Project Title
NeueUX
Project Description
NeueUX is an open-source platform that provides UX design resources and facilitates a discussion about common design patterns in decentralized applications. By providing an entire suite of UX resources for web3 applications, NeueUX will be an ideal starting point to learn about design issues in blockchain. We want to turn NeueUX into a network where developers and designers can engage with one another in conversation, support the creation of new content, and have ownership in the community to which they are contributing.
Vision
With the progress of the blockchain ecosystem, groundbreaking possibilities are arising. And with them, a whole new category of UX challenges is emerging. These new challenges need a platform to connect domain-specific experts with UX expertise in order to produce high quality blockchain apps. NeueUX will be a platform that provides an entire suite of UX resources for web3 applications and a community where UX experts and software developers can come together to raise the level of UI/UX across the industry.
Industry Problems
Unlike other industries, there are no dedicated platforms for discussions about the interfaces and user experiences of blockchain apps. As a result, it’s not easy to start working in the blockchain space, especially when coming from a non-technical background.
Additionally, most UX discussions in the blockchain space are highly technical, so few designers can follow. Unsurprisingly, few user experience designers have broken into this field because of its high barriers to entry.
With few knowledgeable designers and scarce design resources available, many blockchain startups have to start their design processes from scratch. Even when a blockchain company does have designers or design-savvy developers, their daily work processes tend to be slower than necessary because they lack the resources and standardized design patterns needed. Despite the industry’s rapid maturation in recent years, these problems have resulted in the relatively poor UX that we see across most blockchain applications.
Our Proposition / Solution
We want to make it easier for designers to work in the blockchain space. By providing an entire suite of UX resources for web3 applications, NeueUX will be an ideal starting point to learn about design issues in blockchain. NeueUX will make the daily work of designing decentralized applications more accessible and faster — providing all the resources designers need to start working in blockchain at a high level.
To achieve this goal, we want to turn NeueUX into a network where developers and designers can engage with one another in conversation, support the creation of new content, and have ownership in the community to which they are contributing. Therefore, we propose creating a content DAO as a way for contributors to have a say in the future of the network and be fairly rewarded for their work.
Besides community, content is the other cornerstone of this network. We will create bounties for the creation of new case studies, articles, screens, and other NeueUX content through our content DAO — all while continuing to develop the platform.
Our community-first approach will allow NeueUX to grow alongside the needs of the blockchain space and prioritize creating the content and resources that people want most. As the network grows over time, we will add additional content categories that offer solution approaches to UX/UI problems (i.e., case studies, UI Kits, icons, etc.)
NeueUX won’t just simplify the design process for designers. It will also allow developers to discover the best (UX) practices and directly incorporate them into their applications. NeueUX will reduce friction for web3 designers and developers because we will:
- Provide a clear starting point for new blockchain designers
- Educate designers who are new to blockchain about common design pitfalls.
- Make it easier for teams without designers to address and avoid common UX/UI issues by raising awareness and providing solution approaches to problems
- Raise awareness and facilitate a community discussion about the design standard in blockchain.
Progress
We have already built the technical foundation for NeueUX (neueux.com) — a simple static site and customized forms that end up in GitHub pull requests. While keeping all information accessible for developers, our custom forms allow designers to contribute content without using Github directly. Currently, we have built the backend using existing building blocks and open-source software like Tina CMS.
We have also developed a visual language and have built the “Screens”- and “Articles”-Categories which are live on NeueUX.com. These two categories provide designers with the basics they will need to get started within the blockchain ecosystem. All of the content on NeueUX is currently focused on the Ethereum Ecosystem.
- A screen gallery of popular blockchain applications and blockchain-specific user flows that provides people with information about current design patterns in blockchain.
- Simple explanations of blockchain basics and critical processes that designers and developers may also use as explanations in their apps.
New Product Features
We want to add new features in two categories: Community Decentralization, and NeueUX’s website development.
- Community Decentralization: As NeueUX is an open network, community building is a core tenet of its success. We want to turn NeueUX into a community where developers and designers can engage with one another in conversation, support the creation of new content, and have ownership in the network to which they are contributing. We will create an editorial board as a first step toward creating a fully autonomous Content DAO for requesting, curating, evaluating, and funding proposed content. Currently, our proposed interim DAO structure is a representative democracy governed by an editorial board. We will produce contribution guidelines for the community and onboard contributors and curious/interested people onto a discord server, where community discussions can occur. We will also lay out our contribution guidelines and reward/reputation system before creating bounties to encourage content contributions and community participation.
- Platform Development: As we grow and decentralize the community, we will further develop the platform itself. We will fix some of the existing problems in our content management system, revise the content contribution process to be easier to use and more scalable, and develop new pages for neueux.com. This will include developing a landing page, putting the content contribution guidelines on site, improving the site’s sharing and contribution processes.
Differentiation
Many platforms provide UX resources for Web2.0 applications, typically focusing on a distinct type of content (case studies, screengrabs, interviews, etc.). However, no platform provides an entire suite of UX resources for web3 applications. NeueUX aims to become the go-to UX resource and community for designers and developers interested in web3. NeueUX will provide all of the resources that web3 designers and developers could need in one place.
NeueUX will further stand out from its competitors by incentivizing a community to support and improve the platform through a Content DAO. The community will be able to ask for, incentivize, and contribute new content that fits their needs through bounties. NeueUX will be the community-driven, dynamic, UX network for web3.
Measuring Success
We hope that NeueUX will help inspire UX designers to take their first steps into blockchain and develop into a network that is extremely supportive to new members and people new to blockchain. In the long run, our metric to measure success will be reduced friction for everyone looking to make well-designed blockchain applications.
