All case studies

Rebuilding Yahoo Games

From fast launch to system-driven scale

Role:

Product Design Lead

Date:

Sept 2023 - Current

Site

games.yahoo.com

Yahoo Games was reintroduced as a modern destination within Yahoo, bringing casual and daily games back into the ecosystem after years of fragmentation. I led design across two major phases: an initial fast launch under the Search organization, followed by a system-driven refresh that aligned Games with Yahoo’s evolving design platform. This work focused on building momentum first, then creating foundations that could scale.

Yahoo Games was reintroduced as a modern destination within Yahoo, bringing casual and daily games back into the ecosystem after years of fragmentation.

I led design across two major phases: an initial fast launch under the Search organization, followed by a system-driven refresh that aligned Games with Yahoo’s evolving design platform. This work focused on building momentum first, then creating foundations that could scale.

Launching Yahoo Games

After a decade-long hiatus, Yahoo Games was reintroduced under Search with an aggressive timeline. As Principal Product Designer, I set the creative direction and product vision from Yahoo’s side, partnered with an external agency on execution, and led cross-functional alignment to ship a credible, scalable games destination.

Scaling with Design Systems

Following launch, Yahoo rolled out a unified design system across the platform, and Yahoo Games needed to evolve from a fast MVP into a system-aligned experience without disrupting engagement. As one of the first teams to fully adopt the new system, Games partnered closely with the design system team to audit existing surfaces, identify gaps and inconsistencies, and refactor key areas, including the homepage, navigation, cards, tags, and right rail. This collaboration helped pressure-test and shape the design system in use today.

Following launch, Yahoo rolled out a unified design system across the platform, and Yahoo Games needed to evolve from a fast MVP into a system-aligned experience—without disrupting engagement.

As one of the first teams to fully adopt the new system, Games partnered closely with the design system team to audit existing surfaces, identify gaps and inconsistencies, and refactor key areas including the homepage, navigation, cards, tags, and right rail. This collaboration helped pressure-test and shape the design system that’s in use today.

Following launch, Yahoo rolled out a unified design system across the platform, and Yahoo Games needed to evolve from a fast MVP into a system-aligned experience—without disrupting engagement.

In progress: Rebuilding the foundation

I’m leading an information architecture refactor across the Yahoo Games platform, stepping back from individual features to examine how the system fits together. This work includes a full experience audit, taxonomy and navigation alignment, and reactivating prior research to inform decisions. The goal is to reduce ambiguity and create a clearer structure that supports long-term iteration and scale.