Gamifying Sales to Drive Engagement & Goals
Client / Company
Arcade
Category & Role:
Web/Mobile App & Head of Design (Player Coach)
Skills:
Product Design & Strategy, UI/UX Design, Gamification Design, Art Direction, Design Systems, 2d & 3d Illos & Animation, Character Design
Tools:
Figma, Cinema 4d, Adobe After Effects, Spline 3d, Jira, Rive, Notion
Goal
Overhaul the brand, product, and marketing website to achieve business goals, and delight users.
The Problem
The existing gamification platforms in the sales industry all looked the same and felt uninspired, despite promoting “fun,” they were primarily just leaderboards with little real engagement
Key user frustrations included:
Salespeople (Maria’s Persona):
Couldn’t easily find games.
Games weren’t fun, just static leaderboards.
Navigation was unintuitive.
Reward selections were limited.
Sales Directors (Rob’s Persona):
Creating games was cumbersome.
Support for troubleshooting rewards was lacking.
No real-time competition broadcasting.
The Solution
Overhaul the Arcade platform to make gamification feel like actual games.
Redesigned UI/UX for clarity, ease of use, and engagement.
Implemented a structured quest and challenge system beyond simple leaderboards. This led to gamifying onboarding, and training for our customers.
Revamped the sign-up process to allow for a Product-Led Growth strategy.
Revamped game mechanics to feel more interactive and rewarding.
Built a scalable rewards store with wish lists, experiences, and exclusive deals.
Designed a “My Profile” section where users could showcase achievements and recognition.
Architected UX for Slack and Teams integrations. Putting the game where people already worked.
Incorporated real-time animations to make games feel lively and immersive and broadcastable.
Arcade’s brand was vague, it could have been any SaaS company. After internal interviews, one takeaway was clear: it lacked identity.
My pitch? A brand should have an opinion. It should know its users and reflect their work. While others stay vague to seem universal, Arcade should do the opposite, focus on making work more fun and rewarding.
The Process
What was our process, or how did we go about getting to those solutions?
1. Branding & Identity Refresh
Hired @Northerly to do an iconic new logo and rebrand.
Developed a bold 3D illustration style.
Established “Be the fun you want to see in the world” as a core brand mantra.
Designed a company mascot to embody the playful spirit.
2. Product Redesign & UX Overhaul
Mapped out pain points across the existing app.
Developed a design system for rapid iteration.
Made the experience scalable for future features and native expansion.
3. New Gamification Mechanics
Developed Quests & games.
Not just leaderboards users got personalized task incentives based on milestones.
Scaled for onboarding & long-term progress tracking.
Live Game Tracking:
Real-time progress updates & leaderboard animations.
Broadcastable competitions for sales floor displays.
New Game Types:
Race – Be among the first to hit a target (e.g., 100 calls).
Target – Reach a goal before time runs out.
Accumulation – Earn points based on performance.
Tournament – Rewards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place finishers.
Weekly Superstar – Recognizes standout performers.
Quest - Managers set an objective and reward, employee sets the tasks to execute the objective, players go on adventure. Great for onboarding or solo tasks where there isn't a lot of repetition.
4. Rewards Store & Recognition Features
Redesigned the rewards experience to be more engaging.
Introduced wish lists and a scalable search system.
Expanded beyond gift cards to experiences and exclusive offers.
The Outcomes
Investor enthusiasm skyrocketed, clickable prototypes led to a Series A valuation increase from $8M to $11M
The product expanded into new industries, securing contracts beyond wireless and automotive sales.
Momentum suggested Arcade could become a serious competitor in the gamification space, "If Arcade can pull this off it's a good bet that you will own the segment."
Unfortunately, I left before long-term data could confirm the impact of these overhauls, but early traction showed strong potential.
Collaborations
Shaun Moynihan @Northerly did the rebrand and logo redesign for Arcade. I created the brief, organized discussions, recorded feedback, talked through questions, concerns with stakeholders, and helped pitch the various directions.
