Ugly Pickle

Illustration of a broken jar with green liquid spilling out and a yellow ball with orange circles inside the liquid.
Ugly Pickle is a high-intensity tabletop game that captures the pace and pressure of pickleball in under 15 minutes. I took it from concept to live apps, physical production, and real players - solo.
Creator
Designer
Developer
Product Design
iOS / Android Development
3D Modeling
Hardware Prototyping
  • Product vision, gameplay goals, and player experience
  • Rules, onboarding flow, and clarity-first instructional structure
  • Component design, layout systems, and production-ready specs
  • Companion apps for iOS and Android that are currently live
  • Web design for discovery and conversion
  • Structured playtesting research
  • 3D modeling and animation in Blender for prototypes and marketing assets
  • Meta ad creative and iteration
  • Coordinated custom ATmega328P PCB prototype with Arduino code + integration planning
Colorful Ugly Pickle board game setup with game board, character pieces, cards, and a smartphone showing game controls on an orange background.
Four colorful cards depicting cartoon characters playing pickleball with directional arrows and grid icons on each card.
Fast games need instant clarity
The challenge was making a game where players make split-second decisions without confusion. Every component needed to be readable in under 2 seconds.
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I designed for fast comprehension. Consistent visuals, clear labels, predictable layout rules. Players shouldn't have to think about how to read a card.
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The physical game and companion apps provide immediate feedback. Score a point, see it reflected instantly. Make a move, the timer responds. No lag between action and confirmation.
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Treat rules and onboarding like a product funnel, not a wall of text.

Iterate using observed confusion, not personal preference.
Animated sequence showing all Ugly Pickle game card characters together.
Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Kid in action pose.Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Digger in action pose.Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Lobber in action pose.Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Slicer in action pose.Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Dinker in action pose.
One system across board, cards, and screens
I treated Ugly Pickle like a design system. The same colors, typography, and visual patterns work across physical components, digital screens, and marketing.
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Defined reusable patterns for hierarchy, states, and player feedback
Built a shared visual language so the board, app UI, and ads all “speak” the same way.
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Designed for scalability, so new modes and components could be added without redesigning the foundation.
Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Smasher in action pose.Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Driver in action pose.Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Poacher in action pose.Ugly Pickle game card illustrated character named Banger in action pose.
Group of six young adults playing a board game and laughing around a table indoors.
We watched people get confused,
then fixed it
I ran playtest sessions like UX testing. Where did players hesitate? What questions did they repeat? What caused the game to stall? Each session revealed specific friction points that led to concrete improvements.
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Observed where players hesitated, misread state, or asked repeated questions.
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Iterated on rules, component clarity, and app interactions based on patterns across sessions.
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Validated onboarding improvements by measuring how quickly new players could start correctly without intervention.
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Used playtest insights to prioritize what to simplify versus what to deepen.
Photo of people playtesting the Ugly Pickle board game around a table.
Mobile game start screen with score 0-0 and purple buttons labeled Start!, Rules, and Mailing List on a blue background with tennis player icons.Mobile screen displaying pickleball game modes: Rally mode for casual play with timer reset each return, and Countdown mode with fixed game time for each team, plus a Back button.Colorful game interface with numeric controls, pause and settings icons, and a large teal button labeled 'RETURN BALL' at the bottom.
Building the apps and prototypes
I built and shipped companion apps for iOS and Android. Physical components went through rapid iteration using 3D modeling and printing. The apps are live in both app stores, and the physical game is in production.
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Designed and developed supporting web experiences to communicate the product quickly.
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Coordinated a hardware prototype track for an ATmega328P-based custom PCB and custom Arduino code, ensuring the technical direction supported the intended user experience.

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I treated the board and the app as one system, defining shared rules for states, transitions, and feedback so the physical components and digital UI stay consistent as the game scales.
a person icon
Green trophy with a perforated sphere on top casting a shadow on an orange background.Cartoon-style scoreboard with numbers 1 to 5 in blue circles on the left, a central gray panel with number 5 and laurel leaves, and numbers 4 to 1 in brown circles on the right against an orange background.Red circular pressure gauge icon casting a shadow on a red-orange background.A white pickleball net stretched horizontally against a solid orange background.
Gameboard on a green background featuring two symmetrical orange courts separated by a net, numbered blue and white markers, four ernie boxes, odd and even sections, and a central Pressure-O-Meter with steam.Ten colorful illustrated playing cards showing diverse cartoon characters in action poses, with a stack of cards labeled 'Ugly Pickle' on an orange background.Nine colorful plastic player tokens holding different sports equipment on orange background, including white figures with tennis racquets, blue figures with pickleball paddles, yellow figures with frying pans, and red figures with shovels.Smartphone on an orange surface displaying a colorful timer app with controls for adjusting time and a pause button.

Mobile to BRONGA

UX DESIGN
DESIGN SYSTEM
ANIMATION

Evolved from mobile UX design to overseeing the (BRONGA) Stitch design systems for the Gap inc. portfolio.

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Circular logo divided diagonally with upper half in golden yellow and lower half in black, featuring a stylized white continuous looped line crossing both halves.
Thanks for stopping by! Like what you see? Send me a message!
will@wbeestudio.com