CASE STUDIES |  ASCENDEX 2.0

Upgrading brand perception of a crypto CEX during the most challenging market conditions.

About the project

– Year: 2022-2023
– Duration: 4 months
– Engagement type: In-house - Lead IC

AscendEX is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange with users in over 50 countries. Launched in 2018, it expanded its features to attract users and traders of all experience levels.

In Q1 2022, we improved the post-login experience, leading to a 300% increase in trading conversions among retail users. Now, we needed to make changes throughout the customer journey to better meet the goals of our newly defined audience.

During 2022 crypto winter, we seized the opportunity to review the brand and product strategy, to get ready for the next bull market.

– Rebranding
– Usability testing
– Information architecture
– UX strategy
– Product & UI Design

Activities

– Brand guidelines
– Design system update
– Usability testing hypothesis
– User flows & wireframes
– New pre-login and post-login screens
– Interaction design

Deliverables

Before & After

Pre-login: Homepage
Post-login: Dashboard
Post-login: APP

Identifying AscendEX Challenges

AscendEX’s former visual design

AscendEX’s branding was delivered in record time back in late 2021, aiming to distinguish itself from previous iterations. However, this redesign had limitations that impacted the user experience: 

❌ Low familiarity with the product. Conceptual illustrations dominance.

❌ Lack of focus on platform differentiators.

❌ Brand implemented without user research.

Discovery & Planning

  • Usability testing - User interviews

    18 people with different levels of familiarity with crypto and AscendEX were interviewed on online calls, and in person. The script created for the interview asked for specific passive and active tasks to complete.

  • Usability testing - Hypothesis definition

    Based on the insights we got from our users, plus, our updated demographic, a list of quick wins and enhancements was determined and categorized by level of urgency. This was used to configure our Agile deployment.

  • Information Architecture 2.0

    Part of the new strategy required an update in the sitemap and the content architecture of some key pages. Even though the site structure was to remain 90% the same, we determined a better way to sell and cross-sell the platform’s offering.

  • New UX Strategy

    Branding, new features, and level of prioritization were the main topics of the 4 workshop sessions conducted to plan the execution of the plan. After that, design critic sessions were conducted to review wireframes and visual design.

Building the New AscendEX

1. Brand 2.0

Based on market data and the evolving industry landscape, we refined the brand to better resonate with our audience. This involved introducing a new visual system, updated colors, and fonts applied to the existing design system.

2. Website Refresh

The primary goal was to build familiarity with the platform during the early stages of the user journey. We applied the new branding in phases, starting with high-traffic and high-conversion pages, emphasizing a product-centric approach.

3. Product Optimization

Based on the usability testing, the feedback was ranked by level of urgency and execution efforts. This allowed us to schedule the delivery of the hypothesis by sprints and improve the usability from version 1.0.

Brand 2.0

“Fueling the plane while on flight”

The 24/7 nature of crypto does not allow for pausing operations to conduct full brand overhauls and UX updates. Our approach was to implement changes progressively. Three main updates were introduced:

✅ Enhanced visual hierarchy with a new modern typeface

✅ Updated accent colors, keeping the current assigned function for each.

✅ New illustration style for pictograms and icons, that resonate with the industry’s audience.

WEBSITE REFRESH

Implementing a brand new look

DESKTOP
MOBILE
PRODUCT OPTIMIZATION

Infusing User’s Feedback into a unique experience

NEW ASSETS DETAIL PAGES AND MORE
UPDATED UI COMPONENTS
NATIVE APPS
APP WIDGET

Quick access to the most critical features

The idea behind this widget is to give the user quick access to the tools of the product that require a low level of configurability, so that they can engage with AscendEX from the moment they unlock their phones.

Key functions

✅ Customizable tab display via App settings.

✅ Perform quick transactions

✅ See the market moves with low latency

AI INTEGRATION

LLMs and conversational user experiences.

The conditions, in order to avoid any potential legal barriers, required the LMM (Large Language Model) to behave as agent executing instructions, rather than a market advisor for trades.

✅ Fetch relevant information and news about a token for more informed decisions.

✅ Contextual information about my portfolio to make required transactions

"Lucas …has a keen sense of how to craft compelling user experiences that connect with the audience on a deeper level."

– Raju Davé | Head of Digital Transformation @ AscendEX
MORE PROJECTS
 
WEB3  •  MVP PRODUCT DESIGN  •  BRANDING  •  DESIGN SYSTEM

Disrupting the Web3 advisory industry with a suite of self-service tools

Thank you for watching

♥