Evolve
An Android app that connects amateur and semi-pro gamers with pro mentors and health professionals. I designed it in 2022, research first, and redesigned the core screens in 2026.
- Role
- Solo: research, structure, flows, wireframes and visual design in 2022, and the redesign in 2026
- When
- A self-initiated concept in 2022, redesigned in October 2026
- Platform
- Android app at 360 × 800, in Figma, FigJam and Google Forms
- Scale
- 24 survey responses · 37 wireframes · 44 high-fidelity screens · 7 screens redrawn in 2026
01 · ProblemThe one I chose
From scores to players
I started with an esports scores app, but research pointed me toward players who needed help getting better.
Gap 01
No path to mentorship
Coaching for up-and-coming players barely existed outside pro teams. Advice online was generic and spread across YouTube and forums.
Gap 02
Health was ignored
Long sessions bring wrist injuries, poor posture, bad sleep and burnout. Gaming also helps many players with isolation and anxiety, so “play less” isn’t the answer.
Gap 03
A male-dominated space
Women who play or stream deal with harassment, and have few people to learn from who’ve been through it.
Secondary research led me to focus on mentorship and wellbeing for amateur and semi-pro gamers, with esports news as a reason to return.
02 · Process2022 · 2026
Two rounds
In 2022 I worked through five stages in order. In 2026 I went back to the file, kept the research and most of the structure, and redrew the screens.
2022
Research
Reports from Newzoo, Nielsen and Mindshare, seven products compared, and 24 survey responses.
Chapters 03–04
2022
Synthesis
About 90 keywords, five scenarios, three personas.
Chapter 05
2022
Ideation
31 ideas in five groups, and four core features for the first version.
Chapter 06
2022
Structure
Seven branches in the app’s structure, and four user flows.
Chapter 07
2022
Design
37 wireframes, 44 high-fidelity screens, and a design system.
Chapter 08
October 2026
Redesign
Eight problems found, and seven screens redrawn.
Chapters 09–12
03 · ResearchReports and rivals
Who plays
I read reports from Newzoo, Nielsen and Mindshare and articles on player health. Most fans were 18–34 and 38% were women.
Audience
385M
people watched esports globally; 191M were regular “enthusiasts”.
Age
65%
of fans are aged 18 to 34.
Women
38%
of esports fans are women, though the fan base skews male.
Viewing
100 min
average viewing session. Only about half of viewers play the game they watch.
Region
57%
of enthusiasts are in Asia-Pacific (2019).
Revenue
$1.1B
global esports revenue in 2019, $457M of it from sponsorship.
From the articles on player health, I listed the problems an app could realistically help with. The fifth became the core of the wellbeing tab.
01
Wrists
Carpal tunnel syndrome and wrist injuries from repetitive motion.
02
Posture
Back and chest problems from poor posture and an inactive lifestyle.
03
Drugs
Performance-enhancing drugs.
04
Burnout
Mental fatigue and early burnout.
05 · core of the wellbeing tab
Food, exercise, sleep
Poor nutrition, little exercise and lost sleep.
One article reported a ten-week wait for mental-health care. I compared seven products across community, esports, coaching and health against the ten features I was considering.
| Feature | Upcomer | Healthygamer.gg | Proguides | Aim Lab | HealthifyMe | Strafe | Evolve | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community | ||||||||
| Mentorship | ||||||||
| Mental health | ||||||||
| Physical health | ||||||||
| Event schedule | ||||||||
| Guides | ||||||||
| Match analysis | ||||||||
| Follow pros and teams | ||||||||
| Esports news | ||||||||
| Messaging | ||||||||
| Features covered | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
The products I reviewed covered different pieces: coaching, community, scores or health. I wanted Evolve to bring mentorship, esports updates and wellbeing together.
04 · SurveyGoogle Forms, 2022
What 24 gamers told me
I sent a Google Forms survey to gamers in my network about playing, toxic teammates and gaming careers; 24 responded. The sample was small and skewed, so I built the female persona from secondary research.
Sent to about
50
gamers in my network
Responses
24
came back
Men
92%
of those who answered
Ages
18–30
everyone who answered
Have you ever considered gaming as a reputable career?
24 responses
71% had at least considered it, even though only 21% play to compete.
As a gaming enthusiast or professional, what hurdles have you faced?
22 responses, more than one answer allowed
Hardware topped the list, and an app couldn’t fix that. Family support, opportunities and guidance are all about being taken seriously, which mentors can help with.
Have you ever encountered toxic teammates in game?
24 responses
Everyone had met toxicity. Half said it sometimes hurts their game, so they mute people.
