Purpose
While not usually an aspect of my role, the Client requested we create a data analysis for varying features and understand desktop client and platform differences pertinent to consumer gaming and the end-users. These differences included platform ecosystem features (where applicable), and solutions from key gaming vendors servicing desktop, console, or web clients/cloud gaming, all to broaden the evaluation to cover new capabilities. These evaluations examined some industry notables such as PlayStation, Xbox, GoG, Battle.net, Steam, AMD Radeon, and NVIDIA. This project spanned five months of in-depth, hands-on research. The Client gave us loose objectives at a high level, and it was our duty to create a comprehensive in-depth analysis that would be presented at the conclusion of our project findings. The evaluation and breakdown of each persona was scrutinized in a multi-pronged approach that was presented with an informative and detailed presentation deck full of platform/console screenshots, stylized charts, and supporting content copy.
While not usually an aspect of my role, the Client requested we create a data analysis for varying features and understand desktop client and platform differences pertinent to consumer gaming and the end-users. These differences included platform ecosystem features (where applicable), and solutions from key gaming vendors servicing desktop, console, or web clients/cloud gaming, all to broaden the evaluation to cover new capabilities. These evaluations examined some industry notables such as PlayStation, Xbox, GoG, Battle.net, Steam, AMD Radeon, and NVIDIA. This project spanned five months of in-depth, hands-on research. The Client gave us loose objectives at a high level, and it was our duty to create a comprehensive in-depth analysis that would be presented at the conclusion of our project findings. The evaluation and breakdown of each persona was scrutinized in a multi-pronged approach that was presented with an informative and detailed presentation deck full of platform/console screenshots, stylized charts, and supporting content copy.
Outline/Workflow
Collaboration on this endeavor was led by our Program Director with aid from a Marketing Associate and myself, as Designer and Researcher. We were to develop a robust understanding of each individual platform/client, noting positives and negatives, documenting our findings, and conferring in weekly meetings. At the end of the documentation process, presentation decks were designed with highlights of research findings related to comparisons between consoles, platforms, and clients. This was not a typical research project in that we had five months to thoroughly collect rich content, data, and screenshots. This longer-than-typical timeline allowed us to be meticulous about our grading systems, and present our Client with various avenues to dive into at their discretion during scheduled, bi-monthly check-ins. Our team documented user experience and user journeys, utilizing hands-on exploration of features, competitive analysis tools (Trendkite, SEMRush, and Spyfu), brand/company websites, analyst/industry reports, press releases, and industry/company news. Research and development culminated in a ten-part evaluation and categorization, housed within a comprehensive, executive-level presentation deck. This deck was presented over the course of a two-day virtual meeting with Executive heads from three different departments within the Client's organization.
Collaboration on this endeavor was led by our Program Director with aid from a Marketing Associate and myself, as Designer and Researcher. We were to develop a robust understanding of each individual platform/client, noting positives and negatives, documenting our findings, and conferring in weekly meetings. At the end of the documentation process, presentation decks were designed with highlights of research findings related to comparisons between consoles, platforms, and clients. This was not a typical research project in that we had five months to thoroughly collect rich content, data, and screenshots. This longer-than-typical timeline allowed us to be meticulous about our grading systems, and present our Client with various avenues to dive into at their discretion during scheduled, bi-monthly check-ins. Our team documented user experience and user journeys, utilizing hands-on exploration of features, competitive analysis tools (Trendkite, SEMRush, and Spyfu), brand/company websites, analyst/industry reports, press releases, and industry/company news. Research and development culminated in a ten-part evaluation and categorization, housed within a comprehensive, executive-level presentation deck. This deck was presented over the course of a two-day virtual meeting with Executive heads from three different departments within the Client's organization.
Challenges
The greatest challenge of this project was distilling the wealth of detailed information down to a series of presentation slides, while making each individual slide visually impactful. Being that my role in the organization focused my research efforts on design-centric findings, having to shift my lens of focus to a fresh, new medium was a bit daunting. However, I was up for the challenge and excited to push myself beyond my traditional skillset. These presentation slides consisted of stylized data charts, impactful graphics, and high-resolution image captures. During my data mining, I collected, sorted, and displayed platform/client screenshots, and aggregated the best screens for attentional focus. Further challenges relied on time, as some platforms and/or desktop/mobile clients were rolling out new industry-leading features during our process of evaluation. This required extending timelines, to which the Client was conscious and verified the open-ended nature of the project scope/floating date.
The greatest challenge of this project was distilling the wealth of detailed information down to a series of presentation slides, while making each individual slide visually impactful. Being that my role in the organization focused my research efforts on design-centric findings, having to shift my lens of focus to a fresh, new medium was a bit daunting. However, I was up for the challenge and excited to push myself beyond my traditional skillset. These presentation slides consisted of stylized data charts, impactful graphics, and high-resolution image captures. During my data mining, I collected, sorted, and displayed platform/client screenshots, and aggregated the best screens for attentional focus. Further challenges relied on time, as some platforms and/or desktop/mobile clients were rolling out new industry-leading features during our process of evaluation. This required extending timelines, to which the Client was conscious and verified the open-ended nature of the project scope/floating date.
Solutions
Creative project challenges foster creative project solutions and during our research process, we managed to find many avenues for solutions to most queries. Being that this was my first foray into an alternative field of research, I was able to harness my designing skills and showcase the collected data points into content-dense graphics and data charts. It allowed me to step outside of my norm and approach the challenge from a new angle I'd not been pushed to. Having been a key contributor and designer in this project, it allowed me to collect data and envision how best to display it, all during the collection process. The easiest solution was acquiring licensure for various platforms and gaming consoles. Other solutions were a part of the design process that required the creation of digestible presentation slides that hosted informative charts and accompanying graphics, which gave credence to the supporting data points we compiled. Our focus was on answering key evaluation questions focused on offerings, key trends/best practices, customer engagement/loyalty, non-gaming features, integrations with platform/ecosystems, and partner projects. Collaborating with my Marketing Associate colleague further enriched the knowledge we jointly collected, and helped create a course outline for each platform in question.
Creative project challenges foster creative project solutions and during our research process, we managed to find many avenues for solutions to most queries. Being that this was my first foray into an alternative field of research, I was able to harness my designing skills and showcase the collected data points into content-dense graphics and data charts. It allowed me to step outside of my norm and approach the challenge from a new angle I'd not been pushed to. Having been a key contributor and designer in this project, it allowed me to collect data and envision how best to display it, all during the collection process. The easiest solution was acquiring licensure for various platforms and gaming consoles. Other solutions were a part of the design process that required the creation of digestible presentation slides that hosted informative charts and accompanying graphics, which gave credence to the supporting data points we compiled. Our focus was on answering key evaluation questions focused on offerings, key trends/best practices, customer engagement/loyalty, non-gaming features, integrations with platform/ecosystems, and partner projects. Collaborating with my Marketing Associate colleague further enriched the knowledge we jointly collected, and helped create a course outline for each platform in question.
Conclusion
The wealth of informative analysis we constructed in an extensive, yet digestible, presentation was well-received amongst executive leaders from three separate divisions under our Client’s organization. Of the ten platforms researched, our Client requested an in-depth exploration amongst two focused platforms noted as their largest competitors in the shared marketspace. The success and accolades from all Executives continued to cement our relationship with our Client, with them requesting to retain both presentation decks as their in-house source material for forthcoming projects, based solely on the wealth of highly detailed and comprehensive data that each platform received in our structured breakdowns. I was also given direct accolades from my Project Director for the undertaking of this project, both in my new-found research abilities, as well as for the fluid design and demonstration of how the presentation decks were assembled. This project served to prove that my talents were beyond the design realm, and I was capable of stepping outside of my norm, thus picking up a vital new skill to add to my arsenal. It also showcased my cross-functional collaboration and execution of strategy abilities in a team setting, while also harnessing my independence as a project contributor.
The wealth of informative analysis we constructed in an extensive, yet digestible, presentation was well-received amongst executive leaders from three separate divisions under our Client’s organization. Of the ten platforms researched, our Client requested an in-depth exploration amongst two focused platforms noted as their largest competitors in the shared marketspace. The success and accolades from all Executives continued to cement our relationship with our Client, with them requesting to retain both presentation decks as their in-house source material for forthcoming projects, based solely on the wealth of highly detailed and comprehensive data that each platform received in our structured breakdowns. I was also given direct accolades from my Project Director for the undertaking of this project, both in my new-found research abilities, as well as for the fluid design and demonstration of how the presentation decks were assembled. This project served to prove that my talents were beyond the design realm, and I was capable of stepping outside of my norm, thus picking up a vital new skill to add to my arsenal. It also showcased my cross-functional collaboration and execution of strategy abilities in a team setting, while also harnessing my independence as a project contributor.