FOR CONTEXT
Our journey began with a simple but crucial question: How can we make managing digital assets as intuitive and delightful as possible? The result is a platform that marries elegant design with a user-centric approach. I obsessed over every detail of the user interface to ensure that navigating through your digital assets feels effortless. From the moment you log in, you'll notice an interface that's not just visually appealing but also remarkably user-friendly. We've carefully designed every button, menu, and interaction to streamline your experience.
However, security being paramount we incorporated state-of-the-art encryption and authentication mechanisms to safeguard user assets. We understand the importance of trust in the digital asset world, and every design decision we made reflected that commitment to users’ security.
PROBLEM
In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital asset management and cryptocurrency adoption, users faced a multitude of challenges that hinder their ability to securely and effectively interact with their digital wealth. These challenges include complexity and lack of accessibility, security concerns, diverse asset portfolios, lack of user-centric design, trust and reliability.
SOLUTION
Lace Lightwallet was poised to address the pressing challenges in digital asset management by offering a user-centric, secure, and accessible platform that caters to both newcomers and experienced users alike. The platform aimed at empowering both newcomers and experienced users to confidently and efficiently manage their digital wealth, fostering greater adoption and trust in the digital asset ecosystem.
ROLE
Principal UX Designer
KEYWORDS
Web, Browser Extension
CATEGORY
Blockchain
DESIGN TOOLS
Figma, Miro, Adobe CC, Jira
YEAR
2022
Navigating a Dev-centered Ecosystem.
n the ever-evolving world of blockchain technology, I found myself at the intersection of two seemingly disparate realms - user experience and developer-centric ecosystems. While blockchain promises groundbreaking innovations, it often leans heavily towards technical intricacies, leaving user experience on the back burner. My mission was to navigate this dev-centered landscape and catalyze a transformation in the way blockchain products and services prioritize user-centric design.
Blockchain technology has disrupted industries and introduced novel concepts like cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and decentralized applications. However, its potential remains largely untapped due to persistent UX challenges.
Complexity Overload
The blockchain ecosystem is laden with jargon, complex processes, and intricate technical details, making it intimidating for the average user. This complexity hinders mass adoption. Striking the right balance between robust security and user-friendly design is a constant struggle. Blockchain's core tenets of decentralization and self-custody often clash with the need for simplicity and ease of use.
After our initial user discovery, we were able to pinpoint more than a few areas for improvement but most importantly, KPIs to guide our metrics for success.
Unique and Intuitive Information Architecture
Information architecture forms the backbone of any successful digital product or platform. It's the invisible structure that shapes user experiences and facilitates efficient navigation. After conducting extensive competitive research, we gained valuable insights into how we could enhance our information architecture to better serve our users and outperform our competitors.
KEY FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH:
1. Clear Hierarchies: A common denominator among successful competitors is their well-defined information hierarchies. Users should be able to quickly discern the relationships between different pieces of content, making it easier to find what they're looking for.
2. Simplified Navigation: Many competitors have simplified their navigation menus, reducing clutter and cognitive load for users. Clarity and brevity in menu items are paramount.
3. User-Centric Labels: Competitors have adopted user-centric language for menu items and categories, ensuring that terminology aligns with user expectations and needs.
4. Search Functionality: Robust search functionality is a must. Users rely on search to find specific information quickly, so optimizing search results and providing advanced search filters can greatly improve the user experience.
5. Consistency Across Platforms: Maintaining a consistent information architecture across web and mobile platforms is crucial for a seamless user experience.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
1. User-Centric Refinement: We will prioritize user-centered labels and categories, ensuring that our information architecture aligns with user expectations and mental models. This will involve conducting user interviews and usability testing to validate our choices.
2. Streamlined Navigation: Based on our competitive research, we will streamline our navigation menu, reducing complexity while preserving essential content. We will prioritize content hierarchy, making it easier for users to find what they need.
3. Search Optimization: Enhancing our search functionality is imperative. We will invest in search algorithms, auto-suggestions, and advanced filters to improve the accuracy and relevance of search results.