In a tense moment or a losing situation, what goes on in your mind?
23 responses, more than one answer allowed
Nobody reported venting, though everyone had encountered toxic teammates. The survey didn’t explain the gap, so I wrote scenarios to explore how a player might behave under pressure.
If you play multiplayer, which type fits you best?
23 responses, more than one answer allowed
Shooters first, so Valorant and CS:GO lead the game filters and the sample content.
Preferred way to communicate in game
24 responses, more than one answer allowed
Players are used to talking, which made a 1:1 video session with a mentor feel natural, with chat as the cheaper option.
The last question asked for their best and worst gaming experiences, in their own words.
Best
“The kind and accepting community of Final Fantasy 14. Everyone was helpful and wanted to share the joy of the game.”
Worst
“Overwatch ranked lobbies. No interest in the game, just focused on winning or losing. This lack of enthusiasm led to leaving the game.”
Worst
“Valorant mic experience, among sexist teammates.”
Best
“1v5 ace clutch in overtime and qualifying for the semis of a college event in FIFA.”
Worst
“Game servers are very slow in India.”
Best
“Won Age of Empires against my college seniors with my hostel squad.”
05 · PeopleScenarios and personas
Who I designed for
I mapped about 90 keywords into five scenarios and three personas, using difficult situations to test what the flows needed to handle.
Competition and career
Health
Community harm
Platforms and culture
Scenario 01
Shazeb, in-game leader
His team plays a strong first half at an international qualifier, collapses in the second and is knocked out. The community blames the IGL, and the owners start talking about replacing him.
IGL · strategy · burnout · anxiety · failure
Scenario 02
Aman, amateur going full time
Has decided to go pro in CS:GO. Pressure builds in international practice matches (scrims), he underperforms, and the backlash hits his mental health. He wants someone to give him a routine.
mentor · coaching · stress · full time
Scenario 03
Alex, 16 and already pro
Plays practice matches with pro teams and has to perform consistently to keep his spot, at an age when he has few ways to handle the stress.
young · performance · consistency
Scenario 04
Anand, losing it in ranked
Plays and streams Valorant. When a game goes badly he blames his teammates, the game falls apart, and in the next match he shuts everyone out.
rage · toxicity · tilt · prestige
Scenario 05
Alisha, Dota streamer
A respected full-time streamer who lives on donations. She still gets remarks about her looks, misogynist chat and bullying in game, and was once stalked in real life.
misogyny · harassment · safety · income
I made empathy maps for the three people who came up most across the scenarios and the survey, then wrote a persona for each.
Rahul Sharma, 24
Business analyst, casual gamer
- From
- Agra
- Lives
- With his girlfriend
- Needs
- Wellbeing
“To manage my mental and physical health, I need professional guidance, one to one.”
Goals
- Reach health professionals and mentors who understand gaming.
- Get personal advice on diet, sleep and how to train.
Frustrations
- Can’t balance a 50-hour work week with his passion.
- Advice online is generic, and there’s too much of it to be useful.
Problem. Rahul sits at his setup for 8+ hours a day. He needs guidance on balancing gaming with his health, because he’s started showing insomnia, wrist pain, disordered eating and lower back pain.
Abhinav Verma, 26
Amateur pro, stuck
- From
- Delhi
- Lives
- With his parents
- Needs
- Mentorship
“I want to get out of the rut I’m in and make a career in pro gaming.”
Goals
- Improve his skills and how marketable he is.
- Get his confidence back with a mentor, and look after his mental health on the way.
Frustrations
- He has plateaued and can’t work out why.
- Feels he’s let his parents, and himself, down.
Problem. Abhinav won small college tournaments, then stalled. He wants a mentor to show him how to practise, rest, build skills and network, because his parents now want him to take a corporate job.
Priyanka, 22
Design student, aspiring streamer
- From
- Lucknow
- Lives
- With her parents
- Needs
- Community, mentorship
“I want to make a name and a full-time career for myself as a young woman in gaming.”
Goals
- Collaborate with her favourite creators and gamers.
- Build her own gaming content brand.
Frustrations
- Convincing her parents that gaming is a real career.
- Doesn’t want to follow the path many female creators have been pushed into.
Problem. Priyanka knows streaming is crowded and wants to learn how to stand out. Because it’s a male-dominated space, she’s looking for a female pro as a mentor.
06 · MVPIdeation
Four of 31 ideas
I grouped 31 ideas from a series of “what if” questions and chose four for the first version.
