Work

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Work

About

Approach

Let's Talk

Case Study

Launching Dropshop: A fan-first NFT marketplace for sports collectibles TIED TO real-world experiences

Dropshop was built to make digital collectibles feel as intuitive as buying merch, while still capturing what makes blockchain valuable: verifiable ownership, transferability, and a true secondary market. We shipped a 0→1 platform that supported pack drops, buy-now listings, auctions, and a peer-to-peer marketplace, then evolved it toward “NFTs with real value” through utility, storytelling, and a roadmap connecting physical memorabilia to digital experiences.

Fastest Drop Sell-Out Time

sec

First NFT drop for Toronto Maple Leafs

Sell-Through Rate

Conversion

Waitlist

Role

Product Design Lead

Scope

0→1 product launch + evolution of a commercial product for other teams and leagues

Team

Designer

Timeline

2021-2023

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OverView

Dropshop is a digital collectibles platform built to help mainstream sports fans buy, collect, and trade verified team assets without needing to understand crypto. We launched a 0→1 experience that could support high-demand drops, sustain engagement between drops, and evolve collectibles beyond “digital only” through real-world utility.

Overview of what the platform enables:

Fan-first purchase and collection experience built for non-crypto users

MLSE operates a multi-app ecosystem across team brands and live-event environments.

A repeatable drop engine designed for peak traffic, fairness, and clarity

Usage peaks on game day: tickets, entry, in-venue utility, commerce.

A marketplace that enables secondary trading and long-term liquidity

FY24 delivery: launched new NHL, Leafs, Raptors, and TFC apps ahead of opening nights; enhanced existing apps for performance and operational efficiency.

Trust and authenticity through verified drops, clear ownership, and transparent item details

FY24 delivery: launched new NHL, Leafs, Raptors, and TFC apps ahead of opening nights; enhanced existing apps for performance and operational efficiency.

Utility hooks that connect digital collectibles to real experiences and physical memorabilia

FY24 delivery: launched new NHL, Leafs, Raptors, and TFC apps ahead of opening nights; enhanced existing apps for performance and operational efficiency.

Commercialized product sold to other teams and leagues

FY24 delivery: launched new NHL, Leafs, Raptors, and TFC apps ahead of opening nights; enhanced existing apps for performance and operational efficiency.

The Challenge

We weren’t trying to build “an NFT product.” We were solving a fan experience problem: how do you introduce a new category of digital ownership to a mainstream sports audience in a way that feels trustworthy, effortless, and worth coming back to.

Three challenges defined the work:

Adoption Friction

Most NFT experiences assumed crypto knowledge. Fans needed a purchase and collection flow that felt familiar, with complexity hidden until it mattered.

Trust and legitimacy

Fans needed clear proof of authenticity, understandable ownership, and confidence that the platform wouldn’t break during high-demand moments.

Drop reliability at peak demand

Drops create extreme traffic spikes and high emotional stakes. The product had to communicate fairness, handle sold-out moments cleanly, and keep users informed through every transaction state.

At the same time, the platform had to be repeatable for the business: a drop engine and operating model that could scale across teams, campaigns, and future utility concepts.

My Role

I led the product experience from concept to launch and guided the evolution plan post‑launch.

Defined the MVP scope and phased roadmap (drops → marketplace → utility)

Designed the core systems (rarity, inventory states, transaction status, marketplace patterns)

Owned end-to-end fan journeys (discover → buy → reveal/claim → collect → resell)

Partnered with engineering to translate blockchain constraints into a fan-first UX

Defined the MVP scope and phased roadmap (drops → marketplace → utility)

Owned end-to-end fan journeys (discover → buy → reveal/claim → collect → resell)

Designed the core systems (rarity, inventory states, transaction status, marketplace patterns)

Partnered with engineering to translate blockchain constraints into a fan-first UX

Defined the MVP scope and phased roadmap (drops → marketplace → utility)

Directed experience and system design for ticketing, entry readiness, in-venue utility and commerce

Designed the core systems (rarity, inventory states, transaction status, marketplace patterns)

Aligned stakeholders across analytics, partnerships, marketing, ticketing and venue-ops

Strategy: 4 Core Pillars

Make it feel like commerce, not crypto

We designed the experience around familiar collector behaviors (browse, buy, reveal, collect, trade) and progressively disclosed blockchain concepts only when they mattered.

Prioritize tickets, entry readiness, in-venue orientation, and transactions where failure is most costly.

Treat drop-day reliability as a product requirement

We treated drops as peak-load events. The product and system were designed for clarity and resilience across pre-drop, live drop, sold-out, and post-purchase states.

Prioritize tickets, entry readiness, in-venue orientation, and transactions where failure is most costly.

Lead with trust and storytelling

We built confidence through verified drops, transparent item details, clear ownership states, and storytelling that connected each collectible to real fandom value.

Prioritize tickets, entry readiness, in-venue orientation, and transactions where failure is most costly.

Build a utility-driven engagement loop

We positioned collectibles as more than digital content by tying them to access, experiences, and physical memorabilia, with a marketplace layer that sustains engagement between drops.

Prioritize tickets, entry readiness, in-venue orientation, and transactions where failure is most costly.

What Shipped

Drop Engine and Storefront

Drop storefront and campaign pages built to handle peak traffic and communicate scarcity, timing, and outcomes.

Collection and Provenance

Collection and item detail experience with clear ownership states, provenance, and shareable storytelling.

