SelfKey Mobile Wallet

SelfKey is a self-sovereign identity system that is based on the blockchain and can provide control and management of digital identities to users. Additionally, users can use SelfKey to securely manage a crypto portfolio and apply for financial services in the marketplace.


My Role

Since the beginning of the project I worked as the Lead Product Designer, my work covered every aspect of design, from the initial research of the market and user trends to developing hi-fidelity mockups, from design QA to supporting the marketing team with necessary assets and ensuring a successful product launch.

Toolbox

Pen & Paper, Sketch, InVision, GitHub, Lucidchart

Timeframe

Aug 2019 - Jul 2020

Challenge

The main challenge was to create a product that has been requested by our community for over 2 years, following the steps of our desktop application, focusing on the core services at first, as part of an MVP.

We also wanted to simplify as much as possible the specific blockchain flows, which can be hard to grasp for the average person, while still offering a very secure app.


Research

Initial Research

I started the research doing competitors analysis, analysing past user surveys and reviewing the analytical data that we had, from both the website and desktop app, to see which were our most used features, as well as taking into consideration any must-haves for a blockchain wallet MVP.

I've split the competitor analysis into 2 parts, one for direct competitors, those who are developing a similar product even if they have yet to launch an app, and one for indirect competitors, the crypto wallet part, needed for the MVP.

At the same time, I made sure I'm up to date with both Material Design (Android) and Human Interface (iOS) guidelines.

Synthesis and Outcomes

Following the research, I identified a few opportunities and challenges, that in the end, have been shaped up in an MVP.

In terms of opportunities there are plenty:

  • Launch with marketplace open

  • Sharable and selectable attributes

  • ERC-20 token wallet

  • More advanced KYC flows

Challenges:

  • Stay competitive vs. those who don't have their own token. Their apps could be far easier to be used than ours

  • Stay competitive vs. non-blockchain apps

To be considered:

  • Reputation building

  • Our own IDV - could be more attractive towards partners

  • Other services, like Yoti has


Lo-fi Prototype

As we had a working desktop app, and all the screens and functionality that we need was already done as hi-fidelity mockups, I took the decision to prototype faster, in this case, pen&paper wireframes being enough. I used them to sketch different layout options, for almost all the screens that we needed, deciding rapidly on the best information architecture, with the help of my team.


FlowCharting the Entire App

As part of the handover, I've learned from the first iteration, that there we'll be questions from either Dev or QA teams, on what should happen/what screen should I see if I press X or Y. I did my best to name and order all the screens, but Sketch artboards are static, and having an InVision prototype with hundreds of screens only adds to the file maintenance task, especially for a small team like ours. So the best solution, in this case, was to create flowcharts for the entire application. This not only made it more easily for everyone to follow a certain user flow but also revealed some of the edge cases we were not thinking from the beginning.

Internal & USer Testing

A few weeks before launch we performed internal testing, followed by a closed alpha user testing session. We manage to uncover a few bugs, which was expected, but we also got some good ideas to improve our product in the future. We could not have done this without having a real working app in our hands.

All these ideas were captured and then prioritised in Github, for future development. To mention a few:

  • The app does not have a log out option - Is it standard to have one in crypto apps?

  • Can you use face match log in? - Already considered for v2

  • Option to view the password in the text is missing in the login screen. - I overlooked this feature. It was fixed before release.

  • Report a bug straight from the app - Added for v2


Results & App Launch

The challenge for the UI part was to make sure all screens are though trough for a great mobile experience, so even though I already had the entire flow and designs for the desktop app, they needed rethinking to work on mobile. From elements size, placement to taking advantage of some native mobile elements.

All prototypes are done in Sketch and shared with the rest of the team using InVision. Using Sketch also made it very easy to preview it on a real device, while doing the design.

Style Guide

As for the Desktop Application, I created a Style Guide, to use as a theming option for our Material UI components, while also addressing some usability issues that Material UI has.

Colors

Typography

Forms

UI Elements

Coming Next

Iteration Process

Following a successful launch, we immediately started working on the yearly roadmap. Based on the feedback we received from our users, we established what features we needed the most for v2, and what can be left for later.

As the MVP was for the crypto part of the wallet, the new features will tackle the identity part, making it on par eventually with the desktop version. In the meantime we also set up analytics for the mobile applications, to help support further decisions.


Contact

Want to get in touch? Drop me a line at oana.mangiurea@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @caelea.