Seattle SuperHawks
Digital Credibility & Experience Strategy
Role: UX Strategy, Information Architecture, Visual Design, CMS Implementation
Secondary Contribution: Social Media Creative Support (Graphics & Video)
Project Responsibility: Ongoing website updates, content publishing support, and technical troubleshooting to ensure the platform continues to evolve alongside the organization’s growth.
Engagement: 2022 – Present (Ongoing)
Audience: Basketball fans, community members, media, sponsors, athletes
Impact: Established a structured, scalable digital platform that strengthened organizational legitimacy, supported media recognition and athlete participation, and continues to evolve as the team expands its visibility and community presence.
Executive Overview
The Seattle SuperHawks required a professional digital presence that could establish credibility within the Seattle basketball community. As a growing organization, the team needed a centralized platform to communicate its identity, promote upcoming games and events, and present itself as a legitimate organization to fans, athletes, media, and potential partners.
I led the end-to-end strategy and implementation of the team’s website, focusing on information architecture, visual design, and CMS structure. The goal was to create a clear, structured experience that reinforced professionalism while highlighting the excitement and momentum of a developing basketball organization.
The platform serves as the organization’s digital front door—supporting event promotion, fan engagement, and public recognition. By strengthening the team’s online presence and aligning it with social media activity, the website helped contribute to increased visibility, media coverage, and growing recognition within the local sports community.
Challenge
The Seattle SuperHawks lacked a cohesive digital presence capable of establishing legitimacy within the Seattle sports landscape. Without a centralized platform or consistent brand presentation, it was difficult for the organization to clearly communicate team identity, upcoming events, and organizational credibility.
This lack of structure made it challenging for the team to be taken seriously by media outlets, sponsors, athletes, and the broader community. To support long-term growth and recognition, the organization needed a professional digital foundation that could present the team in a clear, credible, and engaging way.
Strategic Solution Overview
The objective was not simply to launch a website, but to establish a structured digital foundation capable of increasing public trust, reinforcing legitimacy, and supporting long-term growth.
To accomplish this, I defined a strategy centered around three core pillars:
1. Legitimacy
The organization needed to be perceived as credible by media outlets, athletes, sponsors, and public officials.
The digital experience was intentionally structured to:
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Present information clearly and professionally
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Highlight organizational structure and leadership
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Surface roster and event details in an authoritative format
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Create a cohesive, polished visual identity
Every design and structural decision reinforced trust signals — from navigation clarity to content hierarchy and brand consistency.
3. Community
As a Seattle-based organization, local identity was central to the experience.
The platform was designed to:
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Reflect community pride
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Reinforce geographic relevance
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Highlight partnerships and notable appearances
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Support cross-channel engagement with fans
Rather than feeling like a generic sports template, the site was structured to feel rooted in the local basketball ecosystem.
2. Momentum
Sports organizations thrive on energy and visibility. The platform needed to communicate activity, growth, and excitement.
To support this:
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Upcoming games were elevated within the hierarchy
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Events were prominently featured
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Dynamic content blocks reinforced ongoing activity
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Social media channels were clearly integrated
The homepage functioned as a promotional hub — ensuring visitors immediately understood that the team was active and evolving.
Together, these pillars guided every UX decision — from information architecture and visual hierarchy to content structure and cross-platform integration.
The result was not just a website, but a credibility-driven digital platform designed to support institutional trust and long-term brand recognition.
Project Phases
The project evolved through several phases as the organization expanded its digital presence and public visibility.
Phase 1 - Digital Foundation
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Information architecture design
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Navigation restructuring
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Visual system development
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CMS setup and content structuring
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Responsive implementation
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SEO optimization
Phase 2 — Legitimacy & Growth Alignment
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Homepage restructuring to prioritize games and events
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Elevated sponsor and credibility visibility
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Structured media-ready information
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Cross-linking between website and social channelsThe platform shifted from static presence to dynamic promotional hub.
To better illustrate how these strategic pillars informed the interface design, the homepage can be broken down into key functional sections.
Top Section
Mid Section
Bottom Section
Phase 3 — Ongoing Evolution
• Continuous updates
• Structural refinements
• Growth planning
Desktop
Tablet
Mobile
Homepage
Strategy Breakdown
The homepage was designed to communicate legitimacy, momentum, and community engagement through a structured content hierarchy. Key sections prioritize upcoming events, highlight notable appearances, reinforce media credibility, and create pathways for fans to engage with the team.
Establishing Legitimacy & Momentum
The top section of the homepage was designed to immediately communicate credibility while signaling that the organization is active and growing. Clear navigation provides quick access to essential information such as the roster, schedule, tickets, and news, allowing visitors to quickly understand the structure of the organization and find upcoming events.
Featured hero content highlights major announcements and special events, reinforcing the team’s relevance within the Seattle basketball community. Prominent visibility of game schedules and recent matchups further communicates ongoing activity, helping visitors recognize the team as an active and legitimate organization within the local sports landscape.
