I spearheaded the transformation of an outdated swim club into a thriving inclusive multi-sports aquatics organization. The project encompassed a complete rebranding, implementation of innovative sports management solutions, new website, and creation of an inclusive community platform that resulted in over 20,000% growth and established Denver Squid as a leading LGBTQIA+ sports organization in Colorado.
Building Colorado's largest adult aquatics club
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My Role
President and Creative Director
Team
1 UX Designer (Myself)
6 Board Members
4 Coaches
Design Timeline
6 months
(I have made continuous graphic improvements over the years)
This is an image of the homepage of Denver Squid's website I developed
Limited member engagement, an aging membership base, and outdated technologies including a non-mobile-friendly website made the aquatics club increasingly stagnant and inaccessible.
The club was struggling to attract new members and engage with younger demographics, while Denver completely lacked water polo opportunities for the LGBT+ community. When I stepped into the role of Creative Director & President at Denver Squid, I saw an opportunity not only to modernize the swim team but to expand into water polo, creating a comprehensive aquatics organization that could serve multiple communities under one inclusive banner.
This is my design for the main Denver Squid logo
How might we transform an aging swim club into a vibrant, multi-sport aquatics organization that serves both swimmers, water polo players, and other sports?
What will help make aquatics more accessible, beginner friendly, and appealing to diverse segments of the Denver community?
Prior approaches to running the club focused solely on traditional swimming but lacked vision for what a modern, multi-disciplinary aquatics organization could become. We needed to understand both the swimming and water polo communities' needs to create an integrated organization that could successfully serve both sports while maintaining an inclusive, welcoming environment for all skill levels.
An aging swim club with outdated systems and limited engagement needed complete transformation to serve the modern local inclusive aquatics community. We needed a solution that would automate operations, create an inclusive environment, and build a foundation for multi-sport growth while maintaining volunteer sustainability.
Core Objectives
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Create an inclusive, accessible brand that appeals to both beginners and competitive athletes
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Implement efficient systems that reduce volunteer administrative burden
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Build a scalable organization that could expand into multiple aquatics disciplines
Project Stakeholders
Internal
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Board Members
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Volunteer Coaches
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Athletes
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Team Captains
External
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LGBT+ Sports Community
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Partner Organizations
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IGLA+ Member Clubs
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IGLA+, International Group of LGBTQIA+ Aquatics
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USA Water Polo & USA Swimming
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This is a view of market research of other inclusive aquatic team's webpages
What I noticed
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Many successful LGBT+ sports organizations worldwide had developed effective systems for growth and retention, but their best practices weren't widely shared or documented
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Potential members faced significant barriers in discovering and joining aquatics programs, especially those new to the sports
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Traditional swim and water polo club structures often failed to consider the unique needs and concerns of LGBT+ athletes
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Email communications, resource management, and onboarding processes were often fragmented or outdated across many clubs
Through Market Research
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Conducted extensive analysis of LGBT+ aquatic organizations globally, examining their successes and failures
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Interviewed club leaders and members about their experiences, pain points, and what made their organizations thrive
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Analyzed various management platforms and tools used by successful clubs
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Studied both positive and negative member experiences across different organizations' onboarding processes
This is a gif interaction of our website from the spring of 2024
How do we create an accessible and thriving aquatics community while efficiently managing operations?
Presenting Design & Operational Solution: Multi-platform integration proved essential for modern sports club management, but the implementation needed careful consideration. The challenge was balancing comprehensive club features with user-friendly, accessible interfaces. I studied how successful aquatics organizations operated globally and drew inspiration from both their achievements and failures. What multi-platform solutions did I work on:
Streatlimed Membership & Sports Managment Solution: Proved essential for members to sign up for practices, communicate with the team, automate payments / payment solutions, and seamless integrate into a website for ease of onboarding.
Modernized Moblie-Friendly Website: It was essential to showcase Squid's vibrancy / lighthearted culture, strong branding consistency, and accessibility of information.
