EDGE
A full-stack trading terminal for multi-chain crypto. Built from the ground up. Product design, brand identity, and design system. One designer, one year.
YEAR
2025
ROLE
Founding Designer
CPO
Creative Director
SERVICES
Product Strategy
UX Research
Product Design
Brand Identity
Design System
How does a trading bot turn into a platform?
BACKGROUND
The team behind the world's first Telegram trading bots wanted to scale into a full platform. The obvious move was to translate the existing feature set and ship fast. That assumption hadn't been tested and with limited resources, being wrong was expensive. So before a single brief was written, we ran the research.
GOAL
To give high-volume crypto traders a platform built around how they actually think and work, not how legacy tools assumed they did.
It shouldn't.
Kill the bot.
RESEARCH
Five methods. Eleven trader interviews. Four two-hour workshops where pro traders co-designed the strategy alongside us, not as feedback givers, as partners.
INSIGHT
Trench traders aren't really degens. They're ambitious. Herman Miller furniture, Patek Philippe watches, a clear goal: higher volume, less work. They're also the cohort that's always hunting for a better tool. That made them the right ICP, and it gave us the north star: reduce the effort required to trade at scale. Make more money with less effort.
THE DECISION
The original plan was to keep Telegram alongside the web platform. We dropped Telegram entirely. Building for both simultaneously forced UX compromises in both directions, the opposite of what our research showed us we need to achieve.
We also designed the platform's community ownership model, a mechanism that gives traders actual equity in the platform they use. Cashback returns money. Trade to Own returns ownership. The specific mechanics remain confidential.
Product + design principles
TRADE IN FEWEST CLICKS POSSIBLE
Every unnecessary interaction is a liability at trading speed. We designed for minimum viable friction, where the fastest path to executing a trade is always the default, never something the user has to find.
MULTITASK AS SEAMLESSLY AS POSSIBLE
Pro traders don't work linearly. They monitor, research, and execute simultaneously across multiple positions and timeframes. The platform needed to reflect that mental model rather than force a sequential workflow onto a parallel thinker.
TRADE TOGETHER
The research consistently showed that traders compete on information as much as tools, and that the best information often lives within trusted networks, not public feeds. This insight led to the development of a SocialFi layer built directly into the platform. The specific mechanics remain confidential, but the principle is simple: the best traders don't trade in isolation, and they shouldn't have to.
Built for human instinct. Engineered for speed.
THINK IN CHAINS
A sharp research moment: we assumed technical traders thought in wallet standards. We were wrong. They think in chains. Rebuilt the entire information architecture around that mental model. every page, every setting, every wallet view. A multi-chain platform that never asks users to understand multi-chain infrastructure.
EVERY BUY IS A QUICK BUY
Every buy is a quick buy by default. No confirmation screens. A hover interaction communicates the immediacy before the click; visible enough to register, subtle enough not to slow anyone down. Cross-chain configuration reduced while increasing available sell points.
NEVER LET THEM MISS A TRADE
Notifications that confirm a transaction occurred aren't enough for a trader running multiple positions across multiple wallets simultaneously. Edge notifications include the token, transaction type, wallet, and status; everything needed to identify an issue instantly. One tap takes you directly to the affected token, so a failed transaction can be retried in seconds, not minutes.
Brand Identity
RECOGNISABLE WITHOUT A LOGO
Same research, same workshops, same traders. Dark and considered. Technical without being cold. Every application, interface, marketing, design system from the same place. One designer. One year.
The core visual mechanism that carries through is the Edge, a soft neon gradient outline that highlights the subject. Paired with our textured gradient illustrations and backgrounds, I aimed to deliver a brand idenity that will eventually be easily recognisable at a glance, even without our logo.
Impact
Build Times Reduced by 47%
Implemented modular feature system (widgets) for most popular features. This meant any improvements, updates and iteration on features can be worked on with little to no effect on the rest of the platform. This combined with the decision to reduce surface area by killing Telegram resulted in us moving approx 47% faster. Impact calculated based on shortcut ticket burndown times.
Over 10,342 Users on Waitlist in first week
Designed and built Telegram waitlist functionality with 5 tier referral system baked in. Tested 2 different Telegram Connect options pre waitlist launch with very different results for each. Second approach increased sign up rate by over 50%. At waitlist launch we reached 10,342 signups in a week.
Failed Txns Reported fell by 80%
Reworking the notification flow to add more detail and single click to a prepopulated trade page replicating the order allowed users to retry the failed transaction in under a second. This resulted in fewer missed trades and therefore far less complaints and increased satisfaction with our speed.
Txns Increased by 12% across 8 chains, 90+ DEXs
The multichain navigation approach combined with the quickbuy global preset allowed us to add quickbuy to search, wallet tracking, portfolios, signal feeds and more across every view (previously restricted to single chain view). This effectively meant we had a lot more points of sale, which immediately increased buying opportunities and by extension purchases and revenue opportunity for Edge.
What I wish I did differently
It became clear early on that the surface area was going to be too large if we kept Telegram. I was tempted by the prospect of having more functionality for our users given that it had already been built, so it took us a couple months to make the decision to drop Telegram. I wish I'd acted sooner rather than wasting time trying to make it work. That time could have been spent on something more inline with the direction we were headed.
Smooth Scroll
This will hide itself!
This will hide itself!
SOL
ETH
BTC
AVAX
UNI
TON
SOL
ETH
BTC
AVAX
UNI
TON
SOL
ETH
BTC
AVAX
UNI
TON
EDGE
OVERVIEW
A full-stack trading terminal for multi-chain crypto. Built from the ground up. Product design, brand identity, and design system. One designer, one year.