Reinforcing Credibility Through Media
The middle sections of the homepage focus on strengthening the organization’s credibility through structured news coverage and notable guest appearances. News articles highlight roster announcements, game results, and organizational updates in a format similar to professional sports media outlets, helping present the team as a legitimate and active organization.
In addition, sections highlighting appearances by former NBA players such as Gary Payton, Nate McMillan, and Xavier McDaniel provide social proof that reinforces the organization’s growing presence within the basketball community. These credibility signals help build trust with fans, media outlets, and potential partners.
Encouraging Community Engagement
The lower sections of the homepage focus on strengthening the team’s connection to the local community and encouraging deeper fan engagement. Content highlighting off-court activities showcases the organization’s presence beyond game days, reinforcing the team’s involvement within the Seattle basketball ecosystem.
Sponsor visibility and partnership recognition further reinforce the team’s legitimacy while demonstrating support from local organizations and businesses. Together, these sections create pathways for fans to engage with the team, follow its growth, and feel connected to the organization both on and off the court.
Information Architecture
The navigation structure prioritizes the information fans expect from a professional sports organization—schedule, roster, tickets, news, and merchandise. These primary categories allow visitors to quickly locate upcoming games, learn about the team, and access event information without navigating through multiple layers of content.
Beyond usability, the structured hierarchy reinforces credibility. Organizing content in a way that mirrors established sports organizations helps present the team as structured, professional, and legitimate to first-time visitors.
Visual Design System
The visual design system balances the energy of sports branding with the professionalism needed to present the organization as credible and structured. Typography and color were used consistently across the website and promotional graphics to create a recognizable identity while maintaining clarity and usability.
Promotional graphics and headlines use American Captain Regular, a bold athletic typeface commonly associated with sports branding. Its condensed letterforms communicate intensity and excitement while remaining highly readable for event promotions and key announcements.
The color palette consists of white, black, green (#00693a), and gold (#ffc806). The green and gold reference the historic colors of the Seattle SuperSonics, creating a nostalgic connection for Seattle basketball fans. The name SuperHawks also reflects this local identity by combining elements of the Seattle Seahawks and the former NBA team.
CMS & Implementation
The website was built using a content management structure designed to support ongoing updates and long-term growth. Key content types—such as games, news articles, roster updates, and events—were organized into structured categories so information could be easily created, updated, and surfaced across the site.
The publishing workflow was designed to make content updates simple and efficient. This allowed team staff to regularly post game announcements, media features, and roster updates without requiring technical changes to the site structure.
By organizing the platform around reusable content sections and consistent layouts, the system supports scalability as the organization grows. New games, announcements, and media coverage can be added while maintaining a consistent experience for fans and visitors.
Content Editor / Post Creation
Content List / CMS Dashboard
Impact & Outcomes
The website helped establish a professional digital presence that positioned the Seattle SuperHawks as a legitimate organization within the local sports community. By creating a centralized platform for team information, events, and announcements, the site made it easier for fans, media outlets, and potential partners to understand the organization and engage with its activities.
As the team’s visibility grew, the organization began receiving increased attention from local media and the broader basketball community. The team secured multiple news interviews and media features, helping raise awareness of the organization and its mission to bring professional-level basketball entertainment to Seattle.
The strengthened digital presence also supported increased credibility within the basketball community. Former NBA players such as Gary Payton, Nate McMillan, and Xavier McDaniel attended team events, while the Bruce Harrell also appeared at games. In addition, players from the University of Washington joined the team roster, further reinforcing the organization’s growing recognition.
These milestones contributed to the team receiving a Instagram verification badge and increased recognition as a legitimate basketball organization in the Seattle area. While the organization continues to grow its audience, the website now provides a strong digital foundation that supports ongoing engagement, media visibility, and long-term brand development
Gary Payton Coaching
Bruce Harell Attendance
What I Would Improve Next
As the organization continues to grow, the next phase of improvement would focus on deeper measurement and audience insights. Implementing more robust analytics tracking would allow the team to better understand user behavior, ticket engagement patterns, and how visitors interact with game announcements and media content.
While the site already includes a dedicated sponsor section, future improvements could focus on optimizing sponsor visibility and engagement through enhanced storytelling, featured partnerships, and clearer value communication for potential collaborators.
Additionally, expanding player stories and behind-the-scenes content could further strengthen fan connection and help build long-term loyalty within the Seattle basketball community.
While the current platform successfully established credibility and visibility, the next evolution would focus on refining engagement strategy and audience insights to support continued growth.
Reflection
This project reinforced the importance of designing for context and audience. Unlike enterprise UX environments where users are often specialized professionals, this platform needed to serve a broad community audience with varying levels of familiarity and intent.
I learned how to balance brand energy with structure—ensuring the experience felt dynamic and sports-driven while maintaining the clarity and professionalism needed to establish credibility.
The project also demonstrated how a strong digital presence can influence real-world perception, helping an organization build recognition, partnerships, and community engagement.