Empowering ESG investors to buy Bitcoin via a Clean Bitcoin dashboard that visualizes environmental impact
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Company
Clean Incentive
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My Role
Freelance UX Designer
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Project Type
Mobile-Responsive Dashboard
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Team
Me + CEO
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Tools
Figma
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Year
2023
Company Background
Clean Incentive saw an opportunity to evangelize ESG (Environment and Social Governance) investors who were hesitant about buying Bitcoin because of environmental concerns.
They sell Clean Bitcoin at a premium by coupling each Bitcoin with an NFT certificate that verifies its status as clean (meaning mined with renewable energy) and providing a monetary incentive to miners who mine with renewable energy.
Project Overview
I led the user experience design of the digital solution Clean Incentive offered, the Clean Bitcoin Dashboard.
During this process, I engaged with the CEO directly and educated him on the importance of user experience design, especially for a start-up with a new product offering.
Key Skills
Product Strategy
Competitive Audit
Wireframes & High Fidelity Design
Dashboard & Data Visualization
Advocating for UX Design
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Problem
Many investors want to purchase Bitcoin, but due to personal or corporate restrictions based on environmental concerns, they do not pursue investing, since crypto mining is environmentally unfriendly.
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Challenge
How might we provide investors who want to invest in Clean Bitcoin a way to purchase verified Clean Bitcoin so that more people purchase Bitcoin and miners are incentivized to produce more Bitcoin using clean energy?
Solution
I designed the Clean Bitcoin Dashbaord which bridges the gap between ESG investors wanting to purchase Clean Bitcoin and miners who mine with renewable energy.
Investors feel secure and miners feel incentivized.
The final UI of the dashboard that shows the environmental impact.
Business Accomplishments of the Dashboard
By providing a place where ESG investors can purchase their Clean Bitcoin + Certificate NFT we accomplish three things from a business perspective:
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Remove institutional barriers for clients with ESG mandates
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Create financial incentive for miners to use clean energy
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Verifiable proof of carbon impact using trusted auditors
Research
Since the CEO was unfamiliar with user experience design, I emphasized that reaching out to users who would use the dashboard would be essential to figuring out what our dashboard should look like and do.
We knew our target users would be ESG investors and sustainable miners, but since our product offering would be new, we still had to narrow down who these users would be and where we could find them.
What is an ESG investor?
An ESG investor is defined as an individual or entity that takes into consideration the following when making investment decisions:
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Environment
Impact on the planet
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Social
Impact on people
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Governance
Governance policy
Potential Users
I brainstormed with the CEO the following list of potential users who we could reach out to for research.
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General Bitcoin
Corporations, Exchanges, Retail Investors, Environmentalists, Policymakers
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Fund Managers
Endowments, Pension Funds, Sovereign Funds, Hedge Funds, Family Offices, ESG Review Boards
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Mining Companies
Data centers using clean energy as well as those interested in clean energy mining
Competitive Audit
Due to budget, timing, and user access constraints, I suggested that we pivot to focus on doing a competitive audit and integrating his business goals.
This research showed the CEO how we could leverage insights from similar companies for user interface features and opportunities.
6 dashboards and exchange platforms that I audited for features, accessibility, user flow, and navigation:
Hydrogen Map
Water Environment Federation
International Carbon Registry
OpenSea
Electricity Maps
Verra
The competitive audit I did comparing other certificate providers and environmental impact visualization dashboards.
Competitive Audit Results
I categorized the findings into opportunities for features, showing the CEO that our dashboard could align with the company vision while standing out from competitors from a UI perspective.
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Many of the dashboards were unusable on mobile
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Some of the dashboards were hard to read and used color coding which could be a problem for accessibility
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Some of the dashboards did not include a marketplace, while others did
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The dashboard should show a clean energy breakdown and carbon impact and have educational content to show investors why certificates are important and how the dashboard works
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Each miner needs a dedicated page where they can showcase their sustainability reports and efforts
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Some of the tables did not have filters or search which are essential for large data sets
User Flow
With no direct user access and ambiguity around tasks, I collaborated with the CEO to map out a detailed user flow, aligning key activities with the company vision and competitive audit insights.
Tasks we defined based on what we wanted users to be able to accomplish:
View a specific project (Bitcoin + Certificate) to investigate environmental impact
View the sustainability reports of the miners
Explore educational content and white paper
Purchase a specific project (Bitcoin + Certificate NFT)
MVP Feature List
Based on the business needs and user needs learned from research we finalized a list of MVP features:
Color-coded map with icons of data centers using clean energy
Collapsible table with filters and search of available projects for purchase with
Pie chart showing Energy Source Breakdown of the certificates available
Sustainability reports and individual pages for each of the miners
High-level Certificates Summary of carbon and energy impact of the certificates
Dashboard Design
As stated before it was imperative that our design was mobile-friendly so I employed a mobile-first design approach.
Wireframes
I created a variety of wireframes that showed the different variation of how the dashboard could look.
In a startup environment, it was essential to remain flexible and adaptable, so I advised that we really solidify the look in the wireframe stage where we can easily make changes.
We went through 4 iteration sessions.
Wireframes showing the mobile version of the dashboard and the web versions of the dashboard.
High Fidelity
I designed the high-fidelity interface using brand elements and colors created by the branding team. The dark aesthetic created an elevated, high-tech look with the green invoking the feeling of sustainability.
From the competitive audit, I identified a major accessibility issue: the reliance on color coding alone to show data on the map and the lack of search and filter for the table.
To improve the usability and accessibility of our map, I added matching icons to the map in addition to color-coding and added filter and search for the table.
High-fidelity designs of the mobile and desktop versions of the dashboard.
Conclusion
By completing this project directly with the CEO I educated him on how UX is an integral part of the product development process and took him from someone who had never heard of UX to someone who values and understands its importance.
Key Outcomes
High fidelity MVP prototype that will be used to present to investors to fundraise
Intuitive design that accomplishes business goals, follows industry standards, and promotes brand
A much deeper understanding of the crypto industry and how it is becoming more sustainable
View My Next Project
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