The project will be successful when:
- we get positive feedback during presentations and community calls
- we regularly see contributions from designers who have not previously been involved
- we receive improvement and content proposals from the community
- we see people recommending NeueUX to their friends and referencing our platform online
- we regularly have people reaching out who are eager to help develop the network
Team
Core Team:
Project Lead: James Jacoby
- Graduated from university in 2019 with a degree in economics and psychology. Since then, he’s been working in communications and project management for Ape Unit. He’s interested in helping organizations to connect with their audiences through upcoming forms of social media and shift towards digital economies.
Community/Project Manager: Nathania Wong
- Community and project manager driven towards social impact, sustainability, and innovation. Additional background in law, festival and theatre production, educational program planning, and basic knowledge of web development and agile practices.
UI Designer: Dario Aschero
- Dario Aschero studied computer science in Turin, after some years working as developer in the web industry in the early 2000’s. He shifted his focus on the design field. At the moment he is working at intersection of design and new technologies at Ape Unit.
Development Team: Octan Group
- Octan Group is a full-stack software development company based in Rwanda. The team primarily works for clients in Europe and North America and has experience in the fashion, travel, education, healthcare and financial services industries. Octan also plays an active role in shaping the Rwandan tech scene by spearheading peer-mentoring efforts and community-driven open source projects.
- Related Work: Octan Group Works
- Website: LinkedIn, Website
Blockchain Consulting:
Ape Unit:
- Ape Unit has been involved in the blockchain revolution since its early stages. We have actively participated in discussions and creative thinking around blockchain for years: from anarchic economies, to new business models (tokenize everything!), to the intersection of digital, physical, and parallel economies. We have a deep understanding of DLT technology on a practical, theoretical, and philosophical level. Before our involvement in blockchain, our work centered around eliminating the friction between the user intent and digital interfaces. At the intersection of blockchain and design, we have worked to increase public access to blockchain tech. Code of Practice
Emil Wagner (Managing Director)
- Co-Founder of Ape Unit and Managing Director of our decentralization-focused team, translating ideas into technology since 2007. Leading tech teams into the unknown since 2010. Loves to work with emerging technologies and explore using technology for good.
Alexandre Peschel (Managing Director)
- Co-Founder of Ape Unit and the link between various tech and design teams. With curiosity as a driving force, we are always eager to know what will be instead of what is.
Potential Collaborators:
UX Researcher / UI Designer: Maximilian Blazek (portfolio)
- Former NeueUX Project Lead
- Related Work: Blockchain UX Research @ Ape Unit and a focus on UX and Interaction Design in my projects.
- Bio: Studying Product Design at the Berlin-WeiĂźensee Academy of arts with a focus on designing digital services and emerging technologies.
The Ask
With this proposal, Ape Unit, the team behind NeueUX applies for a grant of 12 ETH. With this grant, Ape Unit will:
- Grow the NeueUX community
- Build a governance model for the NeueUX community
- Update the platform
- Incentivize the creation of more content
Scope of Work
Community Growth
We will create a campaign focused on the growth of our discord community and content DAO participation.
Projected Deliverables:
- Community Calls
- Community Outreach
- Social media channels
Tasks:
- Shepherding community discussions
- Community Growth Marketing
- Reach out to other design and development focused communities
- Research and engage with relevant influencers and UX and web3 communities
- Participate and share content to adjacent communities
- Organize and host community calls
Community Decentralization
We will decentralize the NeueUX community and create a content DAO.
Projected Deliverables:
- Content DAO
Tasks:
- Create, organize, and upkeep a Discord channel for community discussion
- Write a Content DAO Handbook
- Write NeueUX Manifesto
- Describe how the DAO is organized and operates
- Describe reward, reputation, and membership system
- Write content Contribution Guidelines
- Build a Content DAO
- Appoint and elect an initial Editorial board
- Research and implement a tool for creating proposals
- Research and integrate web3 identity component with Discord for DAO members to discuss proposals
- Research and implement a tool for voting on proposals
- Research and implement community treasury
- Research and implement reward and reputation system
Platform Development:
We will revise the content contribution process and management system to be more scalable, and develop new pages for neueux.com
Projected Deliverables:
- Onsite contribution guidelines / instructions
- Improved contribution process
- NeueUX Landing Page
- Improved Shareability
Task:
- Research, revise, and improve the content contribution process to make it more accessible and provide more guidance
- Develop and implement landing page → includes featured content, brief description of contribution process
Content Creation:
We will create bounties for the creation of new content on neueux.com through our content/editorial DAO.
Projected Deliverables:
- Incentive system for contributing different types of content
- All content focused on the Ethereum ecosystem and particular challenges like the new fee model and similar EIPs that profit from broad adoption by designers.
- Spend 2.5 ETH in contribution rewards for:
- New screens
- Articles
- Case studies
- Updating outdated content
Tasks:
- Add editorial board to Multisig wallet that can pay out initial bounties
- Write a smart contract for content bounties
- Create the first content bounties through our content DAO
Budget
If the project is successfully funded the expected start of this project is in Dec. 2021.
Total amount of tokens requested: 12 ETH
More detailed breakdown of how funds will be handled and used:
Rewards for contributors/bounties: 2.2 ETH
Outreach: 2.2 ETH
Platform Development: 2.2 ETH
Platform Decentralization: 5.4 ETH
Help Requested
In addition to the grant, we would appreciate help being introduced to knowledgeable UX/UI designers interested in joining our initial Editorial Board of the Content DAO.
Additional Resources, Links, Portfolio
Website:
Github:
Discord:
