Crypto, Collections, Community
Unleash the power of community-centric NFT discovery
Adding social engagement features to OpenSea to help collectors find the communities and collections that resonate with them
Lead UX / UI Designer
4 - 6 weeks
Tools
Project type
Figma, Procreate, Maze, Optimal Workshop
Independent project
Timeline
Role
Overview
What is OpenSea?
The world's first and largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Users can buy, sell, and discover exclusive digital items all on one platform.
Defining the problem
The NFT community is incredibly active and social, however, as an online marketplace, OpenSea is missing critical social sharing features that inform and influence user buying decisions.
The solution
OpenSea would like to introduce social media elements and features on their website to channel NFT discourse from sites like Twitter, Reddit and Discord directly to buyers on the OpenSea platform to help inform their purchase decisions.
At a glance
How can NFT discovery be enhanced directly on OpenSea?
Research Goals
To begin to answer this question, I focused my research around 4 key goals:
1 Understand how users prioritize the factors that influence buyer trends and motivations
2 Understand how NFT communities influence buyer decisions and behavior
3 Identify how users overcome challenges they may encounter when purchasing NFTs
4 Identify the primary ways to increase under confidence in their buying decisions
The value of NFTs relies on social speculation driven by trends, hype, community engagement, and cultural significance.
White Paper Research
Simply put, the value of NFTs is all about what catches people's attention, what gets them excited, and what holds cultural significance. It's less like traditional investing and more like joining in on what's buzzing and culturally relevant in the digital world.
5 out of 5 interview participants referenced social media platforms like Twitter and Discord as a significant part of their NFT discovery process
User Interviews
I conducted interviews with five people between the ages of 21-28 who actively own or have owned an NFT. I asked them a series of questions to determine current pain points in their process for finding NFTs and to get an idea of what motivators/barriers exist when considering one over the other. I then organized this data using an affinity map to highlight key themes and insights of my findings.
The current landscape of NFT platforms
Currently, there are no NFT marketplace platforms that offer a dedicated space for fostering social interaction and engagement.
OpenSea primarily functions as a marketplace with limited community features, while Rarible places a stronger emphasis on community involvement. MagicEden is specifically designed to promote community and social engagement, but it's in the early stages of development, making it a unique but relatively untested player in the NFT space.
Defining the NFT User Landscape
Insight generation
Interviews brought a mix of insights, but figuring out what people had in common wasn't straightforward. The affinity map became my go-to tool, helping me see the bigger picture by simplifying complex information.
It took a few tries, but eventually, patterns emerged, showing shared goals, like profit, utility, community and challenges, like discovery and price-point, among users. This visual aid clarified the diverse perspectives I'd gathered in a way that made sense to everyone.
My findings highlight a strong emphasis on personal taste and community involvement in NFT collecting, alongside the desire for investment returns and the need for clearer, more trustworthy information in the NFT space.
Key findings
Meet
the Users
The NFT space attracts a wide array of individuals, including artists, buyers, newcomers exploring the trend, and seasoned veterans. Recognizing the distinct goals associated with buying and selling art, I crafted 3 personas tailored to each of these unique roles within the vibrant NFT ecosystem.
There’s 2 problems here:
Users frequently find themselves leaving the OpenSea app to gather essential information for informed buying decisions.
The current security limitations on most iPhones prevent users from trading NFTs within the app, which further decreases the overall utility of the OpenSea mobile app.
Sooo…
How might enhancing the accessibility of NFT communities within the app increase its utility and foster user engagement?
Ideating solutions
Based on my findings, I determined that OpenSea had an opportunity to integrate a feature that can:
Mapping the NFT User Journey
I developed three user flows and task flows by leveraging OpenSea's existing sitemap, and tested them to align with the common tasks performed by the target user. The aim was to ensure that the feature would seamlessly blend into OpenSea's design with minimal intrusion.
We’ve all experienced hitting a learning curve at some point. We start something with high enthusiasm, hit a daunting complexity trough, but persevere. The NFT discovery journey closely resembles just that - challenges turned into confidence and proficiency.
From Concept to Canvas
Given the scope and time-line of this project, I wanted to explore, design and test features that:
• Fit within the existing patterns and architecture of OpenSea.
• Are easily-learnable and user-friendly.
• Enhance the utility of OpenSea's mobile app.
