MINA PROTOCOL

A layer one protocol for web 3 powered by zero knowledge proofs.

Lead Product Designer, Researcher & Strategist
2019 - 2021

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Proof of Alpha

Mina Protocol's first zkApp

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

ROLE

User Experience Design
Visual UI Design
User Research
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The Challenge

Proof of Alpha's new user onboarding flow would be heavy lifting,
requiring careful UX optimization to minimize first time user churn.

Requirements would include:

a Binance API key, in an era fraught with exchange hacks & API exploits
the Mina browser wallet extension, installed in the browser & funded with tokens
user customization decisions informed around strict technical limitations
a subsection of users will have never used web 3, and must connect & sign a transaction
a 3-4 minute wait time, to generate the zero knowledge proof locally in your browser

New User Onboarding

Working closely with two very senior product managers, I iterated nearly a dozen times to get to this 'final' state.

Getting the copy right was crucial and time-consuming, requiring many iterations.
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In retrospect, the screens all look obvious. At the start of the project, it sure didn't feel that way.

But when we started: it was the farthest thing from that.
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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

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, 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

ROLE

Project Manager
User Research
UX/UI Designer

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 in 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 with user interviews,
using a click-thru prototype of the wireframes.

Visual Design

Building the app's UI on Mina's brand helped emphasize lightness, a visual metaphor for Mina’s lightweight protocol & tech stack.

A Carefully Constructed Security Flow

Rarely is an app’s most important section in its settings.

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.

Last Minute Visual Re-Skin

Late in the project I was asked to pivot on visual design, to an off-brand color scheme.

Ship It | Aftermath

The wallet shipped to both app stores in 2022 Q1
The app's creator named the app "Staking Power Wallet" (I begged the gentleman to reconsider, but he did not)
I QA'ed portions of the app, but left my role at Mina before engineering of the wallet was finished
Unfortunately some aspects of the UX / UI were lost in translation