Community 7
- Follow pro teams and players
- Live stream links
- Community matches
- Community highlight plays
- Support group
- Community-offered support
- Cheater reports
Health 5
- Therapy: 1:1 with mental health professionals
- Workout videos to fix bad posture
- Awareness guides
- A customisable exercise routine for every loss
- Personalised diet and exercise plan
Mentorship 5
- 1v1 mentorship
- Pro gamers’ experiences and journeys
- Video guides: which character to play, team compositions
- Advice on growing and monetising a social presence
- Awareness guides
Core esports 9
- Esports news
- Event schedules
- Match scoreboard
- VOD analysis
- Gameplay tutorials
- Pro data
- Execute and retake guides
- Short clips of great pro plays
- Nostalgic walkthroughs
Parking lot 5
- Quizzes on gaming vocabulary and map callouts
- Giveaways
- Messaging
- Walkthroughs, cast to a device
- Nostalgic walkthroughs
I kept the ideas that served the three personas directly, and cut anything another app already did better, such as messaging.
Feature 01 · for Abhinav and Priyanka
Mentorship
Find a pro by game and skill, book a chat or a 1:1 video session, and come prepared with an agenda.
Feature 02 · for Rahul
Wellbeing
The same booking flow for sports psychologists, physios and nutritionists, plus short guides on wrists, posture and sleep.
Feature 03 · the daily reason
Esports updates
News, scores and schedules filtered to the games, pros and sources you pick. This is what people would open the app for every day.
Feature 04
Community
Live streams, posts from the players you follow, and community tournaments you can register for, solo or as a team.
07 · StructureTabs and user flows
One tab per feature
I kept everyday tasks easy to reach, with guides and match data up to three levels deep. Profile and search sat in the top bar.
Onboarding
- Splash and intro carousel
- Sign up or log inEmail, Google, Facebook, Twitter
- Connect Discord, Steam
- Username
- Preference buildingGames → pros → news sources
- Skip
HomeTab 1
- Game filterFrom preferences
- Community postsTwitter and Reddit, by hashtag and subreddit
- News, by source
- SearchPros, posts and news, games
- No results
MentorTab 2
- How it works
- Top mentors, mentors by game
- Book a sessionChat or 1:1 video
- Mentor → date → time → agenda
- GuidesVOD analysis, retakes and executes, abilities, walkthroughs
Community / LiveTab 3
- Live streamsGame filter; following first
- Stream page, opens Twitch
- Matches and tournamentsTitle, sponsors, dates, rules
- Register solo or as a team
UpdatesTab 4
- Live matches and scoreboard
- Match overviewLine-ups, commentary transcript, past matches
- FollowingPros, teams
- RankingsBy game, by pro
HealthTab 5
- “Not sure who to talk to?” quiz
- Physical and mental wellbeing
- Chat or 1:1 with a professional
- Guides and articles
ProfileAvatar
- Edit name and username
- Meetings
- Linked accounts
- PreferencesGames, pros, sources
- About, log out
I drew four flows in FigJam before any screens. Mentorship and wellbeing turned out to be the same flow with different people in it, which saved a set of wireframes later.
Flow 1
First launch
From install to a Home tailored to you: splash, intro, sign-up, a username, then games, pros and news sources. Each preference step can be skipped; Home then shows everything.
Flow 3
Join a community tournament
From the match list to a confirmed slot: title, sponsors, dates and rules, register, personal details, confirmation. Still playing? If not, cancel the registration.
Flow 4
Search
From the top bar on any tab. Results come in pros, posts and news, and games. No results ends in suggestions.
08 · DesignWireframes and hi-fi, 2022
The 2022 screens
I made 37 greyscale wireframes at 360 × 800, then 44 screens in a dark theme.
What do you want? 
All favourites 
Home 
Article 
Mentor tab 
Chat or 1:1 video 
Available mentors 
Calendar 
Appointment details 
Booked 
Wellbeing tab 
Updates 
Tournament 
Profile
Five words: gaming, sports, fitness, youth, professional
The moodboard started from those words.
- A dark interface, because games, launchers and streams are mostly dark.
- Bright accents, from the neon of RGB keyboards and stage lighting.
- Fitness references, so it wouldn’t look like a game launcher.
I shortlisted two names. GameBeat said gaming and health, but sounded like a music app. Evolve described what the app is for: getting better, as a player and as a person. The mark is a controller with a heartbeat running through it, the game and the player’s health on one line. The line runs cyan to pink, the two ends of the palette.
GameBeatevolve.
The high-fidelity design ran to 44 screens across onboarding, preferences, home, health booking, matches and profile. This is the design as I finished it in 2022, before the redesign. The booking flow was drawn for health professionals; mentorship reused it in the wireframes.
