The Mesa Tennis & Pickleball Center offers many activities for every age and ability range. With a clunky public site and strict limits on virtual outreach, our facility needed a single reference to give new patrons information on each offering and details of our schedules for returning customers.
City of Mesa's Tennis Center
Print Product Designer
One of the starkest differences between working for a city and working in the private sector is the sheer amount of red tape. In a private institution, success is often measured by innovation, efficiency, and growth. In contrast, municipal operations prioritize frugality, tradition, and avoiding disruption—sometimes to the point of stagnation. This realization was a tough pill to swallow when I could clearly see how simple changes could improve both employee workflow and the customer experience.
Despite these limitations, I was fortunate to have a boss who continuously pushed for improvements, even in the face of bureaucratic resistance. She had been with the facility for years and had seen firsthand how small, outdated systems made work harder for employees and left the public frustrated. Her persistence was inspiring, and it was through her that I was introduced to the challenge of getting a much-needed resource approved: a cohesive activity guide.
At the time, the city was stripping back its online activity listings even further, making it even harder for the public to find information. I suggested creating a printable handout—a centralized guide that would list all tennis-related activities in one place. My boss was immediately on board, envisioning a large trifold similar to those displayed at public libraries. She pitched the idea to marketing.
The response? It's unneeded.
Despite our reasoning and explanations, the proposal was shot down in its first meeting. However, my boss wasn’t ready to let the idea die. For the next meeting, she enlisted another manager to help build a stronger case. They brought in the current printed handout, which was used by staff and given to customers, and laid out its many flaws: inconsistent formatting, disorganized information, and a general lack of clarity. Over nearly a decade, this handout had been tweaked and modified so haphazardly that it had devolved into an almost unreadable document.
At that point, the public had two less-than-ideal options for finding activities:
Neither option was effective, and we knew we needed something better.
After several Teams meetings and negotiations, we finally got a cautious go-ahead: we could create a draft to present, but it had to be completed within the week.
That meant an incredibly tight turnaround, especially considering I only had two shifts that week and a full plate of other responsibilities. Thankfully, the secondary manager stepped in to collaborate, working with me outside of my scheduled hours to ensure we met the deadline.
Since I was still relatively new—only three months into the job—I was grateful for her guidance. The city’s registration system was built on an outdated structure where every single class, event, and league had its own six-digit activity number, and I needed her help to properly organize the content. Plus, while I had design and marketing experience, I wasn’t a tennis expert. She helped refine class descriptions and ensured we captured all necessary details, from pricing to skill levels to tournament schedules.
With the little time we had, we worked efficiently to consolidate information into a rough but functional prototype. The guide included:
It was a major improvement over the previous system, and we were hopeful that leadership would recognize its value.
When we presented the draft, my boss loved it. Finally, there was a clear, well-organized resource that staff could use and customers could easily navigate. But while she was my biggest supporter throughout the project, she also had a maximalist approach to design—she wanted to include everything.
Her excitement was great, but it also meant that every time we refined the guide, she wanted to add more. More details, more graphics, more supplemental information. While all of these additions were well-intentioned, they risked making the guide overwhelming and cluttered instead of clear and streamlined.
At the same time, we were also dealing with marketing’s approval process.
Since the marketing team wasn’t familiar with tennis or sports programming, their feedback was often redundant or missed the mark. Some of their revisions were helpful, but others just slowed down the process at a time when we couldn’t afford delays.
Meanwhile, we were racing against the clock. If the guide wasn’t finalized soon, we would miss the print window for the upcoming season. The back-and-forth process of revising, resubmitting, and waiting for feedback felt endless, but we kept pushing forward.
After multiple rounds of revisions and negotiations, we finally received full approval. The guide was officially a go.
The first edition of the Tennis Activity Guide was printed and distributed, and the response was immediate:
Even better? The city saw the value of the guide and approved it as a recurring, seasonal resource moving forward.
With the first edition complete, we took a step back to evaluate what worked and what needed improvement. The biggest takeaways:
With these refinements in mind, we moved forward with the next edition, ensuring each version was better than the last.
What started as a frustrating battle against bureaucracy turned into a tangible, long-term improvement for both employees and the public.
The City of Mesa Tennis Activity Guide became a recurring, seasonal resource, making it easier than ever for customers to find and register for programs. Employees no longer had to scramble to explain class schedules or search through outdated paperwork—the information was all in one place.
This project wasn’t just about creating a flyer. It was about advocating for a necessary change, navigating institutional resistance, and finding a way to make an impact despite the constraints of a slow-moving system. It required persistence, creative problem-solving, and a willingness to push through roadblocks, but in the end, it proved that even within rigid government structures, meaningful improvements are possible.
UXMeagan@gmail.com
+1 480-712-1572