Pylons
Crypto Wallet & NFT Collector App
.Context
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 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
Pylons, the Tendermint-incubated NFT chain, is building intuitive tools to develop, buy, trade, and sell digital assets.
As the senior product designer at Pylons, I delivered highly usable designs that simplify complex interactions across the Pylons ecosystem, including 4 Pylons apps: 1 consumer app, 2 NFT minters and a recipe tester.
Pylons is the consumer app that integrates 3 sectors in one: crypto wallet, NFT collectior and social community.
As the senior product designer at Pylons, I delivered highly usable designs that simplify complex interactions across the Pylons ecosystem, including 4 Pylons apps: 1 consumer app, 2 NFT minters and a recipe tester.
Pylons is the consumer app that integrates 3 sectors in one: crypto wallet, NFT collectior and social community.
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
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.
UX Sitemap
Deliverables
Deliverables
Collection & Wallet
Public Portfolio
Public Portfolio: Switching Grids
Owner’s View
Listing Toggle
Owner NFT Listing Flow
Impact
After launching Pylons on App Store and Google Play, we got very positive data feedback: