The context
DecentraBNB was a decentralized travel platform connecting travellers and hospitality providers directly, cutting out traditional intermediaries. The platform supported multiple cryptocurrencies including its native token DBNB. The core design challenge: serving everyone from crypto-native travellers to people completely new to blockchain, without overwhelming either group.
My role and the constraint that shaped everything
The company wanted to showcase the app at Crypto Expo Dubai 2022, which meant the entire product had to be designed and built in 6 to 8 months. I was the solo designer on a team where only marketing had headcount, so I owned the full design pipeline: stakeholder meetings, translating business needs into wireframes for estimation, building the design system and tokens, customizing components, designing every flow and page, prototyping, testing, iterating, developer handoff, and design QA after implementation.
The deadline left little to no time for primary user research, so I grounded my decisions in the marketing team’s reports instead. Not ideal, but it forced me to be deliberate about which decisions actually needed validation and which could ship on strong conventions.
Hiding complexity of wallet without hiding information
Crypto wallets are confusing. This one didn’t have to be. The biggest mistake in crypto UX is showing everything at once, so the wallet homepage strips it back to the essentials: what do I have and how do I move it? Technical details like wallet addresses and QR codes only appear when the user needs them. Also when something goes wrong, the design explains why rather than leaving the users guessing.
Essentials first: what do I have, how do I move it. Addresses and QR codes appear only when the user needs them.
Every verification state keeps the user informed. Rejections explain what went wrong and allow editing without starting over.
Designing KYC for the Waiting Game
Connecting travelers and hosts directly means trust has to come from somewhere. Without a centralized platform vouching for users, identity verification becomes critical, but it also shouldn’t feel like a bureaucratic wall. The flow guides users through document selection and photo uploads step by step, and keeps them informed through every verification state. Rejected submissions don’t hit a dead end: the design explains exactly what went wrong and lets users edit and resubmit without starting over.
Local Discovery for Crypto Travelers
Booking accommodation is only part of traveling somewhere new. The Businesses section extended the platform beyond stays, letting travellers discover verified restaurants, cafés, and local services near their destination. Each listing showed accepted payment tokens, location, social accounts, reviews, and a verification badge, giving travellers the confidence to explore unfamiliar cities and spend their tokens beyond just booking a room.
Verified local businesses showing accepted tokens, so travellers can spend beyond the booking.
What happened
The app launched on schedule and was showcased at Crypto Expo Dubai in October 2022, where it won the Most Innovative Project Utility award. Users grew steadily after launch, and I spent the next five months iterating with input from customer support and marketing reports before leaving the project to move to Canada. The company later shut down, and DBNB now trades only as a token on other marketplaces.
Most Innovative Project Utility, Crypto Expo Dubai 2022
What this project changed in how I work
Working against a hard deadline with developers waiting on every screen taught me that handoff clarity is a design skill, not an afterthought. I started annotating my files with sticky notes covering the fine details of the UI, spacing, states, edge cases, so developers never had to guess. It cut our back-and-forth dramatically and changed how I prepare every handoff since.