Member Intake Form: Those new to Squid kept bombarding leadership with common quetions and wanted validation of fit on our team and culture. I created a form which essentially ensured confidence to new members and reduced cognitive load off leadership by 98% with a reduction of intake emails.
Design & Leadership Process
Working in sports organization management taught me that great design isn't just about aesthetics – it's about creating a reliable foundation where community building and operational efficiency come together to serve diverse athletic needs:
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Thorough research into successful LGBT+ sports organizations worldwide before implementing solutions
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Close collaboration between administration, coaches, and member representatives
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Rapid iteration balanced with careful attention to community feedback
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Continuous improvement based on member experiences and operational insights
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Strong emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility in all design decisions
This methodology proved particularly effective when developing our integrated sports management systems and brand identity, where each stage built upon community insights while maintaining high standards for both competitive and recreational athletics.
My general design process and approach
My approach to aquatics UX design centers on three core elements:
community engagement
operational excellence (automation)
inclusive accessibility
I believe successful sports organization design emerges from the intersection of community building, efficient operations, and inclusive practices. It's critical to automate and streamline operations - when volunteer leaders are bogged down by administrative tasks, it diminishes their ability to focus on their passion for the sport and community building. This belief was reinforced during my work transforming Denver Squid, where automated systems freed our team to focus on what truly matters: athlete development and growing our community's impact.
User-Centered Leadership & Approach
These are my designs of the Squid main logo set and alt Squid water polo logo set
Building a Modern Sports Brand Identity
Developing a Playful Yet Professional Brand
Sports branding often falls into predictable patterns - either overly aggressive or strictly traditional. I embraced this challenge by creating a distinctive brand identity centered around a playful squid mascot that works across multiple contexts. The character's versatility allows it to represent both competitive sports (holding a water polo ball) and recreational activities, making it approachable while maintaining athletic credibility.
Creating Brand Cohesion
The brand system implementation focused on:
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Developing a consistent color palette of cyan, pink, and navy that stands out in the sports landscape
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Designing a modular logo system that adapts for different sports while maintaining brand recognition
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Creating branded merchandise that members are excited to wear, from custom swim suits to casual wear
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Building a modern, mobile-first website with clear pathways to join and engage
Visual System Evolution
The visual system has evolved to include:
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A flexible logo system that works across digital and physical applications
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Custom tentacle patterns and elements that create distinctive branded environments
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Photography guidelines that capture both athletic achievement and community spirit
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Merchandise designs that our members are proud to wear both in and out of the pool
Brand Voice and Messaging
The brand personality comes through in engaging taglines like "GET SOAKED, STAY STOKED!" and "SWAG OUT," reinforcing our accessible, fun-loving approach while maintaining professional polish. This playful tone extends across all communications, making aquatics feel less intimidating for newcomers while still appealing to serious athletes.
We had to create systems that were welcoming and accessible for newcomers joining today, while building a foundation that could support our rapid expansion and eventual evolution into a multi-sport aquatics powerhouse.
This is a view of my merchadinse designs for Denver Squid
Takeaways
Success came from turning organizational complexity into strength - bringing together diverse perspectives from competitive athletes, beginners, and volunteers while keeping community growth central.
Despite the challenges of building a volunteer-based sports organization, these obstacles pushed me to create innovative solutions in branding, operations, and community building that revolutionized how LGBT+ sports organizations can operate. Through this transformation, I learned that thoughtful design and strategic automation can bring clarity to complexity, turning traditional sports club operations into an engaging, accessible community platform. Denver Squid has now become the standard that teams worldwide look to for guidance on modern branding, technology implementation, and organizational management.
Membership growth
Major aquatic programs launched
Want to see more?
I am happy to talk through my research and design work for Denver Squid during a scheduled call. I am incredibly proud of this work and sporting community I helped build.
