Project background
IFAB approached us with a problem of recognition in the wider football world. The diagnosis they provided was that everyone knows the rules, but few know where they come from and who administers them. The problem was primarily due to the fact that although the IFAB has been around since 1886, it only became an independent organisation in 2015. Prior to that, it was a more informal, in some ways even somewhat secretive, body overseeing the rules in one of the world's most important sports.
Hence the need for a place to educate football fans and professionals about the history of IFAB and (more importantly) the history of the rules themselves.
My role in the project
I was responsible for all stages of product design - from the strategy, architecture, engine and database concepts, to the artistic direction, content selection and supervision of other people involved in the work.
I led and managed a team consisting of UX researcher, UX designer, PM, content researcher and historian specializing in football field.
I led and managed a team consisting of UX researcher, UX designer, PM, content researcher and historian specializing in football field.
Business goals
During our meetings, we had lengthy discussions and workshops to help establish a roadmap and clarify business goals:
1. Build an educational platform for casuals and professionals
2. Build brand recognition by promoting IFAB across channels through the platform
1. Build an educational platform for casuals and professionals
2. Build brand recognition by promoting IFAB across channels through the platform
Our solution
Our idea was to create a place to educate audiences about the Laws of the Game and how they have influenced the game and world of football over the years - a media platform for the IFAB to attract a wider audience. We wanted to create a place where everyone can become familiar with the history of the Laws and to present the Laws of the Game in the context of other important and well-known events from the world of football.
This would help us to engage and educate users, distinguish the role that The IFAB has played in the creation of football as we know it and to create a branded platform and springboard for further promotional campaigns. Using items available to us, we wanted to focus on the history of the Laws of the Game, i.e. all information concerning the Laws in the context of changes over the years.
This would help us to engage and educate users, distinguish the role that The IFAB has played in the creation of football as we know it and to create a branded platform and springboard for further promotional campaigns. Using items available to us, we wanted to focus on the history of the Laws of the Game, i.e. all information concerning the Laws in the context of changes over the years.
Main goals defined:
Discovery
Our first step was to define our potential personas. After researching the matter we have divided it into three groups:
and we decided to reach out to the first two groups with our content:
The rationale was that this is the broadest group, giving us the opportunity to expand our knowledge of the rules and increase awareness of the IFAB brand and its contribution to the world of football.
Structure of the site
Since our idea was mainly aimed at casuals, we had to create a platform with a simple and clear structure and navigation.
This way of organizing content allowed us to present information in the most convenient and engaging way possible, so that users are not overwhelmed by a huge amount of facts and figures.
Timeline and content
From the beginning, we decided that the timeline would be the centerpiece of the site, with everything built around the timeline. We came up with the idea of a timeline engine - a dynamic, content-sensitive, searchable, filterable and zoomable timeline view.
Timeline design
We had a lot of ideas on how to show timeline at the main page - from simple dot matrix systems to 3D space supported by the use of Augmented Reality.
More complex systems of content presentation would require more powerful hardware on the users' side and for this reason we decided to use a simpler solution, which was still visually attractive.
In the end we decided to use waves that symbolize the flow of time.
More complex systems of content presentation would require more powerful hardware on the users' side and for this reason we decided to use a simpler solution, which was still visually attractive.
In the end we decided to use waves that symbolize the flow of time.
Timeline view
In order to bring the Timelline Idea to life, we had to think about how the data structure and dynamic content creation would work. It was one thing to create a database, and another to properly use the entries of that database and create content from it.
Data structure
Now to tie it all together into a working whole, we needed a powerful, flexible and user-friendly search engine that would work directly with the timeline engine and content engine.
The Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the project
We started working on the project at the end of 2019. Unfortunately, in March 2020, the covid-19 epidemic broke out, suspending football competitions for many months and thus forcing IFAB to reprioritize projects.
Unfortunately the IFAB history had to be suspended as a result and the project has been in a vacuum ever since.