LIVE Auction
End-to-end design of a real-time auction system for cricket fantasy, balancing strategic depth with approachability for new users.
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problem
Auction-based team creation introduces strategy, competition, and excitement, but also significantly increases cognitive and emotional load. Users must track budgets, bids, player value, and opponents in real time, often under intense time pressure. For experienced users, this complexity is part of the fun. For newcomers, it can feel intimidating or unfair. The challenge was to design an auction experience that preserved strategic depth while remaining transparent, understandable, and trustworthy for all user types.
solution
I designed an end-to-end auction flow for cricket fantasy, focusing on clarity, fairness, and control without stripping away competitive tension. The experience was structured to: • Be predictable and explainable • Reduce cognitive load
Designing for pressure, not just flow
Auction is fundamentally different from standard team selection. Decisions are public, time-bound, and irreversible. Every interaction carries emotional weight.
Instead of optimising for speed alone, the design prioritised comprehension under pressure. Key information was progressively revealed, surfaced at the right moments, and visually grounded to help users feel in control even when the pace accelerated.
The goal was not to simplify the auction, but to make its rules and outcomes feel fair and understandable.
Fun vs Fairness
Excitement comes from unpredictability, but trust comes from clarity.
Visual feedback, bid states, and outcome confirmations were designed to ensure users always understood why something happened, not just what happened.
Power users vs Newcomers
Experienced users wanted speed and efficiency. New users needed guidance and reassurance.
The system balanced this by:
Keeping core interactions fast
Adding contextual cues and explanations without slowing expert behaviour
Avoiding modal-heavy teaching that would interrupt momentum
Flow and System Design
The auction experience was treated as a system rather than isolated screens.
Key considerations included:
Entry and readiness states
Live bidding feedback
Budget visibility and constraints
Win, loss, and near-miss outcomes
Post-auction clarity and reflection
Each state was designed to reduce ambiguity and prevent users from feeling surprised or cheated by the system.
Interaction Principles
Predictability builds trust
Information should surface when it matters, not all at once
Speed should never come at the cost of understanding
These principles guided tradeoffs throughout the flow.
year
2025
timeframe
3 weeks
tools
Figma
category
Product Design · Interaction Systems
01
Enable users to adjust their bid amount faster
02
A live auction widget that maintains context and visibility without forcing users to stay inside the auction screen.
