Prism

I collaborated with a product designer to create a new crypto investing platform from scratch.

Prism

I collaborated with a product designer to create a new crypto investing platform from scratch.

Role

Designer

Duration

Sep - Dec 2022

Team

Context

This platform was built for DV Chain, a premier liquidity provider in the digital asset space, to instil greater confidence in users navigating the crypto market. It was designed to support less experienced investors by instilling greater confidence in users navigating the crypto market.

Problem

One of the biggest barriers to entry in crypto investing is the lack of understanding around crypto terminology and concepts. Simply put, people are unlikely to invest in something they do not understand.

Outcome

To make the complexity of crypto more approachable, my team and I designed a platform that streamlines Web3 asset management by enabling automated token swaps and liquidity pool deposits, surfacing background mechanics, and integrating interaction patterns and delight to encourage users to invest on the platform with confidence.

Scope

DV Chain, with its expansive portfolio of crypto investment platforms, approached our team with an exciting challenge: create a new platform that would build confidence in new users, train profitable behaviour in habitual users, and give superpowers to active users.


While the crypto investment space is already saturated with numerous platforms, we recognized an opportunity to stand out by offering differentiated value. To capture more of the total addressable market, we focused our early efforts on understanding the competitive landscape. I audited existing platforms by evaluating their features, identifying the necessary capabilities, and uncovering gaps in the market. From this exercise, we formed an understanding of the features that were required to stay competitive.

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Scope

DV Chain, with its expansive portfolio of crypto investment platforms, approached our team with an exciting challenge: create a new platform that would build confidence in new users, train profitable behaviour in habitual users, and give superpowers to active users.


While the crypto investment space is already saturated with numerous platforms, we recognized an opportunity to stand out by offering differentiated value. To capture more of the total addressable market, we focused our early efforts on understanding the competitive landscape. I audited existing platforms by evaluating their features, identifying the necessary capabilities, and uncovering gaps in the market. From this exercise, we formed an understanding of the features that were required to stay competitive.

Show more

Scope

DV Chain, with its expansive portfolio of crypto investment platforms, approached our team with an exciting challenge: create a new platform that would build confidence in new users, train profitable behaviour in habitual users, and give superpowers to active users.


While the crypto investment space is already saturated with numerous platforms, we recognized an opportunity to stand out by offering differentiated value. To capture more of the total addressable market, we focused our early efforts on understanding the competitive landscape. I audited existing platforms by evaluating their features, identifying the necessary capabilities, and uncovering gaps in the market. From this exercise, we formed an understanding of the features that were required to stay competitive.

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Role

Designer

Duration

Sep - Dec 2022

Team

Research

To inform our product strategy, my design partner and I took a two-pronged approach to research. First, we conducted a competitive analysis of existing crypto investment platforms to understand how the market was currently serving users. Since many of these platforms were publicly accessible, we were able to study their features, user flows, and overall market positioning.


In parallel, we interviewed five users to better understand their real-world experience with crypto investing. These conversations allowed us to map a generalized user journey and surface common pain points. By combining insights from both the market and actual users, we formed an understanding of the features the market was looking for and how to take it one step further to gain a competitive advantage.


The competitive analysis highlighted several opportunities for improvement. Many platforms were offering access to risky and highly volatile investment products without making information about these products readily available. The onus was put on users to seek out information and conduct their own research, putting inexperienced users at risk. Additionally, most platforms assumed users already understood crypto terminology and mechanics, offering no in-product guidance of what was happening behind the scenes. We also discovered that a small number of platforms had started to use a feature called “zaps” to simplify complex investing actions like token swaps and liquidity pooling. We flagged this innovation as a potential opportunity and brought it to our engineering partners to explore its feasibility for our platform.


The user interviews helped improve upon the features we identified as necessary through our competitive analysis. Participants described the process of swapping tokens and depositing into liquidity pools as fragmented and confusing. A common theme was the lack of trust, not in crypto itself, but in their ability to evaluate an investment’s risk. Several participants shared stories of backing out of investments they didn’t fully understand, despite finding them intriguing. Many users also reported feeling mentally fatigued from constantly needing to research unfamiliar terms, which often led to decision paralysis or abandoned transactions.


These findings made our path forward clear. By understanding both the broader market and the lived experience of users, we were able to identify high-impact problems that our product could uniquely solve which set the foundation for a more intuitive and trustworthy crypto investment experience.

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Research

To inform our product strategy, my design partner and I took a two-pronged approach to research. First, we conducted a competitive analysis of existing crypto investment platforms to understand how the market was currently serving users. Since many of these platforms were publicly accessible, we were able to study their features, user flows, and overall market positioning.


In parallel, we interviewed five users to better understand their real-world experience with crypto investing. These conversations allowed us to map a generalized user journey and surface common pain points. By combining insights from both the market and actual users, we formed an understanding of the features the market was looking for and how to take it one step further to gain a competitive advantage.


