UpWorlds
UpWorlds emerged as a fascinating web3 marketplace, providing a distinct platform for entrepreneurs to market their intricate 3D creations. The marketplace's unique identity was intricately woven with a retro wave aesthetic. It evoked a sense of nostalgia and artistic flair. However, the platform somewhat overlooked essential elements such as accessibility, usability, and user experience (UX) practices.
​
My role: Design Team's Product Designer
THE PROBLEM
The site lacked proper organization and structure and felt like a random collection of ideas and vibes rather than a well-organized project. It was difficult to navigate and understand due to the lack of clear organization and consistent branding. This made the user experience confusing and misleading.
MAIN PROBLEMS
Accesibility & Usability
​The website was utterly inaccessible, with a strikingly poor contrast ratio and a lack of clear navigation.
Balance
Creative ideas didn't translate well into a cohesive user experience, leaving visitors confused about the website's purpose.
Lack of resources
inadequate resources and tight time constraints, which hindered the proper development of the website.
Colors
Mismatched colors disrupted visual harmony and brand identity. The vision didn't translate well into reality
Research
Talks, a lot of talks
To kick off the project, I took a proactive approach by directly engaging with the community and conducting informative interviews with our esteemed clients. While doing so, I also conducted thorough market research to analyze our competitors' strategies and strengths.
​
-
Engaged with the community through conversations and interviews with existing clients to uncover their needs and challenges.
-
Conducted thorough market research to analyze competitors' strategies and identify areas of improvement.
-
Leveraged insights from both community engagement and market analysis to make informed and strategic decisions for the project's direction.
Brainstorm
We used Figma to make brainstorming and creating ideas easier. With this tool, we could quickly test and see many different concepts, which helped us be more productive. The real-time collaboration feature was beneficial because our team struggled with remote environment challenges.
Design Concepts
Sketches
Wireframes
Our goal was to maximize efficiency by utilizing a React component library and incorporating as many reusable components as possible. While prioritizing usability, we also considered the significant time investment from the team.
Final Design
1. Components
2. Onboarding
3. World's Page
3. Checkout
Results
The project ended with a partially successful redesign, shedding light on various considerations left unaddressed. Positive takeaways included seamless collaboration with developers, active involvement in development, and refined research practices. However, challenges persisted in advocating for accessibility, persuading stakeholders, and addressing potential biases.
Positive Learnings:
-
Effective collaboration with developers
-
Active role in the development process
-
Improved research techniques
Challenges and Lessons:
-
Uphill the battle for accessibility
-
Stakeholder persuasion
-
Addressing potential biases