CAESARS

Redesigning Onboarding to Drive User Activation

The Problem: Banner Blindness. My research revealed that the existing welcome banner suffered from banner blindness—a phenomenon documented by Nielsen Norman Group, where users ignore banner-like information due to similarity with marketing content. Users were confusing our welcome offer banner with the same style of promotional banners found throughout the app landing page, causing them to overlook critical onboarding instructions. 


In my key stakeholder presentations, I used Full Story and Tableau data to address a 30% drop-off in onboarding for first-time users. I recommended replacing marketing banners with a 40% larger Welcome Banner on the landing page. The redesigned 4-step timeline highlighted key user touchpoints, enabling in-app notifications, offer rules, and quick guides. This fostered a consistent brand experience across in-app notifications, messaging, emails, POS systems, and in-person interactions..

The Solution: Visual Taxonomy & System Integration

I designed a new welcome offer banner with distinct visual treatment and helped establish new color tokens within the Caesars Design System, specifically for onboarding communications (distinct from internal system alerts and marketing promotions). This included creating contrasting color tokens and other Caesars brand tokens that would differentiate functional UI from promotional content.

I introduced a comprehensive visual taxonomy to the entire user journey onboarding flow, contextual welcome banners, and a redesigned communication system that leveraged these new design tokens. Testing via UserTesting confirmed that users wanted to know more about the offer, guidance, and reassurance at key anxiety points—especially when entering personal data.

I developed a notification system that distinguished between system alerts, marketing messages, and first-time user prompts, introduced banner features, and implemented token-based notifications to streamline communication. Through user behavior analysis and mandatory login cycles, I uncovered opportunities for real-time messaging and a unified cross-channel taxonomy.

 Results & Impact 

  • 11% reduction in abandonment in Caesars SportsBook App and Casino Place App’s 

  • Elevated stakeholder confidence through data-driven design decisions 

  • Created a scalable onboarding framework deployed across multiple Caesars brands 

  • Established new design system standards for functional vs. promotional content differentiation 

© Tiago Estrada 2025

My expertise spans hands-on design and strategic product management, allowing me to drive impactful solutions that unite cross-functional teams. I live and work in NYC.

About me: Beyond my professional achievements, I am a passionate reader who has carted around a library of over 4000 books across multiple New York City apartments. This reflects my commitment to growth and lifelong learning.

tiagocruzestrada@gmail.com