Valve / Dota 2
The Dota Pro Circuit
Mobile · UI · UX · Branding
Overview
The Dota Pro Circuit encompasses a variety of project that happened over time such as; the overall branding, the mobile app, and in-game features.
Info
Dota Pro Circuit Time: Various Shipped: 2018 - 2020 Team: Shawn Zabecki, Simonne Brown
Give it a face
From the beginning we knew that the aegis would most likely be the symbol for Dota 2 esports. Simplifying the gorgeously detailed shield was another story. Knowing the scale of the logo would be as large as a playoff stage floor but as small as an app icon I worked to make it simple but easily recognizable by using the largest unique shapes and keeping it to one color. The colors were originally taken from the Dota 2 logo but pushed to have bright, strong contrast to relate to the presence of the game itself.
It’s where ever you go
A side project I had been wanting to do since starting on the Dota 2 team was to create a mobile app for everything professional Dota 2. Having a single source of tournament schedules and brackets, live match data, player transfers, were critical content to bring the pro scene to your hands. We also utilized the Dota+ subscription service to offer bonus content like match prediction and fantasy wagering using Dota Shards as a way to invest in each match.
It’s in the game
A couple years later the team started work on bringing similar features to the mobile app and then some. I was on the Steam team at the time but was able to spend some cycles helping this team on this work. I designed some early prototypes back in 2018 on what esports on desktop could look like and it ended up being a perfect place to kick off from.
Utilizing the watch page as a hub it created a perfect place to add all the core features needed. Being on desktop also allowed for a lot more information and details for team, players, matches, and so on, which added a lot of value for users. The team also created an entirely new system for supporting pro teams with donation tiers and custom in-game rewards created by the teams which added a lot of interest and personality to the experience.
