Messi Connect
Designing the foundations of
an AI-powered conversational experience.
OVERVIEW
Messi Connect is an AI-powered storytelling platform where fans can relive iconic moments from Messi’s career and interact with him through video-call experience.
The AI listens to the user's voice, interprets their intent, and selects the most relevant response from a library of 300–400 pre-recorded videos, each tagged with detailed metadata.
The platform was designed as a white-label product that could eventually support other personalities beyond Messi.
My role
Product Designer:
I designed the human layer around an AI-powered product.
Redesigned core flows (sign-up, onboarding).
Defined interaction patterns for the conversational feature.
Built the design system from scratch and conducted user research in Barcelona.
Team
Product Manager
Technical Lead
Lead AI / ML
2 Developers
Q&A
Myself
CHALLENGE🤔 Users didn't understand what it was
💔 Fragmented experiences caused drop-off
🧩 There was no foundation for scaling to other personalities.
RESEARCH
Talking to Fans in Barcelona
I'm hands-on. I wear many hats - literally. Rather than designing from a desk, I went to Barcelona in the Barça uniform to conduct research and concept testing around the stadium to understand how fans reacted to the idea of “Talking to Messi” and what they actually expected.
KEY TAKE AWAYSExcitement vs. confusion
Strong excitement and interest, but confusion about what the experience actually offered.
High bar for authenticity
Strong expectations for realism and personal-feeling content
Novel interaction needs guidance
The interaction model felt unfamiliar - users needed help understanding how to engage
DESIGN GOALS
🔍 Clarity
Help users understand a novel product. Guide them through sign-up, explain the interaction model, set expectations.
⚡ Frictionless
Remove friction from sign-up and onboarding so users actually enter the experience.
🎯 Conversion
Turn interest into action—improve the flows that get users from consideration to first interaction.
🧩 Scalability
Build a design system and foundation that supports Messi today and enables expansion to other personalities.
SOLUTIONFinal outcome
- Highlights
I tackled the design goals across three areas:
Redesigning the core user flows
Building a comprehensive design system,
Creating interaction structures that help users understand a novel experience.
Design goal: Conversion
A strong Store presence
Bold visuals and clear positioning made Messi Connect unmistakable on the App Store.
Across 25 weeks (27K+ impressions):
11% average CTR (18.4% peak)
4.2% conversion to download (8.3% peak)
Refined through A/B testing and keyword localization (EN/ES).
Design goal: Clarity
Landing the value proposition
Because this is unconventional, I designed to help users understand what they're getting: micro-storytelling, concrete examples, and short scenarios that lower the pressure to perform.
Design goal: Clarity
Setting expectations before sign-up
The authentication screen doubles as a preview of the experience. A background video shows how users interact with Messi, helping users understand the product before committing. This reduces uncertainty and increases motivation to continue.
+26% registration conversion
Design goal: Frictionless
Frictionless sign-up
The original sign-up was fragmented and visually inconsistent. I redesigned it end-to-end: no scrolling, no distractions, just fast sign-up via Google, Apple, or email.
Design goal: Clarity & Conversion
Designing for voice-first interaction
The AI listens to the user's voice, interprets intent, and selects from a library of 300–400 pre-recorded videos. I designed the experience to feel like an interactive story, combining conversational UI, video-first content and clear interaction cues that help users understand when to listen, speak and explore.
94% of users granted voice permissions, showing genuine engagement and trust.
Design goal: Conversion
Gamifying the experience
Messi's content wasn't recorded yet at launch. To keep users engaged, I designed a progression system that rewarded exploration: an interactive globe mapped iconic moments to career milestones, collectible stickers unlocked through replays, and match highlights created natural re-entry points. This built habit and anticipation.
Design goal: Conversion
Building urgency through exclusivity
Limited access and FOMO-driven messaging increased desirability.
The Home screen teased exclusive content available only to members, creating a clear incentive to convert.
Early push notifications drove 67% opt-in during onboarding, enabling re-engagement.
Design goal: Clarity and Conversion
A new design system built from scratch
I built a design system from scratch that separated brand personality (colors, typography, tone) from interaction mechanics (buttons, states, conversational patterns). This split allowed us to swap Messi’s visual identity for another personality while keeping the underlying interaction logic intact. The system documented 30+ components, interaction states, and edge cases; creating a reusable foundation that cut design-to-development handoff time and enabled non-designers to onboard new personalities without reworking core flows.
Design goal: Clarity and Conversion
Building a cohesive brand across touchpoints
I expanded the product experience beyond the app, designing the website and social presence to create a consistent, recognisable identity across platforms.
Aligning visual language, messaging and tone helped reinforce the concept, build trust early, and drive engagement from the first touchpoint.
Impact