Revamping Airlearn's Leagues System
Reimagining a Competitive Learning System
The existing Leagues feature on Airlearn was designed as a lightweight competitive layer, but over time it revealed clear limitations. User awareness was low, engagement dropped sharply outside of promotion weeks, and the experience felt disconnected from the core learning journey. Most importantly, the system failed to create strong emotional stakes—users neither felt rewarded for winning nor motivated when they lost.
The goal of this redesign was to transform Leagues from a passive leaderboard into a game-like progression system that drives sustained engagement, increases the k-factor through social competition, and reinforces learning consistency.
Identifying Core Experience Gaps
Through product audits and user behavior analysis, I identified several key issues:
- Leagues lived as a separate, low-visibility module rather than an integrated learning motivator
- Progression lacked emotional payoff where moving up or down felt inconsequential
- Zero social tension or pride moments, reducing competitiveness
- No meaningful differentiation between leagues beyond naming
- Weak end-of-league closure, making outcomes feel anticlimactic
These gaps framed the design direction: make Leagues feel earned, visible, and emotionally engaging.
Designing Better League Touchpoints
We re-architected League touchpoints to appear at high-intent moments in the user journey rather than isolating them in a single tab.
Key changes included:
- Contextual nudges on the Home and Insight screens
- Clear league status visibility during learning
- Entry points that explain why leagues matter, not just what they are
This ensured leagues stayed top-of-mind without interrupting the learning flow.
Turning Leagues Into a Game System
To increase motivation, I reframed leagues as a game progression ladder rather than a leaderboard.
Each league was redesigned with:
- A distinct visual identity
- Narrative progression (Kitten → Hunter → Warrior → Guardian → Champion → Legendary → Immortal)
- Clear promotion and demotion logic communicated through visuals, not just text
I designed all league illustrations to reinforce identity, status, and aspiration, helping users feel their progress, not just see it numerically.
Add an image to create a parallax effect that moves as you scroll
Meaningful End-of-League Outcomes
One of the biggest shifts was redesigning how leagues end.
Instead of a silent reset, we introduced:
- Promotion, demotion, and “stayed” flows with clear feedback
- Animated transitions explaining what happened and why
- League Protect mechanics to reduce churn anxiety
- Emotional closure moments that encourage re-engagement
These flows were intentionally designed to balance competitiveness with encouragement, preventing drop-offs after losses.
Introducing Medallions and Podium Rewards
To create long-term pride and social signaling, I introduced Medallions and League-specific podium awards.
- Medallions visually evolve as users progress, reinforcing long-term commitment
- Podium rewards (1st, 2nd, 3rd) vary by league, increasing perceived value at higher tiers
- All rewards are persistently visible in user profiles, strengthening identity and shareability
I designed both the system logic and the full illustration set to ensure rewards felt premium and collectible.
Add an image to create a parallax effect that moves as you scroll
Expanding Competition With Tournaments
To elevate engagement further, I designed a 4-week Tournament system layered on top of Leagues.
- Week 0 acts as a qualifier from Immortal League
- Weeks 1–3 progress through Quarter, Semi, and Final rounds
- Only top performers advance, increasing stakes and urgency
The tournament structure introduces periodic peaks in engagement while maintaining fairness and clarity. Entrances, unlock moments, and finals were used to make progression feel ceremonial rather than mechanical.
Ownership and Impact
I led the end-to-end redesign of the Leagues experience—from identifying product gaps and defining progression logic to designing critical flows and crafting the complete illustration system. Every visual element was purpose-built to reinforce motivation, clarity, and emotional payoff.
The result is a scalable competitive framework that aligns with Airlearn’s learning goals while significantly increasing engagement depth and social retention.
