MVP: 1. Login 2. Inspirational/motivational message 3. League Home 4. Home Menu 5. Update progress
MVP: 1. Grade details 2. Attendance details 3. Service details 4. Add service hours 5. Add service hours filled
MVP: 1. Menu MVP 2. Profile 3. Profile, About Me active 4. Date of birth Calendar dialog 5. Profile, gender dropdow

Role: Lead Designer
Company: Capital One 1717 Innovation Lab
Scope: UX/UI Design for MVP App
Tech: Flutter, Android/iOS Native Patterns

Background

As part of Capital One’s Impact Initiative housed within Richmond’s 1717 Innovation Lab, I volunteered to help Team Excel, a startup helping students succeed through gamified performance tracking. Their model, based on fantasy sports, motivates students using team-based leagues and point systems tied to academic and personal milestones.

Problem

Team Excel needed to transform their web platform into a scalable mobile app, while also rebranding and enhancing their marketing. They lacked a native mobile experience and needed UX support to translate their concept effectively to iOS and Android.

Action

Partnering closely with a small internal tech team eager to learn Flutter, I led design efforts from initial wireframes to final UI. Starting with Android-first design, I:

  • Identified usability gaps in the web product
  • Designed native flows that preserved Team Excel’s gamified vision
  • Collaborated across branding, engineering, and the client team to iterate quickly
  • Delivered a flexible UI that could scale across platforms and evolve with their rebrand

We used platform-native components for the MVP, launching initially with placeholder visuals, then reskinning with the new brand once finalized.

Results

  • The MVP app launched successfully on both Android and iOS, helping Team Excel unlock the power of peer accountability and healthy competition to maximize human potential and achieve better outcomes.
  • The app played a key role in delivering Team Excel’s mission to more schools and students, offering a mobile-first platform for tracking and engaging in team-based challenges that fostered growth and performance.
  • The project fostered valuable collaboration between design and engineering, providing a learning opportunity for engineers and contributing to the development of a community success story within Capital One’s innovation ecosystem.
  • As a result of the app’s early success, Team Excel continues to grow, leveraging the design and development foundation established during the project to scale its impact.

Impact

  • Long-term growth: The app helped position Team Excel for sustained success, contributing to its ongoing expansion and adaptation in a competitive environment.
  • The app enhanced accessibility to Team Excel’s core features, making it easier for students and schools to engage with challenges that promote healthy competition and accountability.
  • The collaboration between design and engineering set the stage for future innovation, strengthening the team’s ability to expand and refine their mobile experience.

Skills

  • UX Design
  • UI Design
  • Mobile Design
  • Native UX
  • Flutter
  • Design Thinking
  • Wireframing
  • Stakeholder Collaboration
  • Capital One Experience