Splash 
Intro 
Games, Valorant picked 
Pros, a thin ring only 
Titled “New Sources” Home 
Health 
Top professionals 
Schedule 
Booked 
Updates 
Tournament 
Pro profile
09 · ProblemsFound in 2026
Gaps in the 2022 screens
I went back to the 2022 file in 2026. The research and most of the structure still worked. The screens looked finished, but they skipped decisions. Here are eight problems, ranked by how much they’d hurt someone using the app, and what each one became.
2022 · booking left out what mattersWeekday initials but no dates, times with no time zone, and a 12 AM slot. The confirmation said “Mode: FaceTime” on an Android app. Price and session length never appeared.
2026Real dates, times labelled in Indian Standard Time (IST), the session type with its length and price, a summary above the button, and video calls inside the app.
2022 · you couldn’t choose between peopleA photo, a name, “Physician” and a Connect button. Megan was a physician on one screen and a fitness expert on the next.
2026Mentor cards show the game, specialty, rating with session count, languages, price and next free slot. A Women mentors filter, for Priyanka’s need.
2022 · Health was only a directoryThe research was about sleep, wrists, posture and burnout. The tab was a quiz banner, a carousel of doctors and two guides. Nothing asked how you were doing.
2026A 20-second daily check-in, a nudge when a pattern shows up, guides tied to the common complaints, and a crisis helpline that’s always visible.
2022 · two navigation barsSome screens had Live where others had Community. Live, Community and Updates all showed match data, so you couldn’t predict where a score would be.
2026One bar: Home, Matches, Mentors, Wellbeing, Profile. Live, Community and Updates merge into Matches.
2022 · Home ignored onboardingAfter three preference steps, Home showed a generic feed. A session you’d booked appeared nowhere.
2026Home leads with your next session, then live matches for teams you follow, then news filtered by your games.
2022 · selection was hard to readPicks got a thin pink ring, easy to miss on a dark photo. The step showed twice, as dots and a bar, and step 3 was titled “New Sources”.
2026A tick badge and border, a count of what you’ve picked, and one labelled progress bar.
2022 · scores had no statusMatch cards showed “2:1”, with no sign of whether the match was live or over, or which map was being played.
2026A status pill (Live, Upcoming, Final), map-by-map scores and a reminder bell.
2022 · four typefaces, failing contrastMontserrat, Qanelas Soft, Manrope and Inter, plus 9:30 and 9:41 status bars from different kits. White on the brand pink measured 4.16:1, the small grey bios 3.26:1.
2026Manrope only, one status bar, and the colour pairs in the contrast table in chapter 11.
10 · RedesignOctober 2026
Seven screens, redrawn
Pick your games
Onboarding, step 1 of 3.
- A tick and a border mark what you picked, so it reads on any cover art.
- One progress bar with labels replaces the dots and the bar, so you know what’s next.
- The count and the next step sit above the button.
- Skip is always visible. Without picks, Home shows everything.
Home
The Home tab, for Abhinav.
- Up next comes first: who, what and when, in your time zone, with Join and Reschedule.
- Live now shows teams you follow, with the map and round score, where 2022 showed only “2:1”.
- The feed is filtered by the games picked in onboarding, and each story names its source.
- Profile moves from the avatar into the nav. Search and notifications stay at the top.
Choose a mentor
The Mentors tab, filtered to Valorant.
- The card has what you need to choose: specialty, rating with the number of sessions, languages, price and the next free slot.
- Skill filters come from the guides I planned: aim, IGL and strategy, mindset, streaming.
- Women mentors is a switch on the list itself, not inside a filter sheet, for Priyanka and players like her.
- A verified badge means Evolve checked their competitive history.
Book a session
- Session type, date, time and agenda were four screens in 2022. They fit on one, and you can see all your choices at once.
- Dates show free slots. Full days stay visible but disabled, so you know to look at another day.
- Times are labelled IST. Mentors set availability in their own zone and the app converts it.
- Price and the cancellation policy sit right above the button, before you pay.
Booked
- When it is, how to join and what you paid, on one screen.
- A short checklist helps players arrive with something to work on. In 2022 the agenda was a free-text field.
- Add to calendar is the main action. It replaces the 2022 “Back to home” button.
- The cancellation deadline is a date, so you don’t have to work it out from a rule.
Wellbeing
The Wellbeing tab, for Rahul.
- A 20-second check-in asks about sleep, time played and pain. The tab now opens on how you’re doing; in 2022 it opened on a list of doctors.
- Nudges respond to patterns over several days and ignore a single bad day. They never diagnose.