The competitive analysis highlighted several opportunities for improvement. Many platforms were offering access to risky and highly volatile investment products without making information about these products readily available. The onus was put on users to seek out information and conduct their own research, putting inexperienced users at risk. Additionally, most platforms assumed users already understood crypto terminology and mechanics, offering no in-product guidance of what was happening behind the scenes. We also discovered that a small number of platforms had started to use a feature called “zaps” to simplify complex investing actions like token swaps and liquidity pooling. We flagged this innovation as a potential opportunity and brought it to our engineering partners to explore its feasibility for our platform.


The user interviews helped improve upon the features we identified as necessary through our competitive analysis. Participants described the process of swapping tokens and depositing into liquidity pools as fragmented and confusing. A common theme was the lack of trust, not in crypto itself, but in their ability to evaluate an investment’s risk. Several participants shared stories of backing out of investments they didn’t fully understand, despite finding them intriguing. Many users also reported feeling mentally fatigued from constantly needing to research unfamiliar terms, which often led to decision paralysis or abandoned transactions.


These findings made our path forward clear. By understanding both the broader market and the lived experience of users, we were able to identify high-impact problems that our product could uniquely solve which set the foundation for a more intuitive and trustworthy crypto investment experience.

Show more

Research

To inform our product strategy, my design partner and I took a two-pronged approach to research. First, we conducted a competitive analysis of existing crypto investment platforms to understand how the market was currently serving users. Since many of these platforms were publicly accessible, we were able to study their features, user flows, and overall market positioning.


In parallel, we interviewed five users to better understand their real-world experience with crypto investing. These conversations allowed us to map a generalized user journey and surface common pain points. By combining insights from both the market and actual users, we formed an understanding of the features the market was looking for and how to take it one step further to gain a competitive advantage.


The competitive analysis highlighted several opportunities for improvement. Many platforms were offering access to risky and highly volatile investment products without making information about these products readily available. The onus was put on users to seek out information and conduct their own research, putting inexperienced users at risk. Additionally, most platforms assumed users already understood crypto terminology and mechanics, offering no in-product guidance of what was happening behind the scenes. We also discovered that a small number of platforms had started to use a feature called “zaps” to simplify complex investing actions like token swaps and liquidity pooling. We flagged this innovation as a potential opportunity and brought it to our engineering partners to explore its feasibility for our platform.


The user interviews helped improve upon the features we identified as necessary through our competitive analysis. Participants described the process of swapping tokens and depositing into liquidity pools as fragmented and confusing. A common theme was the lack of trust, not in crypto itself, but in their ability to evaluate an investment’s risk. Several participants shared stories of backing out of investments they didn’t fully understand, despite finding them intriguing. Many users also reported feeling mentally fatigued from constantly needing to research unfamiliar terms, which often led to decision paralysis or abandoned transactions.


These findings made our path forward clear. By understanding both the broader market and the lived experience of users, we were able to identify high-impact problems that our product could uniquely solve which set the foundation for a more intuitive and trustworthy crypto investment experience.

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Insights and Table Stakes Features

With insights from our competitive analysis and user interviews, the team and I mapped a high-level user journey focused on the primary goal of investing in tokens and liquidity pools. This journey helped us clarify the key jobs-to-be-done and identify the features users would need to complete them confidently and effectively.


Once we had a clearer picture of the core features, I took a deeper look at the emotional journey users experience along the way. By noting where users felt confident, hesitant, or frustrated, I was able to highlight moments that could be refined and turned potential friction points into opportunities to create delight and make the overall experience feel more seamless and engaging.

During our user interviews, three recurring negative emotional themes emerged. As I designed features for the Prism platform, I focused on directly addressing these feelings through intentional and user-centered design choices.

1

Research Fatigue

Users faced with unfamiliar terms either abandon their tasks or make uninformed decisions due to research fatigue.

2

Uncertainty

Novice investors couldn't assess investment risk and lacked the confidence or knowledge to research further.

3

High-Friction Flows

Users found the process of swapping tokens and depositing into liquidity pools fragmented and unintuitive.

Research Fatigue: Proactively Surface Information Users Are Looking For

I identified a critical user retention issue where new users frequently left the platform to search for unfamiliar cryptocurrency terms, creating a cascade of negative business outcomes including transaction abandonment, distraction-driven churn from competing advertisements, and revenue loss due to interrupted user journeys.


To address this, I implemented a strategic solution that transforms potential exit points into engagement opportunities by embedding contextual educational content directly within the interface. This approach involved proactively surfacing definitions and explanations precisely when and where users encounter unfamiliar terms, eliminating the need for external research while maintaining seamless transaction flow.