Pack Drops and Reveal

Pack drop flow with rarity tiers, reveal moments, and clear “what happens next” guidance.

Marketplace Resale

Marketplace resale flow (list, manage, buy) with transparent listing states and transaction feedback.

Fan-First Checkout

Checkout experience designed to reduce crypto friction and prevent dead-ends during high demand.

Drop-Day Operations

Drop-day operating playbook covering instrumentation, monitoring, support escalation, and a repeatable launch checklist.

Drop Engine and Storefront

Drop storefront and campaign pages built to handle peak traffic and communicate scarcity, timing, and outcomes.

Pack Drops and Reveal

Pack drop flow with rarity tiers, reveal moments, and clear “what happens next” guidance.

Fan-First Checkout

Checkout experience designed to reduce crypto friction and prevent dead-ends during high demand.

Collection and Provenance

Collection and item detail experience with clear ownership states, provenance, and shareable storytelling.

Marketplace Resale

Marketplace resale flow (list, manage, buy) with transparent listing states and transaction feedback.

Drop-Day Operations

Drop-day operating playbook covering instrumentation, monitoring, support escalation, and a repeatable launch checklist.

Drop Engine and Storefront

Drop storefront and campaigns built to handle peak traffic and communicate scarcity and timing.

Fan-First Checkout

Checkout experience designed to reduce crypto friction and prevent dead-ends during high demand.

Marketplace Resale

Marketplace resale flow (list, manage, buy) with transparent listing states and transaction feedback.

Pack Drops and Reveal

Pack drop flow with rarity tiers, reveal moments, and clear “what happens next” guidance.

Collection and Provenance

Collection and item detail experience with clear ownership states, provenance, and shareable storytelling.

Drop-Day Operations

Drop-day operating playbook covering instrumentation, monitoring, support escalation, and a repeatable launch checklist.

Post Launch Impact

In the first launch window, Dropshop proved we could drive mainstream demand and sustain it through repeatable drops and a functioning marketplace layer.

First drop sell-out time:
0
Seconds
Sell-through rate:
0
0
%
Across first drops
DRop Day Users
0
0
,
0
0
0
Peak concurrent users on drop day
Repeat Buyers
0
0
%
Repeat buyers within 60 days:
Marketplace Listings
0
,
0
0
0
Listings created in first 60 days

DropShop

Weekly Active Buyers on Launch

Learnings

Reliability is the product

When demand spikes, fans don’t judge the platform on features. They judge it on clarity, fairness, and whether the experience holds up under pressure. The biggest UX wins came from state design: pre-drop expectations, queue and sold-out communication, and transparent transaction status.

Trust must be designed, not assumed

Mainstream users don’t start with confidence in NFTs. Authenticity signals, plain-language explanations, and consistent ownership states mattered as much as visual design. The product had to earn trust repeatedly, not just once.

Progressive disclosure beats education

Long explainer content didn’t move the needle the way we expected. What worked was removing decisions, simplifying steps, and revealing complexity only when it was required. Fans wanted to collect first, and learn later.

Utility drives retention

Digital ownership becomes meaningful when it connects to access, experiences, or real-world value. The strongest retention moments came when collectibles felt like keys, not content.

Playbooks scale drops

A drop engine is only as good as the repeatability around it. Instrumentation, monitoring, and a checklist-based launch process reduced risk and made each subsequent drop smoother to run and easier to improve.

What's Next

FY25 DIRECTION

We positioned the roadmap as a shift from collectibles as content to collectibles as a value layer.

Physical memorabilia provenance

Authenticity and provenance for physical memorabilia with a digital trail.

Marquee artist series

Artist series and limited releases tied to marquee moments.

Identity-driven collecting

Identity features that deepen collecting: avatars, profiles, and social sharing.

Collection-based rewards

Loyalty mechanics based on ownership and collecting behavior that avoid points liability.

Verified owner access

Digital tickets and verified owner access (whitelists, VIP moments, presales).

Commercial Expansion

Cross-team and league expansion: repeatable playbooks across teams, seasons, and partner campaigns.

Physical memorabilia provenance

Dynamic vertical video recaps generated in real-time for instant post-game engagement.

Identity-driven collecting

Identity features that deepen collecting: avatars, profiles, and social sharing.

Verified owner access

Context-aware features powered by segmentation to guide fans to shorter lines and seats.

Marquee artist series

Context-aware features powered by segmentation to guide fans to shorter lines and seats.

Collection-based rewards

Dynamic vertical video recaps generated in real-time for instant post-game engagement.

Commercial Expansion

Cross-team and league expansion: repeatable playbooks across teams, seasons, and partner campaigns.

Let's BUILD SOMETHING MEANINGFUL

Whether you're building something new or scaling what you have, I'd love to hear about your challenge.

hello@eugenejoe.com

linkedin.com/in/eugenejoe

Let's BUILD SOMETHING MEANINGFUL

Whether you're building something new or scaling what you have, I'd love to hear about your challenge.

hello@eugenejoe.com

linkedin.com/in/eugenejoe

Let's BUILD SOMETHING MEANINGFUL

Whether you're building something new or scaling what you have, I'd love to hear about your challenge.

hello@eugenejoe.com

linkedin.com/in/eugenejoe

Eugene Joe

Strategic Design Leader for AI-Native Teams

Eugene Joe

Strategic Design Leader for AI-Native Teams

Eugene Joe

Strategic Design Leader for AI-Native Teams