Goldfish
Elevating Workforce Engagement in Bowling Entertainment
Client / Company
Lucky Strike Entertainment
Category & Role:
Native Android/iOS App & Head of Design (Player Coach)
Skills:
User Experience Design, User Interface Design, User Research, 3d/2d Illustration & Animation, Gamification Mechanics, Agile Processes
Tools:
Figma, Webflow, Adobe After Effects, Spline 3d, Jira, Confluence, Rive
Goal
Reduce employee turnover and decrease callouts to stabilize the workforce at Bowlero venues. Provide a standardized training system to reduce inconsistencies in onboarding and career progression. Increase employee engagement through gamified incentives.
The Problem
Training was inconsistent from venue to venue, and it was hard to see and recognize good work. I wanted to bring training, progress and recognition into one tool that fits the working day.
Solution
A gamified workforce engagement platform combining:
Standardized Training – Quiz modules covering company policies and drink recipes.
Competition & Incentives – Leaderboards tracking performance (attendance, quiz completion, upsells).
Recognition System – Venue-wide challenges rewarding high performers with tangible rewards.
Concepts
Early on, we explored a high-fidelity game concept where employees competed to support training, goal tracking, and center-wide challenges across 11,000 employees. While exciting, technical constraints led us to a more traditional task-based gamification model.
To showcase possibilities, we presented concept videos to Bowlero stakeholders:
SpaceQuest: Employees worked together to reach distance milestones, unlocking cash bonuses and ship upgrades to accelerate progress.
Buildy: Completing tasks unlocked hexagonal panels for a shared or personal map, creating a visual monument of their connection to Bowlero.
While integration was feasible, maintaining engagement required specialized developers. Given the scope, we opted for a more practical gamification approach.
Visual Identity Exploration
Later in the research phase, with the concept and direction set, I gathered early visual feedback to avoid last-minute stakeholder changes. I created three designs focused on gamifying hourly work and one with broader appeal, then presented them to leadership.
The Process
Concept Ideation & Validation
Interviewed 8+ people across the business (senior leaders, venue managers, hourly workers). Found pain points around recognition, consistency in training and getting started in the role.
2. Concept Ideation & Validation
Explored three MVP concepts:
Training & Career Pathing → Standardized quizzes & career progression.
Gamification MVP → Narrative-driven incentives.
Competition MVP → Venue-based leaderboard and real-world rewards.
Leadership selected a hybrid MVP merging Training + Competition.
3. Design & Prototyping
Created a minimalist UI that is easy to pick up. Designed quizzes, challenges and progress tracking.
4. Pilot & Iterations
Ran a pilot in select venues and reviewed early usage and feedback. Adjusted difficulty levels based on that feedback. Tightened the feedback loop so workers see how they did at the end of their shift instead of the next day.
What I took from it
The pilot showed me that training works best when it is short, tied to a real shift and gives people a reason to come back. It brought training, progress and recognition into one task-based experience for frontline teams.'
Collaborations
Heyo did the logo design for Goldfish, as well as the animation for it. I feel they did an incredible job and gave us something iconic.
