CBS Sports

Building a global design system at scale for the fastest, most in-depth sports coverage & fantasy games.

When joining CBS Sports Digital in 2014, the company faced significant challenges in delivering consistent, high-performance sports content across multiple platforms. The existing web and mobile products required a complete overhaul to serve demanding sports fans who expected fast, responsive access to in-depth sports coverage, scores, and statistics across all devices.

Leadership & Team Building

As a senior leadership team member, I spearheaded the development of a multi-disciplinary global design team, growing the team from 3 to 13 designers encompassing product design, UX research, and brand strategy. This expanded team was responsible for the entire product portfolio including:

  • CBSSports.com

  • CBS Sports Fantasy Games

  • CBS Sports HQ (new product launch)

  • 247Sports (aquisition)

  • MaxPreps (aquisition)

  • SportsLine (new product launch)

Strategic Redesign Initiative

Led design strategy and a comprehensive redesign effort of both web and mobile products, which served as a catalyst for modernizing the design process and company-wide product development process. This initiative established an environment focused on continuous iteration and user-centered improvements.

Scalable Design System Development

Built a comprehensive design system that could scale across the entire product ecosystem, enabling efficient iteration, user growth, and the ability to bring new products to market while growing the overall business. This system enabled:

  • Consistent user experiences across all device types

  • Efficient iteration and rapid product development

  • Seamless launch capabilities for new products

  • Streamlined development processes

CBSSports.com before and after

CBS Sports

CBS Sports Fantasy

Product Portfolio Optimization

Reoriented teams to focus on product features across all device types, ensuring consistency in user experiences. Given the mass scale of operations, every element had to be optimized for speed and responsiveness to serve diehard sports fans accessing content anywhere, on any device.


New Product Development

The scalable design system facilitated the launch of innovative products including:

  • Streaming sports news service

  • Picks and projections subscription product

  • Live streaming capabilities for premium content


Market Position Achievement

Successfully elevated CBS Sports Digital to the #2 position in the sports digital market, trailing only ESPN, while scaling the business from 2 to 6 product offerings. This achievement provided the foundation for continued growth and expansion.

CBS Sports, Max Preps, SportsLine, 247 Sports

SportsLine Subscription Product

CBS Sports HQ

Organizational Impact

Established the company's first formal design practice, creating a foundation that continues to drive product development today. The team culture focused on winning and collaboration became a defining characteristic of the organization.


Key Outcomes

  • Achieved #2 market position in sports digital media

  • Established scalable design system enabling rapid product iteration

  • Successfully launched multiple new product offerings

  • Modernized software development processes company-wide

  • Created lasting design practice and team culture

  • Delivered high-profile live streaming events and major rebranding initiative


Legacy

This initiative not only transformed CBS Sports Digital's market position but also established a design-driven culture and systematic approach to product development that continues to guide the organization's growth and innovation efforts.


Senior Director, Product Design
@ CBS Sports Digital
2014-2017


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