Linkup Studio created a mobile and web design of the DeFi application for generating passive income in cryptocurrency CashFlow.
The team became a technical partner and developed a UI/UX design for a variety of users: for novices to feel the “accessibility” and simplicity of the interface, and for experienced crypto-investors to get substantially more convenient management of crypto-finances.
Linkup Studio design director Nataliya Sambir explains how the team was able to save the customer 40% of the original budget, complete the project in 2 months rather than the planned 3, and win Red Dot, one of the most prestigious design awards.
An ambitious project for the crypto sphere
A crypto startup founder from Puerto Rico approached our team with an intriguing and simultaneously challenging request – to develop an intuitive UI and UX design for a platform that allows the use of progressive crypto tools to generate passive income.
In a nutshell, DeFi applications are useful because they enable the user to manage their own finances, avoid bank fees, and have the freedom to decide where, how much, and under what conditions to invest or transfer funds. This is undoubtedly a significant advantage. However, such products are mainly developed for experienced connoisseurs, making them quite difficult to use by ordinary people.
The client and I set our minds to creating a clear, useful, and accessible design solution for a wide range of users regardless of their age, gender, or level of expertise.
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Research stages
To bring the idea to life, we traditionally started with research. Each of its stages contributed to a holistic and detailed understanding of the kind of product the market demanded.
Delving into the crypto industry
Before CashFlow, we had already built crypto products, but the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies does not stand still, so the team had to be aware of the specifics. To achieve this, we decided to take a mini-course from a crypto-investor in order to fully comprehend the workings of the features built into the application, such as farming, new generation staking, swap process, how to borrow and lend cryptocurrency, entering and withdrawing money from the platform, and more.
We implemented the acquired knowledge in every element of the design. Having grasped the core principles and purposes of the application, designers created an interface to provide functionality without “overloading” the appearance of the platform.
Examining competition
Since the product had to be easy to use, it was crucial for us to know what the competitors already had to offer. We analyzed a number of market leaders, including BlockFi, Nexo, DeFiato, Celsius, and others in terms of functional construction, arrangement of structural elements, and more specific details such as page layout, blocks added, explanations, tables, graphs, etc.
As a result, we compiled a list of design solutions that, in our opinion, were effective. We also spotted weaknesses, allowing CashFlow to become more convenient compared to already-existing products. After an internal analysis of the competition and brainstorming, we already came up with a concept for the preliminary look of the platform and its features.
Consumer research
Interviews with novice users of DeFi applications from various age groups revealed that people feel overwhelmed by the complexity of existing platforms.”It’s cool and promising, but it’s too complicated for me,” they remark.
In addition to having basic knowledge of the functions mentioned above, you also need to invest time learning the logic of the application, the cluttered interface, as well as the professional terminology on the screens.
Many surveyed users shared that they are reluctant to use crypto investment apps because of the risk of fraud, stolen passwords, or financial loss. Therefore, the platform should provide a high level of security: multi-stage authorization, external resource verification, reliable protection of personal data, etc.
Bringing the concepts together
The research stage revealed that CashFlow had similar functionality to other platforms. As a result, the Linkup team was faced with the challenge of finding and presenting unique solutions to the client in terms of both technical and aesthetic design.
Building the fundamental architecture
We decided to create a single page structure to let users easily navigate the platform in general as well as each individual section. Thus, we effectively combined the included functions of farming, staking, loans, cryptocurrency exchange, etc., and facilitated seamless interaction with the product in each section.
One will assume the same layout of functionality across all pages, which will greatly simplify the use of the platform. This solution improved design creation efficiency and saved the lion’s share of the client’s budget.
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The order of element arrangement
During the competition and user research stage, we noted that people get confused when they see too much data, statistics, or multiple tables on a single screen. Professionals may find this to be acceptable and even helpful, but our objective was to simplify.
The designers chose to arrange the blocks sequentially and consulted with crypto experts on the most logical order. As a result, we left the widgets at the top of the pages (for example, wallet balance, graphs with transaction statistics, and other tables), while other information was presented below.
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Highlights
As for the aesthetic component, the primary information is presented on black and green backgrounds to subtly evoke more trust. However, to make the application easier to perceive, we added visual “anchors” in the form of colored sectors on the dashboards and accentuated the cryptocurrency icons, which creates a suitable contrast in the overall interface.
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Table of contents
We noticed that the tables in the competing applications are overflowing with the identically displayed information. Beginners need to make a lot of effort to understand and learn how to use them to gain profit.
The Linkup team thoughtfully designed each table with an emphasis on the key points, minimizing user confusion. This was also made possible by the aforementioned sequential arrangement of elements.
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Security upgrades
CashFlow distinguishes itself by providing a secure platform environment. Following a thorough investigation, we suggested to the client that the platform’s security be strategically improved, as fraud is one of the main barriers preventing people from investing in crypto. The option to list and recognize users’ active devices has been added to the personal security section. Even knowing the passwords, just anybody will not be able to access the personal account.
Maintaining constant communication
We added a business analyst to the design team in order to fully implement the platform’s idea. This allowed us to create a deeper and more thorough product concept for the client, combine his vision with the design team, discuss strategic business tasks, add new features, support the upcoming launch, and more.
Every week we held planning and presentation calls with a demonstration of the work done. This significantly increased the pace of cooperation and the overall efficiency of the project.
Support of constant communication
As the client himself states: “On our calls, the business analyst and the design team were always deeply interested in how exactly a certain functionality benefits the business and how the service should work technically. Then they presented a design that simply exceeded my expectations!”
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The Outcomes
The CashFlow app means crypto investments for everyone.
The Linkup team became a full-fledged partner for the client and developed the mobile and web design of the application CashFlow, made to generate passive income in cryptocurrency. A comprehensive interface and consistent navigation in the product make it much easier to use the functions of farming, new generation staking, providing crypto loans, borrowing, buying, exchanging, and withdrawing cryptocurrency. Users of all ages and skill levels will be able to understand the platform and earn additional income.
Currently, the client has decided to continue the cooperation, and we provide Frontend and Backend development, QA and DevOps services to launch the product on the market.
In figures
Effective solutions during the creation of the design, architecture and functions of the application allowed us to complete all the planned work for the client half a month faster and save about 40% of the budget, totaling about $11,000.
How did we receive Red Dot?
This was Linkup’s first attempt to be nominated for an award, and it was a success right away.
Red Dot believe that a design solution should change lives. We agree with them, which is why we put all of our expertise and honest desire to make crypto-investing more accessible to non-technical people into CashFlow. We are waiting for the launch of the project to share the results.
