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Pylons

Project Type
In house Project at Pylons

My role
Senior product designer

Methods
Qualitative Research (articles/research paper reviews, target audience interviews, domain expert interview)
Information Architecture
User Journey Maps
Prototype
Prototype Testings

Tools
Figma

Team
1 PM
1 QA
1 head of product
2 engineers

Duration
13 months

In the blockchain world, NFTs hold endless possibilities for digital creators. However, high gas fees, complicated wallet setups, and cumbersome transactions have discouraged many from participating. Web3 was meant to be open, yet technical barriers have made it feel inaccessible.

Pylons was created with one goal in mind: to make Web3 accessible to everyone. As the product designer for Pylons Wallet, I helped design an experience that allows users to create, trade, and manage digital assets—without writing a single line of code or paying gas fees.

In this case study, I’ll share how design played a key role in making blockchain interactions more intuitive and seamless, turning the vision of “frictionless Web3 creation” into reality. To comply with confidentiality agreements, some details have been omitted or obfuscated.

All views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of Pylons.

Blaze a New Trail for Simpler NFT Purchase Processes

When I joined the team, the app was an unbranded and unmorphed prototype that only includes basic features. My mission was to normalize and standardize NFTs as mainstream experiences for everyday consumers.

Therefore, I need to conduct user research to dicover the pain points and solutions to them.

NFTs are awkward and difficult to acquire and display. In fact, the entire process of buying NFTs is hostile to regular users.

Our high-level goals were to:

.01 Make NFT purchases accessible to any user

.02 Give NFT owners more control over their digital assets and ways to display them

.03 Create a consumer platform for deeper social engagement

To make a thorough research, I studied Pylons from the user end, the back end and with stakeholders.

Study from the User End

Part of the heuristic evaluation

User feedback card sorting board

Issues

.01 NFT owners have limited social and interactive display options

.02 The app has low customer stickiness

.03 The complex UI is not intuitive for users who are new to cryptocurrency or NFTs

.04 Need virations of states for UI components (buttons/toggles/tabs)

Study from the Back End
Technical features/constraints

To understand the app in depth, I reviewed its architectural components.

A Dapp (decentralized application) has two components: Frontend and Backend. The frontend is a regular web application created using HTML/CSS and other web technologies. However, instead of interacting with a centralized backend server, they interact with blockchain node using smart contract(s). The application data in Dapp is stored in a decentralized way and the wallet-based mechanism is used instead of login/password to store user information in a secure way.

Backend components

Issues

.01 The login UX should be a passwordless process that either connects an exisiting wallet to the app, or creates a new wallet in a certain way

.02 The consumer app and the NFT minter’s logging statuses should be synchronic

Study from Stakeholders

UCD Technique

Although every iteration was on a very short timeline due to the Agile enviroment, I used the framework of the user-centered design process for every sprint:

Define Issues & Propose Solutions

I have summarized the issues identified through an examination of the backend, user experience, and stakeholder feedback. Following extensive research, I have developed tailored solutions for new UX and feature designs, addressing the needs of both buyers and owners.