Turning collectible charms into player identity
Betty wanted a reward it could give away at no cost per player, but that players would still be excited to win and collect. It also needed new avatars that would give players a recognisable identity across the app.
I connected the two: every collectible charm unlocked a matching avatar. A reward players could win or buy became an identity they could choose and show off across Betty.
Before designing the final charms, I mapped out how players would get them, how they would be grouped, and what different levels of rarity might mean. I also looked at where charms and their matching avatars would appear across Betty. Low fidelity assets helped me test how the system would fit together before developing the visual designs.
11 ways in, from free gifts to hidden surprises
Given to players
Starter charms that introduce the idea
Sent by Betty or by a friend
Historic charms for OG players
Won through play
Mystery boxes and wheel spins
Betty events or a physical QR code
Native moments, e.g. flip to play a slot
Earned for streaks and milestones
Bought with points
Charm shop, priced in points
A new charm every month
Found by chance
Worn for a day, e.g. a birthday cupcake
Secret charms hidden in the app
11 ways in
Every charm unlocks a matching avatar
I designed the first batch of charms and matching avatars to set an art style that could later be briefed to an agency.
Each avatar then carries something over from its charm: its colours and one defining detail, like the pumpkin’s stem, the reindeer’s antlers or the crystal’s texture. That made every pair easy to match, even at small sizes, and gave us enough assets to test the identity system in high fidelity across Betty.
Charm→Avatar
I designed how a charm would appear when a player won it, how it would sit within their collection, and how they could choose its matching avatar. These screens brought the reward and identity together in the moments players would actually use them.
An empty slot invites players to start collecting
Won through gifts, spins and the shop, right from the lobby
Every charm unlocks its avatar, with its rarity on show
The avatar takes centre stage, with the collection beneath
Linking each charm to an avatar turned a one-off reward into something with lasting value, for the people playing, for Betty as a business and for the product itself.
Charms become more than items in a collection. Players can choose one that represents them and show it across Betty.
Charms can be given as rewards at no cost per player, or bought with Betty coins, so they become part of the wider rewards economy while still feeling valuable to receive.
New charms and avatars can be added to the same system over time, with the potential to expand and enhance it further.
What began as two separate requests became one connected system: collectible rewards with a purpose beyond the moment they were won, and player avatars with a story behind them.
