Blockchain & UX Design
Why User-Centered Design and Blockchain Technology is a match made for the users.
What is blockchain?
Did you buy Bitcoin? (Bitcoin Liya kya?)
I know I know, another thing on why blockchain is a big deal and why it is going to change the world, and its hundred use cases.
I don’t want to bore you with all the jargon involved within the blockchain universe and so would like to explain blockchain in the simplest way possible.
Blockchain is a record-keeping technology, it keeps track of information and helps in locating it in a more structured/organized manner. It holds the ability to change the current financial setup for the better as it can help banks do more with less, streamline business, and reduce risk in the process.
So blockchain is overall a new way of storing large amounts of data that can be traced and cannot be edited.
Blockchain & UX
The technology is relatively new for an average user and can be very difficult to understand in the beginning. The blockchain space has people at extreme ends of the spectrum, where you can find users who have all the knowledge about the field and are extremely opinionated/passionate about the field, on the other hand, have no clue about the technology but are still curious. Users, including me, lack the mental capacity to research the whole field and understand all the technicalities, the cognitive load on the user is very high which is where UI/UX comes to user rescue.
I believe UX and blockchain technology go hand in hand, as it is a relatively difficult domain to understand and involves a lot of technicalities, a user-centered design could ease the user experience.
In recent times, the cryptocurrency space in India specifically has witnessed new companies emerging and fighting for a greater market share. This fight for the market share is going to be tricky over the coming years, as the product they are trying to sell isn’t something everyone understands completely. The companies in the cryptocurrency space have primarily focused on educating its first time users about the crypto field.
The organizations in the crypto space have made a conscious effort towards more user-centered designs, a good UX and UI is one of the priorities.
Some of the best practices for building a blockchain-based User experience are
1. Educate first-time users: The technicality of blockchain could be cognitively very daunting, so making the experience welcoming and simple to understand is a priority. This could help organizations retain users considerably.
2. Consistency: When we are designing, for a diverse audience, a completely new experience, we need to ensure consistency and make the experience as comfortable as possible.
3. Gamification: Trading in virtual assets could be made easier for the user with gamification features.
4. Feedback: As it’s relatively a new technology, and you are developing a new experience so getting relevant feedback from the user could be difficult in the prototyping stage hence, we should open a direct link for the users to give relevant user feedback which will probably define your product.
5. User Responsibility: The user needs to know certain things which are a must in the blockchain domain especially in the crypto space. The users must be made aware of the irreversibility of transactions and taking financial decisions, making the user aware of the intricate details should be a priority.
What does the future hold?
To be honest I’m not sure and I’m not the correct person to answer this question, based on my research the technology has a lot of promise and a considerable amount of investment is made in the domain year-on-year, which is pointing towards a better product in the coming future. All I can assure you is that user-centered design is going to be at the center of product development and we as designers have a responsibility towards our users. (Designers Assemble!)
