BACK
Jul 16, 2025
Your shortcut to smarter scheduling for public courts
Personal Project
Duration
Winter 2024 - Spring 2025
ROLE
Full-Stack Designer
User Research, Product Design, Visual Design, Prototyping
THE BACKGROUND
On a particularly high energy day, I peered out my bedroom window to see clear skies and what looked like the perfect evening to play tennis. I, and apparently many others, flocked to our local park to let loose and have some fun.
But when I got there, every court was packed. Players lingered along the fences with some pacing impatiently and others walking away in frustration. I never did get to play tennis that day.
What was meant to be an energizing, social experience often turned into a waste of gas. For many players, this friction was enough to make them leave the park altogether.
the challenge
This experience made me wonder:
How might we create a system that helps people enjoy their public courts without all the waiting, guessing, and wasted trips?
The solution should make community courts accessible and intuitive for everyone, regardless of their planning style or level of digital access.
the solution
Swing is a multi-access court reservation system designed to maximize court access and reduce uncertainty without compromising the spontaneity of public sports.
Personalized experience
Set your location and favorite sports to receive curated court suggestions right on your home feed
See real-time court availability
View court availability and filter results by sport, location, and time
Flexible booking system
Reserve courts in advance through the app or via call-in with a week-at-a-time view with booking limits to promote fair access
Community drop-in games
Discover or host drop-in games to create casual or competitive match-ups that strengthens community connections
To get a comprehensive view of the problem, I observed high activity in my local park (mainly in the tennis and basketball courts) for an hour while my family played tennis.
I observed the following during my time there:
After observing, I spoke with a group of three to ask how often they encounter full courts and what they typically do when faced with long wait times.
I also sent out an online survey that gathered 22 responses to broaden my scope. Key patterns emerged that informed my design direction:
→ 77% of respondents said they don’t have any way to check court availability ahead of time.
→ When faced with full courts, 36% of respondents said they would leave and come back later, while 22% said they drive to a different facility entirely.
→ 80% of respondents said they’d likely use a booking and availability system if it were available.
From this data, I concluded that unstructured systems and lack of visibility are preventing people from making the most of public courts and that there is a clear need for a solution that reduces uncertainty and frustration amongst players.
This conclusion allowed me to make design decisions for Swing that aimed to simplify access, reduce friction, and strengthen the sense of community around public courts.
After I understood which features to include in my design, I created a flow that would introduce users to the features available to them in a way that’s manageable and personalized.
I wanted Swing's brand identity to feel playful and inviting to complement the social nature of public sports.
I chose a vibrant color palette to ensure the interface remained approachable and not overly serious. I introduced a monkey mascot as a central element of the brand. It added a touch of personality to a functional experience to make the process of booking feel lighter and more enjoyable.
This section highlights three key explorations that shaped Swing’s evolution. These moments, among many others, reminded me how vital user feedback is and that one pair of eyes is never enough when designing for a community.
#1
In the low-fidelity phase, I noticed the home page layout felt unintuitive and slowed users down. My original design grouped parks by sport with “Show More” buttons, but user testing revealed frustration with filtering and browsing.
I redesigned the layout with sports tabs at the top and reorganized the sections into Saved Parks, Available Now, and Nearby instead. This streamlined the experience, helping users quickly find courts without extra steps.
#2
For the Drop-In Games feature, my initial design only included a simple toggle to mark a reservation as open for others to join. However, user feedback highlighted the need for more context to make this useful. I expanded the flow to let users specify how many additional players were needed and set a difficulty level to attract the right participants.
#3
The final iteration focused on improving visual visibility and user control. Users had trouble noticing key elements like the bookmark button, sports labels, and available sports per park. To address this, I refined the color palette for better clarity and contrast.
Based on feedback, I also introduced a grid/list toggle to give users more flexibility in how they view park cards.
After multiple iterations, user tests, and refinements, Swing came to life as a functional prototype. Take a peek at the prototype below!
Swing was an especially meaningful project for me because it combined my love for sports with my desire to build tools that strengthen community connections.
Designing for public spaces gave me the chance to talk to an array of people with similar interests and desires to enhance these valuable interactions.
Looking ahead, there's still so much I'd love to explore:
• Integrating social features like friend groups or local leagues to create deeper connections
• Partnering with city parks and rec departments
• Adding a waitlist functionality for last-minute court openings
This project reminded me that even simple systems can make a big difference in how people come together and that's the kind of impact I want to keep designing for.