NASCAR x Columbia College
Family friendly web app and activity book for the NASCAR 2024 Chicago Street Race
Lead Product & Visual Designer
2 Product Managers, 2 Visual Artists, 3 Developers, 10 UX Designers
12 weeks
NASCAR Chicago offered no interactive, family-oriented experiences to engage newcomers and younger audiences during downtime between races.
Web platform built around educational and interactive games and a kid-centered activity book.
- Educate newcomers and younger audiences about drivers, racing culture, and event activities.
- Create interactive experiences for families during race downtime.
- Support both online and offline participation.
First, we needed to understand what NASCAR already offered digitally. I led the team through a SWOT analysis of three existing platforms: NASCAR 101, NASCAR Kids, and NASCAR Chicago to identify where the current experience fell short.
NASCAR’s existing platforms were content-heavy but passive, which is not built to engage newcomers or younger audiences.
NASCAR’s kids platform offered only static, printable activities. No digital games or interactive experiences that would keep kids engaged throughout a full race weekend and beyond.
To understand who we were designing for, we conducted two screener surveys: one targeting general festival-goers and another tailored to NASCAR fans. Then we conducted three in-depth interviews with select participants.
“People who like racing are competitive people.
That can’t be understated.”
- Joe, NASCAR fan
“I want an interactive experience that would enhance my memory of the festival.”
- Laura, frequent festival attendee
Most attendees have significant downtime, but no dedicated experiences to keep them engaged between races.
Engagement needs to be driven by competition and reward, not just education.
Tangible experiences create lasting memories that digital alone can’t.
Based on our research, we designed a mobile-first web platform with three experiences directly informed by what we learned from users, fans, and NASCAR’s existing landscape.
45% of users only download an app when they absolutely need one, and 18% refuse to download altogether when a browser alternative exists.
Fans can compare their reaction time to this year’s NASCAR drivers’ time.
Fans can test their knowledge of NASCAR and Chicago. The winners are displayed on a leaderboard, and win a prize.
Fans can complete fun activities while also learning more about NASCAR and racing culture.
A black and white format solved two problems at once: it removed the barrier of needing a color printer and transformed every page into a hands-on creative activity.
Managed the product direction for the Reaction Game and Trivia Game by running regular syncs with each team to keep timelines on track and ensure every touchpoint felt distinct in purpose but unified in brand language across NASCAR’s guidelines.
Designed and presented biweekly progress decks to NASCAR Chicago directors, translating design decisions and strategy into clear, stakeholder-ready narratives.
The UX designers needed support on the Interface design. I worked closely with them to refine the interface, providing direct feedback and design guidance to bring it to the same level of polish as the rest of the platform.
Led the end-to-end design of the Activity Book by designing the visual direction, layout, cover, and content for the majority of the pages.
Designed all the pages of the Web App.