February 2013 - July 2013

UX Designer & Front-End Developer – Global Facebook Apps for ESPN X Games

1 Account Manager, Multiple Engineering Teams, 4 Regional Community Management Teams

In 2013, ESPN expanded the X Games from three to six events worldwide , putting a major focus on global digital engagement. My Facebook apps served as a key second-screen platform alongside 130+ hours of live TV broadcasts , bringing real-time X Games content to a worldwide audience. This helped grow the X Games Facebook community to nearly three million fans by that year and drove significant online interaction. In fact, ESPN saw record digital metrics during this global push – overall site visits for XGames content jumped ~60% year-over-year, with page views up almost 80% . Media coverage noted that X Games had “made the leap to a truly global level,” underscoring how the project boosted ESPN’s international fan engagement .

By 2013, Facebook’s once-prominent app ecosystem was losing visibility as the platform pivoted toward mobile-first content and in-feed engagement. Despite the declining discoverability of Canvas apps, ESPN saw an opportunity to activate the X Games’ global fanbase through a branded, interactive Facebook experience tied to its live event window.

The challenge: deliver a localized, socially immersive experience that could drive real-time participation across multiple countries and languages—within a platform Facebook was quietly phasing out.

Partnering with Context Optional, I led UX and creative direction for ESPN’s multi-region X Games Facebook application. The app invited fans to:
• Share their favorite X Games moments
• Vote on standout athletes and highlight clips
• Participate in real-time polls and gamified sharing challenges
• Engage in their preferred language through localized versions of the experience

My role extended beyond creative execution:
• I designed a modular UX system to accommodate language-specific content, regional branding, and alternate calls to action
• I collaborated with international marketing teams to localize engagement mechanics while preserving core design integrity
• I triaged live user issues and made UX adjustments in real time based on feedback, performance metrics, and behavioral drop-offs
• I helped ensure accessibility and clarity across varying levels of platform familiarity, especially in emerging markets

Despite strict platform constraints—including rigid layout containers, inconsistent mobile behavior, and limited backend customization—we delivered a polished, scalable application that met the moment.

The Facebook application launched during the 2013 X Games broadcast window and drove meaningful engagement across key global markets:

• Over 3,000 fan submissions in under two weeks

• Localized engagement spikes in Latin America and Europe, where region-specific assets outperformed generic content

• A 15% increase in ESPN Facebook page activity during the campaign period

• Internal recognition from both ESPN and Facebook for innovation and execution under deprecating platform conditions

This project sharpened my ability to design for uncertain platforms, deliver under live global conditions, and adapt UX strategies in real time. While Facebook would soon deprecate its Canvas app ecosystem entirely, the X Games application remains a powerful example of how user experience can thrive—even when the rules are changing underneath you.

• Platform: Facebook Canvas App (2013)

• Audience: Global X Games fans, ages 13–30

• Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, more

• Focus: Localized engagement, content sharing, real-time voting

• Constraints: Deprecating platform, limited app visibility, international QA

• Outcome: High campaign engagement, successful triage during live events, recognized internally as a standout activation

Linkedin.com/in/John-Mariano/