ABOUT US
Hi! I’m Craig – a football fan and the founder of League Frame.
I often struggled to remember when my team were playing next or where they were in the league. I would bury my head in my phone to find out, but then forget the answers only minutes later and have to look again! This got me wondering if there was an easier way.
I also used to print out football league tables for my young son to study in his room. With several matchdays every week, it was tough to keep him supplied with the latest version! This also got me wondering if there was an easier way.
What if I could have a display that always showed the very latest version of the league table? What if it also showed me the upcoming fixtures? What if it was always there when I needed it, and didn’t require any tapping, scrolling, or printing? The idea for League Frame was born, although it began with the less-catchy name ‘Football League Table Display’.
July 2021 – 'Football League Table Display'
In 2021, I supported a Kickstarter campaign for an electronic paper (e-paper) display with a built-in programmable controller, known as InkPlate. I have always loved e-paper due to its crispness and almost magical quality when the text appears on it. In fact, I have 5 different e-paper products in my office today! When my InkPlate arrived 6 months later, I could finally play around with my own e-paper display and I loved it! Within a couple of weeks, I had my first prototype ‘Football League Table Display’.
I enjoyed having the live league table on my desk for over a year (my son was given special permission to study it whenever he liked!) before I decided to build another one as a gift for my brother. Only after I had proudly handed it over to him did I begin to think that I could improve upon these prototypes and maybe build an actual product that people could buy.
In January 2023, I resolved to bring this idea to life. I bought a few standalone e-paper displays and controllers to see if I could improve upon my existing design. I began to use custom fonts, rather than the blocky fonts I had previously used, and I was excited by the possibilities of a two-colour (black and red) e-paper display. These features would allow me to create a more engaging design for the information being displayed, and make it easier to highlight key data.
I spent several months perfecting the information layout and coding the supporting infrastructure to deliver data reliably to the display. I also began to work with a local designer to produce a freestanding enclosure. The first League Frame prototype finally came together in April 2023.
January 2023 – Early League Frame display
April 2023 – First League Frame prototype
The following six months were packed with many loops of testing and improvement, including the addition of coverage for all the major European leagues. By this time, I was determined to release League Frame as a consumer product. My time was therefore also filled with exciting pre-launch activities such as researching cardboard boxes and learning about compliance testing.
League Frame is now here! It has been designed to be the always-on answer to your footballing questions, giving you the complete picture of your favourite football leagues.
I’m excited to hear your feedback, and I’m committed to updating League Frame to provide you with the information you need, when you need it.
I truly hope that League Frame will enhance your enjoyment of the football season!
