PROOF OF ALPHA
MINA PROTOCOL'S FIRST zkAPP
I'm a seasoned web 3 PRODUCT STRATEGIST & UI/UX designer
I partner with Projects & DEVELOPER TEAMS building for web 3.
I solve HARD UI/UX PROBLEMS.
WEB OR MOBILE. dAPPS OR TOOLING. ANDROID OR iOS.
I’M crypto native.
Solving TOUGH on-chain UX challenges since 2018.
I value egoless collaboration. High quality, low drama.
BACKGROUND
Former Tradfi fintech UX designer who fell hard down the rabbit hole in 2017.
I consulted to DYDX & radar relay, then led product design at MINA PROTOcOL, the zk l1, from 2019 - 2021.
Now I support web 3 Projects & INDY TEAMS, and build tools for crypto markets. I'm local to the san francisco bay area.
Book a call
Lets get to know each other.
I invite you to schedule a FREE 30 minute call to discuss your needs.
prefer email?
web3sauce@protonmail.com
PROOF OF ALPHA
GOALS
- Solve a unique & pressing problem: no one on social media can tell which crypto influencers aren't faking their gains
- Enable on-chain verification of the user's Binance account profit & loss (without revealing any personal information)
- Verify returns with a zero knowledge proof, generated locally in browser
- To produce Proof of Alpha, a free certificate of authenticity & social badge
ROLES
- User Experience Design
Visual UI Design
User Research
THE CHALLENGE
Proof of Alpha's new user onboarding flow would be heavy lifting, requiring careful UX optimization to minimize first time user churn.
Speedbumps would include:
- a 3-4 minute wait time to generate the zero knowledge proof, locally in the browser
- asking for the user's Binance API key, in an era fraught with exchange hacks & API exploits
- Strict technical limitations, that must be communicated
- the Mina browser wallet extension, installed in the browser & funded with tokens
- Some users will have never used web 3
THE CHALLENGE
Proof of Alpha's new user onboarding flow would be heavy lifting, requiring careful UX optimization to minimize first time user churn.
Speedbumps would include:
- a 3-4 minute wait time to generate the zero knowledge proof, locally in the browser
- asking for the user's Binance API key, in an era fraught with exchange hacks & API exploits
- Strict technical limitations, that must be communicated
- the Mina browser wallet extension, installed in the browser & funded with tokens
- Some users will have never used web 3
ONboarding new users
Working closely with two very senior product managers, we iterated nearly a dozen times to get to this 'final' state.
Getting the copy right was crucial, and time-consuming, and required many iterations.
In retrospect, these screens all look obvious. At the start of the project, it sure didn't feel that way.
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MOBILE IOS & ANDROID WALLET
MOBILE IOS & ANDROID WALLET
GOALS
- Ship one single UX to the iOS app store & Android play store, in English & the developer's native Mandarin
- Manage the project on Mina's behalf, in collaboration with the app's mobile engineer, winner of a grant from the Mina Foundation
- Walk a fine balance between optimized usability and optimal security
- Find novel ways to promote and encourage staking in-app
ROLES
UI/UX Designer | Project Manager | User Research
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GETTING STARTED
I kicked the project off by:
- Performing a competitive analysis on the state of crypto wallet UX best practices
- Analyzing the nuanced landscape of seed storage strategies & their various security tradeoffs
- Running user research sessions with staking wallet users
As a crypto native, this felt natural & seamless.
USER RESEARCH FINDINGS
- ~80% of interviewees store private keys in password managers or cloud storage
- Nearly everyone prefers biometric access to secure apps
- Web 3 wallet users #1 complaint: frequent awkward back & forth with their password manager
- Some users have never heard of staking
- Some users have never heard of compounding
WIREFRAMING THE FLOWS
We iterated towards a UX solution, then validated it with user interviews, and a click-thru prototype of the wireframes.
VISUAL DESIGN
I built the app's UI on top of Mina's brand, emphasize lightness -- a
visual metaphor for Mina’s lightweight protocol & tech stack.
A CAREFULLY CONSTRUCTED SECURITY FLOW
I’ve studied dozens of crypto wallet private key onboarding flows. Many subtle and un-subtle tradeoffs make or break this critical experience.
VALIDATING THE FINAL DESIGN
Walking through a high fidelity prototype with uses always generates great feedback loops, ultimately leading to a better product.
Every round of user interviews I do, I learn something I didn't expect.
SHIP IT | AFTERMATH
- Proof of Alpha shipped in 2022 Q1
- I left Mina Protocol after completing design of the MVP
- Mina's first zkApp is currently in use, as a proof-of-concept for zkApps
- Proof of Alpha is not actively marketed, or publicly available for use
BONUS TRACK
I designed this exchange wallet withdrawal transfer flow for a client in 2018.
Book a call
Lets get to know each other.
I invite you to schedule a free 30 minute call to discuss your needs.
prefer email?
web3sauce@protonmail.com
