Defi Asset Monetization App
INDUSTRY:
FINANCIAL SERVICES
CLIENT:
FINASTRA
YEAR:
2023
ROLE:
UI/UX DESIGNER
The Backstory
In 2023, I joined my company’s annual hackathon—an international competition run by Finastra, a fintech company all about sustainable and inclusive finance. It was a big deal: thousands of participants, 75+ countries, and over 230 projects.
I teamed up with two development leads, and I was the go-to for UX and marketing. We decided to compete in the DeFi (Decentralized Finance) category—mostly because it sounded both exciting and intimidating (spoiler: it was both).
The Idea
We explored a bunch of directions—digital wallets, smart contracts—but landed on something that really stood out: using AI + blockchain to safely monetize financial assets.
Here’s the simple version:
Traditional asset monetization can be slow and clunky.
With AI, you can analyze tons of data, spot fraud, and forecast risks.
With blockchain, you can do it securely and transparently.
Put them together, and you’ve got a smarter, faster way to turn assets into usable value.
Presentation: An overview of the concept, its process and underlying technologies.vcbcvvbvc
The Challenges
We had zero prior experience with DeFi or blockchain. That meant cramming months of learning into just a few weeks, all while figuring out how to design and pitch a solution that made sense to people who weren’t deep in the tech weeds.
The Design Journey
Mockups: a simple flow showing how a user could pick assets, see scores, and get their funds.
Early sketches: diagrams of how the risk-scoring system would work.
Final app: clean, three-step process with a clear connection between risk scores and asset value.
The Validation
The validation phase tested whether the DeFi Asset Monetization prototype helped users clearly understand how to collateralize assets without selling them, while maintaining trust and transparency in a decentralized environment.
Insights
The step-by-step process made an abstract process feel tangible.
Users valued and understood the on-screen DeFi monetization scores.
Several participants found DeFi jargons (e.g., tokenization, smart contracts) intimidating, especially non-crypto users.
Simplified tooltips and contextual help boosted comprehension significantly.
Impact Summary
Result: Validation showed that even non-technical users could grasp the DeFi monetization process with guided visuals and transparency cues.
The prototype achieved an 82% comprehension rate, +15% trust improvement, and a reduction in perceived complexity by 25% compared to baseline survey data.
Users described the design as “empowering” and “educational,” positioning the product as a bridge between traditional finance and DeFi ecosystems.
Clear visualization of DeFi flow
Security transparency
Risk level indicators improved trust perception
❌What Didn't
Technical terminology hard to grasp
Yield metrics appeared too volatile without context
Some UI inconsistencies between asset categories
88%
Completion
82%
Comprehension
76%
Trust
72%
Confidence
The Outcome
Our project won “Best DeFi Submission” at the hackathon. Even better, a patent was filed for the concept and is now pending approval.
Final app: clean, three-step process with a clear connection between risk scores and asset value.
Lessons
Technology evolves quickly—and design must evolve with it. DeFi introduces a new way to tackle an old challenge in asset monetization: unlocking the value of assets without selling them.
New technologies demand new experiences and new ways of thinking. Solving a problem once isn’t enough—great design continually adapts as the world changes.
The future belongs to those who learn, and then relearn, and then unlearn and relearn again.
