' visual direction—a formal request from the MUT senior leadership team. In preparation for this transition, I began training a replacement for the Art Lead role while simultaneously collaborating with Madden Live Service content designers, UXR, and UX designers across EA SPORTS Ultimate Team partners to gather critical insights before initiating design work.
I officially stepped into the Lead UX Designer role in October 2022. Leveraging the data collected, I compiled a detailed report identifying key areas within our Live Service modes that required the most attention. Partnering with MUT senior leadership, we prioritized these areas and established a structured plan for improvements. These primary focus areas were the New User Experience (NUX), MUT HUB, and the Field Pass screens.
Using a research-driven approach, I began sketching new layouts and design concepts, progressively refining them into low-fidelity and high-fidelity wireframes and prototypes. These designs were rigorously tested through UXR studies and user interviews, ensuring a more intuitive and engaging experience for players.
I departed EA in February 2023, shortly after UI design began producing mocks and motion mocks for MUT. The current designs seen in Madden NFL 24’s MUT HUB, NUX, and Season Pass are based on the designs I developed during my tenure.
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Collaborated MUT content designers, producers and senior leadership to define the business goals for MUT and how UI/UX can be effective in this regard.
Held weekly meetings with EA SPORTS Ultimate Team partners from FC (formerly FIFA), NHL, UFC, and CFB to discuss designs and possible alignment.
Worked closely with MUT content designers and artists to identify areas that needed improvement that would benefit the player’s experience with their content.
Collaborated with UXR to prepare questions and tasks to perform during usability testing and user interviews.
Created the UI/UX Architectural flows for many areas with Madden Ultimate Team, with a focus one the three core areas of the HUB, New User Experience and teh Field Pass.
Created motion mocks to provide a visual proof of concepts for specific interactions that could be improved with motion.
Collaborated with our 3D environment team to ideate concepts for different MUT player awards based on a player’s OVR level.
Created several future-proofing wireframe concepts for areas that connected to the three core areas of MUT 24.
Ensured the UI/UX Director’s guidelines for all designs so our final visuals and experiences were consistent with the rest of our title. Only departing from those guidelines when necessary, as supported by our director.
Collaborated with other UI/UX designers where design features and presentation could potentially overlap to remain consistent between modes and systems.
Conducted countless meetings aligning with leadership, stakeholders, designers, and networking with other teams to keep visibility and information flowing.
10/2022 - 2/2023
PC / PS5 / XBOX Series X/S
Live Services Lead UX Designer
MUT HUB EXPERIENCE
After researching Madden NFL 23, past releases, and competitors, I identified concerns with MUT’s Hub undergoing frequent redesigns over eight years. This forced players to re-learn navigation annually, overwhelming new and returning users as features expanded. The resulting disorganization directly impacted Ultimate Team’s usability.
To validate these concerns, UXR conducted usability tests, A/B wireframe testing, and card sorting, which confirmed our findings. Cross-referencing data with other EA SPORTS Ultimate Teams, we developed a structured redesign plan.
We reorganized MUT’s features with a more intuitive navigation pattern, introduced a dedicated programs screen, and refined the overall layout. Testing confirmed these changes improved usability.
Final wireframe examples below
NEW USER EXPERIENCE (NUX)
UX testing of M23’s onboarding experience revealed it needed to be shorter and more effective in teaching the gameplay loop. Excessive screens and text led players to skip tips to unlock MUT faster.
After discussions with design, other EA SPORTS Ultimate Team leads, and stakeholders, we refocused the NUX to emphasize MUT’s core loop, using targeted tooltips with minimal text for clarity.
We tested two approaches: a siloed onboarding flow alongside MUT and a "Welcome to MUT" Field Pass integrated within the mode. Both tested well, but we aligned with EA partners to adopt the first option, mirroring FC 24’s experience for consistency across titles.
Final wireframe examples, plus a variant, below.
FIELD PASS EXPERIENCE
Madden NFL 23 introduced the Field Pass, MUT’s take on a Battle Pass, but its layout, typography, and organization needed refinement. User interviews highlighted frustrations with reward display and screen readability.
Our goal was to create a more intuitive, familiar experience. Refinements led to improved navigation, with testers spending less time on the screen than in M23.
I developed several wireframe options for usability testing, and while all received positive feedback, the bottom-positioned reward track was the preferred layout due to familiarity.
Final, plus variant, wireframe examples below
