NHL Player's Association

Minimalist coffee can design in hand – black and white packaging with bold typography
Minimalist coffee can design in hand – black and white packaging with bold typography

project overview

The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) partnered with our team to transform its digital presence into a dynamic, story-led platform that honours its historic legacy while serving the needs of modern audiences. The goal was to create a website that balances clarity, engagement, and narrative depth for fans, players, agents, and media — a space that celebrates human stories as much as it presents information.

project type

UI Design

year

2025

my role

Lead UI Designer

client

NHLPA

Drink can mockup showcasing modern black and white coffee packaging design
Vertical coffee can mockup with clean monochrome label design
Vertical coffee can mockup with clean monochrome label design

research & strategy

We began by mapping the unique needs of four distinct audiences: fans, current players, agents, and media, uncovering common expectations around clarity and discoverability. This insight directly informed the information architecture, which was reorganized to guide users intuitively through player resources, legacy content, and reference information.

A focus on flow over hierarchy helped reshape how users navigate complex sections like the CBA, transforming a historically dense legal document into layered, contextualized content that people could explore with ease.

Top view of coffee can mockup with bold black typography on white background
Top view of coffee can mockup with bold black typography on white background

design & identity

Rather than reinventing the brand, the visual direction expanded the existing identity to perform better in a digital context. Through refined typography, enhanced contrast, and purposeful motion design, we created a visual language that feels as confident and dynamic as the athletes it represents.

A modular “chapter-based” layout system became the foundation for storytelling across the platform. This approach lets editors combine media, text, quotes, and data into fluid, narrative-driven pages, from player polls to legacy features, making each piece feel handcrafted yet cohesive

results & outcomes

The redesigned NHLPA site is more than a digital home, it’s a living ecosystem that bridges the Association’s history with the present and future of the sport. It:

  • Delivers complex content with clarity and emotional resonance

  • Strengthens the connection between players and fans through narrative design

  • Provides flexible editorial tools that support ongoing content creation

  • Performs seamlessly across devices with modern UX and accessibility standards
    The result is a platform that aligns identity, technology, and user needs while honoring a legacy that extends beyond the ice.