Vincent Caetano | Product & UX/UI Designer

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How Research Shaped the Marjo Sports UX Overhaul

Aug 23, 2021

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12 min read

Last Updated: September 4, 2025

Marjo Sports is a nationally recognized betting platform in Brazil, with millions of users interacting daily across its app and website. The company leads in sports betting, followed by online casino, operating at a scale that demanded a stronger, more intuitive digital experience.

When Marjo approached HumanMade, their main concern was usability and consistency. Users often struggled to adapt to the interface—its structure differed so much from competitors that most new visitors had to “learn” how to use it. The platform’s UI didn’t reflect the scale or quality of the service it offered.

The Problem

The research revealed that users were facing three interconnected challenges: visual inconsistency across components that disrupted predictability and trust, a confusing information architecture that made key actions harder to find, and an outdated visual identity that forced users to relearn interactions rather than rely on familiar patterns from competing platforms. These issues combined to create unnecessary friction and weakened the platform’s perceived reliability.

Process

Platform Mapping

I started by auditing the entire Marjo Sports ecosystem. Every screen was mapped and organized in Figma to visualize the product end-to-end.

This “bird’s-eye view” revealed key inconsistencies and design debt, from component mismatches to layout distortions.

Competitive Analysis

To better position Marjo in the market, I conducted a full competitive UX analysis focused on accessibility, navigation, visual design, responsiveness, checkout flow, and customer support. Competitors included Bet365, Blaze, Betano, Superbet, EstrelaBet, Bet7k, and Casa de Apostas.

The research combined heuristic evaluation and competitive benchmarking, examining best practices and gaps in the industry. A few standout insights included:

Navigation patterns: Competitors used side menus on desktop and top/bottom bars on mobile, improving familiarity and quick access. Marjo relied only on a top bar, which increased cognitive effort for users.
Guest access: Superbet allowed users to plan bets without logging in, while Bet365 required authentication before placing bets, showing different engagement models.
Game visibility: Competitors used live-game pills and counters to draw attention to in-progress matches.
UI consistency: Most competitors maintained clean, minimal visual hierarchies, while Marjo’s layout had visual noise and inconsistent spacing.

These findings provided a foundation for design direction and informed recommendations for structure, hierarchy, and visual tone.

Behavioral Insights

We gained access to Hotjar data in the first week. Heatmaps showed which areas users engaged with most and where they dropped off. Combined with Google Analytics, this revealed the hierarchy of high-impact screens.

I also examined user complaints from ReclameAqui (Brazil’s consumer platform) to identify recurring usability frustrations, giving us a quantitative + qualitative perspective on user behavior.

Persona Development

Based on data from analytics, behavioral observation, and the competitive analysis, behavioral observation, and the competitive analysis, I built three proto-personas representing different bettor profiles, each with distinct motivations, behaviors, and betting patterns. These guided design decisions for both mobile and web experiences.

Component Audit & Accessibility

I broke down every UI element, buttons, cards, inputs, modals, and tested their consistency, responsiveness, and accessibility.

Several issues were uncovered:

Components breaking on resize.
Low-contrast text (non-WCAG compliant).
Inconsistent visual hierarchy.

Ideation & Redesign

With research insights and component audits complete, we began reimagining the visual direction.

The goal: modern, scalable, and consistent design that reflected the high-stakes, high-traffic nature of Marjo’s ecosystem, bridging aesthetics and usability.

Deliverables

Full UX/UI Audit & Component Inventory
Competitive Benchmark Report (Strengths & Weaknesses)
Proto-personas & Journey Maps
Design System Foundations
Keynote Presentation for Stakeholders
Heuristic Evaluation and Accessibility Report

Impact

This phase revealed how the product’s complexity masked its potential. By examining patterns, pain points, and behaviors, we transformed scattered insights into a clear roadmap for design evolution. The research stage didn’t just uncover problems, it defined opportunities. From here, the focus shifts from observation to creation, where visual identity, interaction design, and iteration begin shaping the future of the Marjo Sports experience.

To explore how these insights evolved into concrete design iterations and visual direction, read the next article: Designing the New Marjo Sports Experience.