I believe every successful product must be grounded in a clear methodology that honors each stage of its development. My process is shaped by user-centered design principles, drawing from thinkers like Don Norman and Marty Cagan, and built on a three-stage structure: Discovery, Ideation, and Building.

Discovery is where everything begins. It’s the moment to step back and understand the market, the users, and the gaps that need to be filled. In the case of BeatGolf, I started by analyzing similar products in the golf tech space. It quickly became clear that most existing solutions were failing at one fundamental point: usability. Their interfaces were unintuitive, overly complex, and aesthetically outdated.

Rather than competing through feature overload, I chose to differentiate the product through simplicity. I aimed to create an experience that felt fluid and intuitive from the first tap. Inspired by Jakob Nielsen’s usability heuristics, I emphasized clear navigation, obvious pathways, and a user journey that would never leave players guessing. As Don Norman states in The Design of Everyday Things, a product should never rely on manuals to be understood.

I conducted a benchmarking process to identify specific usability weaknesses in competitor apps. This analysis helped me prioritize simplicity and accessibility from the beginning, not as a polish layer, but as a core design value. I began sketching LoFi wireframes early in the process to validate and iterate on navigation flows.

In the Ideation phase, I moved from the "what" to the "how." Here, I built tools like feature sets, user flows, and sitemaps to lay the structural foundation of the product. Drawing on agile frameworks such as those outlined in Marty Cagan’s Inspired, I approached each feature as part of a modular system. This allowed me to maintain scalability without compromising coherence.

Inspired by Lean UX principles from Jeff Gothelf, I encapsulated each functionality, from creating matches to scorecards and real-time scoring, into reusable modules. These modules were designed to adapt to various needs and contexts, reducing friction and keeping the core product lean.

Don Norman reminds us that simplicity isn’t the absence of complexity, but the organized expression of it. With tools like user flows and modular thinking, I ensured each part of the experience was digestible and purposeful. The goal was always clarity, for both the user and the product team.

Then came the Building phase. Contrary to what many assume, building doesn't start with high-fidelity mockups or code — it begins with testing assumptions. Using LoFi prototypes, I validated the key user flows, gathered feedback, and refined both interaction and structure before committing to final visuals.

Once validated, I moved forward with creating the visual design system. Drawing from Atomic Design by Brad Frost, I created a scalable and consistent UI library. This included reusable components such as buttons, typography styles, and layout patterns, all documented in a centralized system. This approach ensured consistency across modules, accelerated development, and made future updates seamless.

In parallel, I worked with the marketing team to craft a tone of voice and communication style that matched the visual experience, clear, confident, and emotionally resonant. Every interaction had to reinforce trust and usability.

Modules like Home, Marketplace, and Stats were built not only to look good but to function smoothly within the broader experience. Most importantly, the entire app is powered by a web-based admin system that allows full client control over content and features, ensuring adaptability, autonomy, and scale.