Decred
A common language for a project built by many.
Decred brings together people building an open-source system for digital currency and collective decision-making. My work helped give that shared effort a recognisable identity, usable products and a design practice that others could contribute to.
My involvement began in 2016 with winning the project’s first product-design RFP. I initially led design studio EETER’s contribution, later overseeing design across the project. I co-authored Decred’s identity and contributed to core software products. Working with the wider design contributor team, I helped grow a design effort involving more than 20 contributors.
An identity the community could use.
The identity was designed to work across a distributed project. Its symbol needed to remain recognisable at small sizes, in different environments and even when drawn by hand.
Around it, we developed shared principles, tools and asset libraries that contributors could use independently. The February 2017 rollout brought a new identity, updated project websites and a reusable branding package into use.
This gave people a common starting point for communicating about Decred and building new work around it.
Making powerful software understandable.
My contribution began with early wallet design in 2016 and extended into Decrediton, Decred’s desktop wallet. I led the design work and the wider team of design contributors, translating emerging technical capabilities, often available only through command-line tools, into experiences people could use with confidence.
We designed one of the first user-friendly interfaces for cryptocurrency staking, making Decred’s ticket-based system approachable. People could buy tickets, follow their progress and understand how participation worked, with clear guidance around their decisions and responsibilities.
Privacy and security features brought similar challenges. We made advanced tools easier to use through clear explanations, contextual guidance and feedback, with particular care around the responsibilities of managing your own keys.
The work also extended to Decred’s own Lightning Network implementation, bringing faster, lower-cost payments into the wallet. Across these features, layout, motion and typography helped make complex workflows understandable while preserving the depth experienced users needed.
Making participation easier to follow.
My work on Politeia ran from its version 0 prototype, based on Reddit’s interface, through successive releases to the implementation built with pi-ui. The platform lets Decred stakeholders shape the project’s direction and decide which work to support through a treasury funded by the network itself.
The design aimed to support active governance: encouraging stakeholders to question proposals, scrutinise budgets and engage with their authors before deciding what deserved funding. Clear proposal stages, public discussion and visible voting outcomes were intended to support considered decisions and accountability throughout the process.
The wider work included contributor-management tools for billing, review and accountability, helping a distributed project organise contributions, assess completed work and pay the people behind it.
Work across Politeia and Decrediton also informed pi-ui, the UI design system for related products. Shared components, visual rules and interaction patterns gave contributors a consistent foundation for design and implementation.
