Transforming the Homepage into a Context-Aware Mountain Dashboard
Bridging the gap between business growth and user utility through data-driven advocacy.
Role
Lead Strategic Designer
Client
Vail Resorts
Timeline
Q2-Q3 2025
Overview
In redesigning the homepage, I had to navigate the tension between business growth and information overload.
The My Epic app faced a strategic crisis: the business needed to surface high-value Lines of Business (LOBs)—such as rentals, lessons, and gear memberships—but the existing vertical architecture led to "death by vertical scrolling," burying the very mountain utilities guests rely on most. The business ask was to redesign the homepage to surface LOBs more prominently, which was in conflict with the utilities that the guests prioritized.
I took a data-driven approach that led us to a design powered by context-aware personalization.
I began with a robust discovery phase to identify the delta between business goals and user intent. By synthesizing guest feedback surveys, analyzing limited app usage data, and conducting card-sorting exercises, I uncovered that users’ day-of needs (maps, weather, lifts) were in direct conflict with the business’s desire for LOB prominence. I used these insights to advocate for a context-aware homepage system. By architecting a scalable horizontal carousel driven by real-time triggers—such as location, time of day, and trip phase—we created a system that satisfies business growth requirements while keeping the guest’s immediate needs at the heart of the experience.
The homepage design solution helped to future-proof the platform as the business continues to evolve and grow.
This initiative transitioned the app from a static marketing feed into an intuitive mountain dashboard. By turning limited research data into a clear strategic roadmap, I established a future-proof foundation that allows the business to scale new offerings infinitely without degrading the user experience.
Defined the User-Business Middle Ground: Synthesized constrained datasets and card-sorting results to prove the misalignment between business and user priorities, leading to a "Mode-based" compromise that increased LOB visibility without sacrificing core utility.
Architected a Scalable, Logic-Driven IA: Replaced rigid vertical tiles with a flexible horizontal system and a dynamic "Latest for You" alert framework, allowing the app to support infinite new services while automatically re-prioritizing content based on real-time guest data.
Established Research-Led Advocacy: Proved the value of discovery in a high-stakes corporate environment, using research synthesis to gain stakeholder buy-in for a major architectural shift that balanced revenue goals with user needs.
There's so much more to the story
I’d love to walk you through some specific highlights and the hurdles that shaped my growth through this project.