4. Responsive Design: Mobile optimization will be a top priority. We will ensure that our information architecture remains effective and accessible on all devices, from desktop to smartphones and tablets.
5. Consistency and Cross-Platform Integration: Maintaining consistency across platforms will be a key focus. We will ensure that the information architecture seamlessly transitions from web to mobile, providing a unified experience.
6. Regular User Testing: Ongoing user testing will be implemented to validate our improvements. Feedback from real users will guide further refinements to our information architecture.
CONCLUSION:
By implementing user-centric refinements, streamlining navigation, optimizing search functionality, ensuring mobile compatibility, and maintaining cross-platform consistency, we aim to elevate the user experience to new heights. Our commitment to delivering a well-structured and user-friendly information architecture will not only meet but exceed user expectations, setting us apart in the competitive landscape and fostering user loyalty.
To achieve all this, we went with a card sorting exercise:
Understanding our Users
In our journey to create exceptional user experiences, we embarked on a crucial step – creating a user persona from our discussions with users during the interview process. This endeavor not only allowed us to understand our users on a deeper level but also became the foundation for crafting a relatable and insightful user persona.
User interviews and the resulting personas became integral to our design process, driving improvements and keeping our users at the forefront of our product development efforts.
Our Users have Stories
User stories are the cornerstone of our user-centered development approach. They encapsulate user needs, drive prioritization, enhance communication, and foster agility. By crafting clear and concise user stories, we ensured that our development efforts were aligned with creating a product that truly serves our users.
Building for Newbies
After designing and testing our prototypes with internal and external users during alpha and beta testing, we were able to improve on our design by identifying user pain points in certain areas. We designed an extensive educational hub designed to demystify the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. This section serves as a valuable resource for users of all experience levels, from beginners to seasoned traders. Along with easy-to-follow tutorials and guides tailored for beginners, these resources aimed to cover fundamental topics such as setting up a wallet, making a first cryptocurrency purchase, and understanding key blockchain concepts.
Bundle Transaction
Bundle transactions on the Lace platform offers users a streamlined way to manage their digital assets. This feature combines multiple cryptocurrency transactions into a single bundle, providing cost-efficiency, simplified record-keeping and potential privacy benefits. Users can customize bundles according to their needs, and Lace provides user support to guide them through the process. Overall, bundle transactions enhance efficiency and convenience for users navigating the world of cryptocurrencies on the Lace platform.
Creating the bundle transaction interface presented significant challenges due to its technical complexity, user experience requirements, security considerations, customization options, compatibility with diverse blockchain networks, and the need for robust error handling. These challenges necessitated a meticulous and multidisciplinary approach to ensure that the interface is both functional and user-friendly while adhering to the highest standards of security and reliability.
Staking ADA
Staking in the cryptocurrency realm represents a transformative shift in how blockchain networks function. It's more than just transferring value; it allows users to actively engage with the network. By locking up their assets as collateral, users contribute to network security, participate in consensus mechanisms like RoS, earn rewards, engage in governance, and promote environmental sustainability. Staking introduces a dynamic aspect to cryptocurrency ownership, requiring users to make informed decisions about network participation and potential rewards. It has become an attractive avenue for both passive income generation and active involvement in blockchain networks.
We aimed to simplify this process to not only accommodate seasoned traders, but also for newbies into the ecosystem to have as less difficulty as possible in grasping the concept and applying it in their crypto journey.
Reflections
Seeing our goals realized is immensely satisfying. We set specific objectives from the start, and I’m pleased to say we not only met but often exceeded them, thanks to the team’s dedication. Of course, we faced challenges, from tight deadlines to unforeseen technical hurdles, but our ability to adapt and collaborate allowed us to overcome them.
Our team’s synergy was remarkable, with everyone supporting each other to create a productive environment. Personally, I gained valuable insights into project management, problem-solving, and communication—lessons that will benefit future endeavors.
While it’s natural to think about what could have been done better, it’s equally important to celebrate our successes. We achieved milestones, delivered results, and made a positive impact, boosting our motivation for future projects. Feedback from stakeholders and team members is invaluable for continuous improvement, guiding us in refining our processes.
