Pinnacle Casino
TL;DR / Summary.
Pinnacle set out to redesign its Casino to improve engagement, mobile usability and promotional visibility. UX analysed the existing product, produced revised flows and wireframes and collaborated closely with UI. I developed a design style guide to facilitate the consistent implementation of dark-mode-focused designs, created new components and built a more personalised, carousel-driven interface. After full stakeholder approval, the project entered development, where CMS constraints required some adjustments. The redesign was later paused due to the Casino Manager’s departure. Future progress depended on usability testing and A/B analysis to validate improvements and guide ongoing optimisation, under the leadership of a new Casino Manager.
The Brief.
Pinnacle’s Casino product (featuring slots, roulette, blackjack and table games) had strong usage but an outdated design. With the arrival of a new Casino Manager, a full UI refresh became a priority to increase engagement, improve the mobile experience and reduce drop-offs. The redesign also required space for promotional content to encourage opt-ins. Once objectives, timelines and outcomes were defined, all relevant teams were briefed. The project was then handed to the UX Team to conduct analysis and establish the foundation for the new Casino experience.
Previous Pinnacle Casino UI
User Experience.
The UX Team reviewed the existing Casino, tested interactions and analysed user behaviour data to identify weaknesses. They adopted a Netflix-style pattern for surfacing large volumes of content and conducted competitor reviews to explore additional features. Updated user personas were developed to reflect Casino-specific motivations.
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Ideally, the team would have run ethnographic research, interviews and focus groups to identify user goals and pain points more accurately. However, time and resource limitations prevented some of this to be conducted. Nevertheless, UX progressed with mobile and desktop wireframes and refined flows in close collaboration with UI. After internal reviews and stakeholder presentations, approval was granted and the project moved to the UI phase.
UI Conceptualisation.
Using the final wireframes, I began shaping the visual direction based on Pinnacle’s brand system - colours, typography, icons and CTAs, focusing primarily on a polished dark-mode aesthetic. I developed a design style guide to ensure consistency across the many required screens and used it to create components such as game tiles, banners and navigation elements.
Accessibility standards were followed to guide colour contrast, legibility and form design clarity. Game tiles were designed in a 16:9 ratio, with open layouts that highlighted artwork and allowed for extra game information. Hover states revealed additional details, creating a more interactive feel compared to the old static grid. A “shake to randomise” gesture was designed for mobile, with a grid-based alternative for desktop.
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The desktop homepage featured a large promotional tile with layered character artwork and an internal carousel. Mobile prioritised visible game content by removing the embedded carousel. Below this hero area, various user-centric categories such as, “Continue Playing,” “New Games,” and “Top Picks” were presented using horizontal carousels to support personalisation and reduce drop-offs.
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Throughout the process, I collaborated with internal teams to ensure technical feasibility, updated timelines when changes were required - ensuring these were communicated to the stakeholders and various teams involved, and addressed stakeholder's questions. After final reviews and Q&A, the redesign was approved for development.
Development.
I delivered icons, imagery and specifications through Zeplin, along with a style guide and micro-animations explaining interaction behaviours. During development, technical limitations of the CMS required adjustments to the Netflix-style carousel system, prompting design revisions.
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Before completion, the Casino Manager unexpectedly left the company, resulting in the project being paused. Once resumed, usability testing with real Casino players would be required prior to launch to validate interactions and identify any remaining issues. Post-launch, continued usability tests and A/B experiments would provide essential data on engagement, drop-off rates and user sign-ups, helping refine both UX and UI over time.
Micro-animation of UI interaction
Micro-animation of game tile hover effect