The solution anticipates user knowledge gaps and provides immediate clarity without disrupting the primary user experience, ultimately reducing research fatigue and keeping users engaged within the platform ecosystem. By making educational content an integral part of the interface rather than an external dependency, this strategy aims to improve conversion rates, enhance user confidence, increase platform stickiness, and create a competitive advantage through superior user experience that reduces friction in the learning process.

Uncertainty: Provide Information and Trust Signals

Research revealed a critical barrier preventing successful investment completion on various investment platforms. Users needed comprehensive asset information to feel confident enough to invest, but information gaps or trust concerns were causing transaction delays, abandonment, or uninformed decisions that damaged both user experience and platform success.


I explored drop-off patterns and decision-making behaviors to develop a solution centered on comprehensive asset pages designed to accelerate user confidence. The asset detail pages feature strategically positioned components including performance comparison charts for contextual benchmarking, trend summaries, tokenomics, asset breakdowns, and verification badges indicating professional review by Prism investment managers to signal asset legitimacy and operational transparency. This approach transforms the research phase from a friction point into an efficient decision-making tool, consolidating essential information to reduce external research needs while enabling users to move confidently from interest to investment.


The design strategy emerged from cross-functional collaboration with subject matter experts, comprehensive competitive analysis of leading investment platforms, and structured user interviews that were synthesized into actionable design principles.


This solution was designed with key metrics in mind, including time spent on asset pages, verification badge interaction rates, and research-to-investment conversion ratios, because of timeline constraints I decided to draft artifacts that suggested post-launch measurement of these performance indicators.

High-Friction Flows: Simplify Core Multi‑Step Workflow Into One-Click Experiences

Decentralized exchange transactions require multiple manual actions and permission grants, creating friction points that increase error rates and degrade user experience. To maintain competitive parity and deliver seamless interactions, I collaborated with our development team to integrate zaps into core features like our swap functionality, dramatically simplifying the user flow. We strategically chose to minimize technical details about zap mechanisms, as user research revealed that users expect swap features to work intuitively without requiring deep understanding of underlying processes.

UI Kit

A core stakeholder requirement was creating a UI kit that would serve as the foundation for future platform expansion. I approached this by designing components with comprehensive edge case consideration and scalability in mind, conducting thorough component audits to identify reusable patterns and creating modular components that accommodate multiple use cases and content variations.


This process included cross-platform compatibility testing and collaborative review sessions with engineers to ensure feasible implementation. The resulting flexible UI kit reduces future design debt, accelerates development velocity, and enables confident platform expansion without compromising user experience consistency.

Final Design: Handoff

The previously discussed features and components, along with additional elements, were consolidated into the final screen designs. To ensure a seamless developer handoff, detailed annotations and interactive prototypes were created, supplemented by thorough handoff meetings with the development team.

Final Design: Connect Wallet

To reduce friction for new users, we made connecting a crypto wallet optional when exploring some of the platform’s features that didn't require a connected wallet. A demo experience was also included to give users a clear sense of how the platform works. Once users felt ready, connecting their wallet could be done quickly and easily in just a few steps.

Final Design: Deposit

When users are ready to invest, a streamlined deposit flow guides them through each step. The process is designed to be intuitive, with clear explanations of complex terms and concepts readily accessible for those who want to learn more.

Next Steps

Shortly after launch, DV Chain made the strategic decision to integrate our developed features into a newly acquired investment platform. While the standalone product didn't continue in its original form, our work directly shaped DV Chain's broader product strategy and enhanced the user experience across their entire ecosystem.


Given the opportunity to continue developing the product, I would focus on deepening the educational component through more interactive, contextual learning experiences. Strengthening the educational foundation would create meaningful value for both users and the business. For users, comprehensive education reduces intimidation and enables more informed investment decisions, leading to better outcomes and higher satisfaction. Interactive, just-in-time learning moments help users build confidence gradually without overwhelming them with abstract concepts.


From a business perspective, educated users generate more value through increased trading activity and portfolio diversification. They also demonstrate higher platform loyalty and are more likely to recommend the service to others. Additionally, well-informed users require less support and pose fewer regulatory risks, as they make deliberate rather than impulsive investment decisions.


I also see significant potential in designing a more compelling and simpler flow to add fiat currency onto the platform for novice investors. Creating seamless fiat-to-crypto purchasing capabilities would deliver substantial business advantages. From a user acquisition perspective, removing the friction of external exchanges significantly lowers the barrier to entry, potentially expanding the addressable market to include users who find traditional crypto onboarding too complex. This streamlined experience would likely improve conversion rates from interested prospects to active users, as the typical multi-step process of setting up separate exchange accounts, transferring funds, and managing multiple platforms creates numerous drop-off points.

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© 2025

Jung Oh.

Made in Toronto, Ontario.

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© 2025

Jung Oh.

Made in Toronto, Canada.

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