WEB3
Relic
0→1 Product Design
USER TESTING
Rapid Prototyping
My Role
I led the end-to-end design process, working closely with the founder, product manager and lead engineer to deliver beta launch. I also created the pitch deck used to raise pre-seed funding with private investors
Timeline
4 months
Outcome
Delivered MVP demo and pitch deck presented to private investors that led to secured pre-seed funding
Improved development productivity by 50%
Buyers are looking for an edge to accessing information on upcoming releases
Buyers needed faster access to reliable release information, yet the platforms carrying that information were the primary vectors for phishing, fake airdrops, and private key theft. The two design directions — optimising for speed versus optimising for trust — were in direct tension. No established Web3 UX conventions existed to draw from, and wallet integrations, volatile market conditions, and an undefined user base required the problem to be scoped before it could be designed for.
Our goal was to streamline this chaotic discovery process into a single, reliable platform—but first, we needed to prove which problems were worth solving.
Narrowing Scope to Ship Faster
Three interviews identified three friction points: cross-tool scouting, transaction verification to avoid scams, and peer cross-referencing for purchase validation. Journey mapping generated six user segments, each with a legitimate claim on the problem space. Segments were evaluated against two criteria: urgency of need for reliable release information, and reputational stake in acting on that information first.
I advocated narrowing to one core segment (NFT Enthusiasts) and two primary use-cases. This meant deprioritizing casual buyers and experimental features, but it allowed us to go deep on the workflows that mattered most: connecting wallets and following artists for release notifications.
Front-Loading Validation Through Rapid Testing
I ran 4 rounds of A/B testing using rapid prototyping cycles to validate information hierarchy, filtering logic, and interaction patterns.
Two key findings reshaped implementation:
Novel Web3 UI patterns introduced cognitive load at high-stakes decision points, prompting a shift toward established mental models that prioritized scannability without reducing functionality.
Custom UI elements were replaced with an existing component library, consolidating testing surface area and focusing build effort on core experience problems.
I chose the component library. The trade-off was some visual uniqueness, but we gained consistency, reduced QA burden, and could iterate faster. I presented design options to stakeholders showing the user experience would remain strong either way—the library didn't compromise core functionality. We aligned on shipping a validated experience over a polished-but-unproven one.
Trade-offs were documented and stakeholder-aligned before implementation.
Beta testing showed measurable improvements from our internal iterations, validating that our design decisions were solving real user problems. The product vision and designs contributed to the startup securing pre-seed funding from private investors.
While organizational restructuring prevented the product from launching, the work validated critical assumptions about NFT enthusiast behaviour and demonstrated that a streamlined discovery experience resonated with our target users. This experience reinforced how strategic scoping and rapid validation create value even when circumstances change—the insights and investor confidence were outcomes in themselves.
Further validation that segment and use case held under real behaviors
The state of the MVP at this time reached validation with beta users, however, it hasn't proved the core assumptions driven by design. The next step would be to close the gap by measuring time-to-value and return frequency around airdrop events.
The core promise was reliable, trustworthy release information. The critical question is whether users return to the platform ahead of drops rather than after hearing about them elsewhere. If users are treating Relic as a reference tool rather than a primary scout, the trust problem is being solved but the timing problem isn't.