- Professionals use the same cards and booking flow as mentors, with their specialty spelled out.
- Guides cover the complaints from the research: wrists, posture, sleep and food.
- A crisis line is always on screen. India’s free government helpline, Tele-MANAS, is one tap away.
Matches
Live, Updates and Community, merged into one tab.
- Live, Upcoming and Results cover what people look for in a scores tab.
- Map-by-map scores and a status pill replace the bare “2:1”.
- The bell sets a reminder for a match you can’t watch yet.
- Community cups sit beside pro matches, so playing in one is as easy to find as watching.
11 · SystemBrand kept, rest fixed
A tighter system
In 2026 I kept the brand pink but split it into darker and lighter shades for buttons and text, and reduced four typefaces to one.
| Sample | Pair | Ratio | AA, normal text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | White on #F20574, 2022 buttons | 4.16:1 | Fails |
| Aa | White on #E0046B, 2026 buttons | 4.77:1 | Passes |
| Aa | #7D52D9 text on black, 2022 | 3.78:1 | Fails |
| Aa | #A98BFF text on black, 2026 | 7.32:1 | Passes |
| Aa | #666666 body text on #121212, 2022 | 3.26:1 | Fails |
| Aa | #FF4D97 pink text on #16151C, 2026 | 5.84:1 | Passes |
| Aa | #8F899C tertiary text on #16151C, 2026 | 5.38:1 | Passes |
Type in 2022
Four typefaces
The screens came from different UI kits and nobody consolidated them: Montserrat in 467 text layers, Qanelas Soft in 149, Manrope in 93 and Inter in 73.
Type in 2026
Manrope only
It has tabular figures for scores and times, and stays readable at 11px. Six sizes cover every screen, from a 24/800 screen title to 11/600–700 nav labels and status pills.
Icons
One outline set
The 2022 file imported all 2,272 Remix icons as components, which is why the nav mixed a ghost and a pin with plain outlines. Now: 24px outlines, one stroke weight, and a pink pill on the active tab.
Buttons
48px high. The primary fill is #E0046B, one per screen.
Chips and pills
Filters are white when on. A status always has a word as well as a colour.
Date and time
Real dates. Full days and taken slots are shown, not hidden.
Bottom navigation
One version everywhere: five tabs, the active one in a pink pill.
12 · Before and after2022 · 2026
Side by side
Move across each screen to compare. 2022 is on the left of the line, 2026 on the right.
Picking games
A tick badge and a count replace the thin ring. One labelled progress bar.
Home
Your next session and the live matches you follow come before the feed. One navigation bar.
Choosing who to book
Price, rating, languages and the next free slot on each card. Filters by game and skill, and a Women mentors switch.
Scheduling
Real dates, times in IST, session type and price, and a summary before you pay. Four screens became one.
Confirmation
Video in the app instead of FaceTime, a checklist, Add to calendar, and the cancellation deadline as a date.
Wellbeing
Opens on a daily check-in and a pattern nudge, then people and guides. A helpline is always visible.
Scores
Status, map scores, reminders and community cups. Three overlapping tabs became one.
13 · OutcomeAnd what I’d test next
What I learned
If I’d started with screens, I’d have built a weaker Upcomer. The research changed the product, and going back four years later showed me where the screens hadn’t caught up with it.
What I learned
The survey didn’t fully back mentorship
“Lack of guidance” came fifth, at 23%. Mentorship still made sense, because it also answered family support and opportunities. I should have written that reasoning down at the time, instead of letting the data look like it agreed with me.
What I learned
The sample was too narrow
24 responses, 92% men. Next time I’d recruit through Discord servers and women-in-gaming groups, and follow the survey with five interviews.
What I learned
Two flows were the same flow
Mentorship and wellbeing booking were identical. In 2026 they share one set of components, which is also why the redesign took only days.
What I learned
Real data showed what was undecided
A real date, time zone and price on the booking screen raised questions the 2022 screens had skipped: who sets availability, what happens if you cancel, how you join the call.
What I learned
Wellbeing needs limits
A wellbeing tab for young players has to avoid diagnosing, shaming or upselling. The redesign responds to patterns, keeps a helpline on screen, and leaves diagnosis to professionals.
If the project continued, I’d test the booking flow first.
Next 01
Test booking
With five players: can they find a mentor for a specific problem and book within two minutes?
Next 02
Mentors as a service
How mentors are verified, paid and rated, and what happens when a session goes badly.
Next 03
Safety
For women mentors and streamers, from Alisha’s scenario: reporting, blocking, and hiding personal details.
Next 04
Parked ideas
A guide to budget setups would address the biggest hurdle in the survey.