UX/UI Design
Northwest Arena
―The Zone
The Zone at Northwest Arena is an interactive sports experience that brings together play, competition, and personalization. As Senior Designer, I led the visual direction across the digital interactives, creating a cohesive look and feel throughout the experience.
CLIENT: NORTHWEST ARENA THE ZONE, JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK ROLES: UX, UI DESIGN YEAR: 2026 TYPE OF MEDIA: INTERACTIVE MEDIA
INTERACTIVE TOUCH SCREEN
Digital Locker Room
Visitors can design a custom sports jersey and snap a photo to see themselves wearing their creation. They can also create a personalized profile linked to their wristband, allowing their identity, scores, and selections to carry across experiences throughout The Zone.
The animated attract loop invites visitors to touch the screen to begin.
Visitors start by selecting their favorite sport.
Visitors can select from seven different sports and jersey types.
After selecting a jersey type, visitors choose their jersey number.
Visitors are then invited to select a color theme.
Finally, visitors position themselves in front of the camera and take a selfie.
An animated loading screen keeps visitors engaged while their custom creation is being generated.
Visitors’ final creations are revealed, and they are invited to either tap “I’m Done” to continue or scan a QR code to save their photo.
INTERACTIVE TOUCH SCREEN
Match the Sport
Designed for The Zone’s youngest visitors, ages 1–5, this baseball dugout-themed experience combines soft play with a simple digital matching game. Kids and parents work together to find matching sports cards, encouraging memory, hand-eye coordination, and playful exploration.
The attract loop welcomes parents and kids to touch the screen to begin.
Animated cards briefly appear on screen before flipping face down.
Kids and parents are invited to work together to find two matching cards.
At the end of the game, visitors see their total number of matches and are celebrated for their score before choosing to finish the experience.
INTERACTIVE TOUCH SCREEN
Ball Buddies Reel Studio
At the Reel Studio, visitors can review and edit video clips captured throughout their time at The Zone, then save the finished reel to their profile to receive after their visit. The same station also allows visitors to transform the Arena by sending visual effects and animated Ball Buddies to the projection wall.
The attract loop invites visitors to touch the screen to begin.
Visitors are prompted to tap their wristbands to begin.
After tapping their wristbands, visitors are welcomed by their Ball Buddy, who guides them through the available editing tools and shows them how to customize their video.
Visitors are introduced to the video editing interface through a guided tutorial that highlights key features, including video playback, clip selection, and soundtrack controls. The step-by-step prompts help visitors understand how to preview and customize their video.
Visitors can arrange and trim clips captured throughout their visit, preview their reel, and select a soundtrack to personalize the final video. Once they are happy with their edit, they can save the finished reel.
Visitors can preview their completed reel in full before saving. If they want to make additional changes, they can return to the editing interface and continue refining their video.
Once the reel is saved, it is added to the visitor’s profile and sent to them after their visit. From here, visitors can finish the experience or continue by transforming the Arena environment.
Visitors can choose from a variety of effects and Ball Buddy characters to transform the Arena. Once selected, their choice is sent to the projection wall, instantly changing the environment and creating a playful, interactive experience for everyone in the space.
Jumbotron
The central jumbotron acts as a shared visual anchor for The Zone, connecting individual activities to the larger arena experience. It displays live scores, leaderboards, animated Ball Buddies, athlete features, personalized celebrations, and branded content, creating a dynamic layer of feedback and spectacle throughout the space.
Visitors can see how their performance compares with others through sport-specific leaderboards displayed on the jumbotron. Scores are ranked in real time, creating a sense of competition and encouraging visitors to replay activities and improve their results.
Featured athlete profiles can be highlighted on the jumbotron, celebrating players from across different sports and adding dynamic content between games and visitor activities.
The jumbotron can also celebrate special moments throughout the visit, displaying personalized birthday messages and photos to make the experience feel more memorable and unique.