YEAR
2025
ROLE
Founding Designer
CPO
Creative Director
SERVICES
Product Strategy
UX Research
Product Design
Brand Identity
Design System
How does a trading bot turn into a platform?
BACKGROUND
The team behind the world's first Telegram trading bots wanted to scale into a full platform. The obvious move was to translate the existing feature set and ship fast. That assumption hadn't been tested and with limited resources, being wrong was expensive. So before a single brief was written, we ran the research.
GOAL
To give high-volume crypto traders a platform built around how they actually think and work, not how legacy tools assumed they did.
It shouldn't.
Kill the bot.
RESEARCH
Five methods. Eleven trader interviews. Four two-hour workshops where pro traders co-designed the strategy alongside us, not as feedback givers, as partners.
INSIGHT
Trench traders aren't really degens. They're ambitious. Herman Miller furniture, Patek Philippe watches, a clear goal: higher volume, less work. They're also the cohort that's always hunting for a better tool. That made them the right ICP, and it gave us the north star: reduce the effort required to trade at scale. Make more money with less effort.
THE DECISION
The original plan was to keep Telegram alongside the web platform. We dropped Telegram entirely. Building for both simultaneously forced UX compromises in both directions, the opposite of what our research showed us we need to achieve.
We also designed the platform's community ownership model, a mechanism that gives traders actual equity in the platform they use. Cashback returns money. Trade to Own returns ownership. The specific mechanics remain confidential.
Product + design principles
TRADE IN FEWEST CLICKS POSSIBLE
Every unnecessary interaction is a liability at trading speed. We designed for minimum viable friction, where the fastest path to executing a trade is always the default, never something the user has to find.
MULTITASK AS SEAMLESSLY AS POSSIBLE
Pro traders don't work linearly. They monitor, research, and execute simultaneously across multiple positions and timeframes. The platform needed to reflect that mental model rather than force a sequential workflow onto a parallel thinker.
TRADE TOGETHER
The research consistently showed that traders compete on information as much as tools, and that the best information often lives within trusted networks, not public feeds. This insight led to the development of a SocialFi layer built directly into the platform. The specific mechanics remain confidential, but the principle is simple: the best traders don't trade in isolation, and they shouldn't have to.
Built for human instinct. Engineered for speed.
THINK IN CHAINS
A sharp research moment: we assumed technical traders thought in wallet standards. We were wrong. They think in chains. Rebuilt the entire information architecture around that mental model. every page, every setting, every wallet view. A multi-chain platform that never asks users to understand multi-chain infrastructure.
EVERY BUY IS A QUICK BUY
Every buy is a quick buy by default. No confirmation screens. A hover interaction communicates the immediacy before the click; visible enough to register, subtle enough not to slow anyone down. Cross-chain configuration reduced while increasing available sell points.
NEVER LET THEM MISS A TRADE
Notifications that confirm a transaction occurred aren't enough for a trader running multiple positions across multiple wallets simultaneously. Edge notifications include the token, transaction type, wallet, and status; everything needed to identify an issue instantly. One tap takes you directly to the affected token, so a failed transaction can be retried in seconds, not minutes.
Brand Identity
RECOGNISABLE WITHOUT A LOGO
Same research, same workshops, same traders. Dark and considered. Technical without being cold. Every application, interface, marketing, design system from the same place. One designer. One year.
The core visual mechanism that carries through is the Edge, a soft neon gradient outline that highlights the subject. Paired with our textured gradient illustrations and backgrounds, I aimed to deliver a brand idenity that will eventually be easily recognisable at a glance, even without our logo.
Impact
Build Times Reduced by 47%
Implemented modular feature system (widgets) for most popular features. This meant any improvements, updates and iteration on features can be worked on with little to no effect on the rest of the platform. This combined with the decision to reduce surface area by killing Telegram resulted in us moving approx 47% faster. Impact calculated based on shortcut ticket burndown times.
Over 10,342 Users on Waitlist in first week
Designed and built Telegram waitlist functionality with 5 tier referral system baked in. Tested 2 different Telegram Connect options pre waitlist launch with very different results for each. Second approach increased sign up rate by over 50%. At waitlist launch we reached 10,342 signups in a week.
Failed Txns Reported fell by 80%
Reworking the notification flow to add more detail and single click to a prepopulated trade page replicating the order allowed users to retry the failed transaction in under a second. This resulted in fewer missed trades and therefore far less complaints and increased satisfaction with our speed.
Txns Increased by 12% across 8 chains, 90+ DEXs
The multichain navigation approach combined with the quickbuy global preset allowed us to add quickbuy to search, wallet tracking, portfolios, signal feeds and more across every view (previously restricted to single chain view). This effectively meant we had a lot more points of sale, which immediately increased buying opportunities and by extension purchases and revenue opportunity for Edge.
What I wish I did differently
It became clear early on that the surface area was going to be too large if we kept Telegram. I was tempted by the prospect of having more functionality for our users given that it had already been built, so it took us a couple months to make the decision to drop Telegram. I wish I'd acted sooner rather than wasting time trying to make it work. That time could have been spent on something more inline with the direction we were headed.
Smooth Scroll
This will hide itself!
This will hide itself!
SOL
ETH
BTC
AVAX
UNI
TON
SOL
ETH
BTC
AVAX
UNI
TON
SOL
ETH
BTC
AVAX
UNI
TON