For the initial sketches, I basically doodled ideas right onto screenshots from the OpenSea app. It helped me envision new features that would naturally fit into the app without feeling out of place.
I decided to kickstart this project by recreating the app's interface because it gave me a strong foundation to build upon. I was working with an interface that was already refined and user-friendly, making it easier to make improvements and stay aligned with the existing design.
I created a style-tile based on their brand guidelines to reinforce OpenSea’s existing design systems and branding within the feature. This approach fits well with projects where you want to build upon an existing design rather than starting from scratch with lower-fidelity wireframes.
Key Screens and features
Community hub
OpenSea’s Community Hub is where the NFT community comes alive and connects. Here, users get a personalized feed of updates in the NFT sphere.
Follow collections
Users can follow their favorite collections to get real-time updates. They can share and post their favorite items with a simple click.
Post and share
Users can create posts, comment, and be part of the conversation around a specific NFT collection. The NFT community is all about sharing thoughts and opinions.
Empathy meets technology
I conducted moderated A/B testing with a total of five users to determine which of two OpenSea home screens they preferred in terms of accessing information related to NFT communities consistently, and to test the discoverability of the communities feature.
Results showed that while most participants preferred Communities in the navigation bar, some also stated that having the Community feature clearly labeled made it easier to identify.
Based on these findings, I believe that integrating the community feature into the navigation bar and using a clearer and more identifiable icon to designate community can significantly increase user engagement and make the feature more discoverable and accessible.
With the communities feature’s new home in the bottom navigation bar, it was time to conduct further usability testing to target key areas of improvement across 3 specific tasks. Testing with 5 participants between the ages of 25 and 32 took place over a period of 1 week. The results were organized into an affinity map to uncover key themes and patterns.
Results
Clear Feature Differentiation: Users need a clear distinction between features. Make sure "collection" and "community" don't confuse them.
Easy Navigation and Visual Clues: Think of navigation and visual cues like helpful signs on a road trip. Users want to see a clear "Create Post" button to know they're on the right track.
Familiar User Experience: Users love it when your platform feels like what they're used to from other social media. If it's familiar, it's a win. For example, make sure replying to posts is just as easy as on other social platforms.
Refining the prototype
1
Most users bounced between “Items” and “Community” when they did not see the Create Post button immediately. The hesitation indicates that users were initially unsure if they were on the right page, and were expecting their visual cue, in this case a Post Button, to be more apparent in order to confirm their guess.
By collapsing the "top accounts" section, I was able to increase visibility of the create post option.
The Path to Post
2
While most users felt right at home when replying to posts on OpenSea, there were moments of frustration trying to activate the comment feature, prompting me to double-check the size of those input fields all over the app and adjust them where necessary.
Bigger is better
3
I introduced a floating 'Create Post' button within the Community tab to simplify the posting process. I also eliminated filters at the top of the community page to declutter the interface.
Smooth Sailing Opensea
4
A few users seemed to overlook the community tab in the navigation bar and weren't sure what it was for. So, I redesigned the icon to make its function clearer and boost its recognition.
Make it Iconic
Check out the prototype
Final Designs
Reflection
Overall, I think introducing social engagement features to OpenSea marks a crucial step in platform evolution. Research revealed that the NFT community heavily relies on these communities for NFT discovery and decision-making. Saturation, time commitment, and misleading information were key challenges. The proposed dedicated NFT community section aims to address these issues, enhancing user confidence and overall experience. Continuous research and iteration are recommended to stay competitive and cater to evolving user needs.
In conclusion
As I look back on the project, I've come to realize that my eagerness to seamlessly blend new designs with the existing ones sometimes made me play it a bit too safe. I aimed to keep everything smooth and unintrusive, and I think I managed that part well. However, in my pursuit of 'seamlessness,' I might've missed out on some chances to think more expansively and imaginatively. It's a reminder to challenge myself to strike a balance between preserving consistency and daring to innovate.
In retrospect
With more time, my plan includes in-depth user testing for fine-tuning design, staying updated on NFT and UX trends, and exploring ways to enhance community engagement. I aim to blend aesthetics and functionality seamlessly, incorporating user feedback to keep the platform evolving and satisfying user needs. Ongoing research and collaboration will be at the forefront, ensuring the platform not only adapts but thrives in the dynamic landscape of NFTs and user expectations.
In the future
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