Forkast Labs is a DeFi data company that develops financial indexes for Web3.
Forkast Labs needed to build it’s first website, accompanied with an index product, that would help tell the story of our products and provide a frictionless experience for new users.
Overview
Role:
UX Designer
Timeline:
8 weeks
Team:
Product Manager
(2) Engineers
How might we design a website for a Web3 data product?
Challenge
Discovery - Competitive Analysis
My search began with a wide range of sites and platforms that housed complex data, financial indexes, and tools that are used for investing.
My goals at this stage were:
To begin understanding the mental models of users and gain information about the tools they use in their everyday work
To achieve a foundational understanding for how users might navigate our website and use our tools
Because this was an early stage company, I ensured that we placed our focus on user adoption. This strategy would translate to understanding use cases for our users, while designing an intuitive tool they could utilize immediately.
Information Architecture
With scalability in mind, I provided a high level overview of the pieces that would make up Forkast Lab’s website architecture.
I collaborated with stakeholders to strategically decide where we would place connection points in our products, while also providing a blueprint for how it might scale as we add more products.
-
Scalability was important because the site would eventually be housing a vast library of indexes and tools. Because of this I laid a solid foundation early so that iterations and redesigns would be minimal.
-
Forkast Lab’s indexes are unique in the industry and a groundbreaking product. This means that our data would become a north star indicator of Web3 economic health. With this in mind, we leaned into users that could use this data for the largest impact, and promote wider adoption.
Through the first round of research, I provided stakeholders with key areas we needed to focus on:
Ability to scale the website alongside our growing library of indexes
The story and value proposition of Forkast Labs
A hero section that provides clear understanding of what we do
An about page displaying C-suite bios and providing important information about our company
Desktop, tablet and mobile responsive design to accommodate all devices
Design Solutions
During this process, I initiated the beginning of Forkast Lab’s design system where I made critical design decisions that would shape the future of the company’s visual identity.
This process included:
Designing and implementing advanced components that could be reused and customized (index, cards)
Introduced a grid, color, and type system that is used throughout the entire product ecosystem
Labeling and writing documentation for engineers and future design teams
Ensuring design consistency after engineering implementation
At launch, we received an estimated total of 871k impressions, and were featured on news outlets like Axios, Yahoo Finance, and South China Morning Post.
The MVP for the website successfully launched in the scheduled timeframe, and equipped our executive team to initiate conversations with investors.
Impact
What would I have done different?
I think if I had more time and budget, I would have wanted to do more qualitative and quantitative user testing around our site to improve it’s messaging and usability. I’d do this through setting up eventing across the website to see where users are landing and utilizing the user interviews to understand why.
What’s Next?
Conceptualize product use cases to empower users to solve problems with our data tools.
Expand on navigation design as our index library continues to expand, and provide users with a polished experience.
Start conducting into usability tests, outlining pain points and areas we can improve.
Work with the team on condensing the copy throughout the website and iterating designs to make them more useful for users.
