Before onboarding me to their team they had a forked DeFi dashboard — technically functional but,

• Generic UI with no brand identity

• Cluttered workflows

• High barrier for newcomers unfamiliar with DeFi language

• Lacked visual direction to position Sonic as a “premium,
  future-ready ICP ecosystem

⚠️ Impact: Sonic risked being seen as “just another fork” rather than a leading DeFi product.

They want to move beyond a generic forked DEX into a trusted, branded, intuitive DeFi platform,
Reduce friction for first-time users while keeping pro-level flexibility

Establish a design foundation for future features (staking, governance, yield farming)

The Challenge

• Simplify complex DeFi actions (swap, pools, staking)

  
  

• Build trust + clarity for first-time ICP blockchain user

  
  

• Differentiate Sonic visually + experientially from its forked roots

My Role – Full Design Ownership
This was a high-impact role where the founders wanted someone who could:

• Take complete ownership from inception → strategy → design → delivery while directly working with them

  
  

• Shape both user experience and visual brand direction from the ground up

  
  

• Act as a bridge between product vision and dev execution I led the entire design lifecycle

  
  

• Defined product design strategy + information architecture

  
  

• Created end-to-end UX flows (onboarding → swap → liquidity → governance)

  
  

• Designed and delivered the brand identity alongside the product

Steps Taken

Research

• Benchmarked against Uniswap, PancakeSwap, ICP Swap

• Analyzed friction points in onboarding + liquidity pool setup

• User Interviews and Collected feedback from ICP community

Strategy & Design

• Modular card system → digestible steps for complex flows

• Progressive disclosure → basics first, advanced options later

• Color-coded token states + clear CTAs → reduced decision fatigue

Key Design Metrics

• Iterated onboarding → cut clicks by 40%

• Simplified swap confirmations → reduced errors significantly

Solution and Impact

Problem: Forked v1 lacked clarity, trust, and brand

Solution: Full UX + Redesign, with deep focus on usability.

Outcome:

+25% onboarding completion in beta

–40% swap/pool transaction errors

Sonic successfully launched as a premium DeFi suite on ICP

Head over heels is an advertorial commissioned by "DARE" shoes and supports the client stories used in the overall marketing campaign.

This project wanted to highlight the individuality and courage of ordinary people in their "DARE" shoes while also supporting the launch of the new "BLUE" and "YELLOW" product lines for the brand's spring and summer collection.

CONTACT ME →

Branding
Sonic’s Identity

We defined Sonic’s visual language

Logo, color system, typography aligned with ICP’s futuristic ethos

Design library → scalable across future features

Head over heels is an advertorial commissioned by "DARE" shoes and supports the client stories used in the overall marketing campaign.

This project wanted to highlight the individuality and courage of ordinary people in their "DARE" shoes while also supporting the launch of the new "BLUE" and "YELLOW" product lines for the brand's spring and summer collection.

CONTACT ME →

Deep Dive:
Liquidity Pool Screen

1. Mapped pain points: tracked where users hesitated (choosing token pairs, previewing pool ratios).

2. Restructured layout: introduced a modular card format with clear separation:

3. Visual trust cues: Preview charts for pool ratios

   
   

The Outcome

• Reduced user errors by 40% (fewer failed pool transactions in beta)

• Faster liquidity actions → time to complete pool setup dropped by 30%

• Boosted confidence → early adopters reported smoother entry into ICP pools

This shoot was used for both offline and online marketing materials, from billboards to social media ads