KoinStreet: A Walk Through Redesign
Redesign is something that I think get’s overlooked a lot of the time in UX world. It seems that it would be easier to take something and make it look pretty and more functional than build something from the ground up.
That could not be less true.
Not saying that I had a bad experience with this project. I didn’t. I had more fun trying to figure all of this out than some of the other projects and client work I have taken on in my very short, but ever growing UX journey.
But with every project comes thoughts, feeling, and reflections.
Koinstreet was no different, but I was able to take a somewhat different approach which is always worth taking a closer look at. What worked, what didn’t, and what made me feel like I could support my own vision.
To start, I suppose I should fill in the large blanks you all have. Like, for starters, what is Koinstreet?!
It’s a digital platforms for buying, selling, and gamifying all things cyrpto. What’s interesting, besides the entire world of digital money, is that Koinstreet does and has taken a very different approach to the way that they represent the values that come along with digital asset trading.
Keeping that in mind, I began my research. What I started with was trying to find competitors in the same vein. But rather than analyzing the features of these sites, I looked at what they were doing very wrong. I looked closely through the eyes of a first time user, because that is Koinstreet main audience, or at least, the target.
Then it was survey time!
I asked questions about the look and feel of the site, and if users would understand what the site was doing. Most of them said no. And more than half of my total 16 responses led me to believe that the message, at least visually, was not being communicated.
Honing in on both the research and the survey results, I conducted three users interviewer. Again asking a total of five questions surrounding thoughts and feeling about websites that address digital asset trading.
Then came the sketching and the user flows. I thought about the way that a first time user would browse the site, because Koinstreet emphasizes how they want to make digital asset trading and owning tangible for everyone.
When sketching was done I created a color palette and a moodboard. But, this time rather than sticking to images, I thought it would be cool to use and colors and words. Being that first and foremost, I’m a writer.
What was most interesting about this project was not the redesign. It was leaning more on the meaning and the message of the company, and what they stood for more than anything else. Having a little more freedom, and also being able to challenge myself to keep getting on a different level in terms of visual design was really amazing.
Of course, I have a very long way to go. But the idea of focusing more on content and then building something around that content, that was truly something.
It reminded me of a couple things, but one thing that this project really drilled into me through and through is that if you have a process, go with it! If you have a plan, execute it! And if you think that you can make something better, use what you know you know and regardless of how perfect the result is, you’re going to be doing something right.
And here is the finished mockup! (Both web and mobile)
