Overview
Designed and evolved the core web experience for 1inch — a leading DeFi aggregator processing millions of dollars in daily transaction volume across 383+ liquidity sources. Owned UX/UI for critical user flows including swap, staking, advanced trading (1inch Pro), and developer tools, while establishing design system foundations that improved delivery speed and consistency across the platform.
Context
1inch operates as a decentralized exchange aggregator, routing transactions across hundreds of liquidity sources to find optimal rates for users. The platform serves millions of wallet addresses, processes high-volume financial transactions, and caters to both advanced traders and users new to DeFi. UX quality is critical because transaction errors can result in significant financial loss, and users need clear information to make informed decisions in a space where transactions are irreversible.
Problem
Users faced high cognitive load when performing complex DeFi operations, leading to potential errors and friction in the transaction process. DeFi swaps involve multiple variables (slippage tolerance, gas costs, liquidity sources, price impact) that users must understand to make informed decisions, but existing interfaces either overwhelmed users with information or hid critical details.
Key issues included
- •Complex transaction data visualization — multiple variables needed to be presented clearly without overwhelming users
- •Transaction confidence — users needed constant reassurance that transactions were progressing correctly
- •Error handling — blockchain transactions can fail for many reasons, requiring clear, actionable error messages
- •Performance perception — slow interfaces erode confidence in a space where transactions are irreversible
- •Pro vs non-pro users — interface needed to support both advanced traders and DeFi newcomers through progressive disclosure
Solution
Designed streamlined swap interface with progressive disclosure, showing essential information (tokens, amounts, estimated output) first with advanced options accessible but not prominent. Implemented comprehensive transaction feedback system with real-time updates, clear error states, and confirmation patterns. Established design system with reusable DeFi-specific components, design tokens, and scalable architecture that improved delivery speed and consistency across Swap, Staking, Pro, and Developer Portal.
Approach
I followed a structured, iterative approach aligned with large product teams:
- •Conducted market and competitor analysis of leading DeFi platforms to understand common patterns and identify UX gaps
- •Performed UX research through user interviews with both DeFi power users and newcomers to understand cognitive load, security concerns, and transaction confidence factors
- •Analyzed product analytics to identify drop-off points in transaction flows and measure the impact of design changes
- •Conducted comprehensive audits of existing swap flows, identifying friction points and opportunities for simplification
- •Collaborated with smart contract engineers to understand technical constraints: gas optimization requirements, transaction flow limitations, and contract interaction patterns
- •Designed interaction patterns and information hierarchy using typography, spacing, and color to guide user attention while maintaining clarity
- •Created comprehensive transaction status system with real-time updates, clear error states, and confirmation patterns including recovery flows
- •Conducted usability testing sessions with target users to validate interface clarity, transaction confidence, and error handling
- •Established design system with reusable DeFi-specific components, design tokens, and documentation that enabled faster component reuse and improved design-engineering alignment
Increasing Fusion Swap Adoption
Context
1inch is a DeFi aggregator operating at massive scale, combining hundreds of liquidity sources and serving millions of users. One of the key strategic directions was increasing adoption of Fusion swaps — a more profitable and technically advanced swap mode compared to the default (legacy) flow. Despite clear business advantages, Fusion usage remained relatively low, indicating friction in user understanding and interaction with the interface.
Problem
Product analytics revealed that less than 20% of users were actively using Fusion mode, despite it being positioned as the key value driver of the platform.
A deeper look showed:
- •Users frequently opened Fusion but abandoned the flow
- •Many users switched back to legacy mode before confirming a swap
- •Advanced settings and pricing controls introduced high cognitive load
- •The value of Fusion presets was not obvious at the decision-making moment
What I Did (Hands-on Work)
I worked end-to-end on improving the Fusion swap experience, combining data analysis, UX research, interface design, and validation.
1. Behavioral Analysis & Analytics
Analyzed detailed user flow data to identify drop-off points. Mapped transitions between Fusion, Custom, and Legacy modes. Identified critical moments where users abandoned or downgraded the swap flow. This helped isolate where and why users were leaving Fusion.
2. UX Research & User Journey Mapping
Conducted internal reviews and usability sessions, collecting qualitative feedback from users and stakeholders. Reviewed real swap scenarios to understand confusion around presets, hesitation caused by advanced parameters, and lack of confidence at the confirmation stage. Created a detailed user journey from opening Fusion to swap confirmation, mapping emotional states, hesitation points, and trust signals. This combined research approach revealed critical friction points where users lost confidence or abandoned the flow.
3. UX & UI Design Improvements
I redesigned key parts of the Fusion swap interface with a focus on clarity, confidence, and progressive disclosure: simplified presentation of rate ranges and outcomes, improved visibility and meaning of Fusion presets, reduced visual noise in advanced settings, made critical values (receive / min receive / rate impact) easier to scan, and designed clearer separation between default and advanced decision paths. All changes were implemented within the existing design system and aligned with platform-wide UI standards.
4. Solution Design & Implementation
Based on insights from user journey mapping and interview feedback, I translated identified friction points into specific design solutions. The journey map revealed that users needed clearer value communication at preset selection, more confidence signals during rate calculation, and simplified decision paths at confirmation. Interview insights about confusion around presets led to redesigning preset presentation with clearer value propositions. Hesitation points around advanced parameters informed the progressive disclosure pattern. The lack of confidence at confirmation stage drove the addition of clear transaction summary and trust indicators. Each design decision directly addressed a specific pain point identified in the research phase.
Implementation followed an iterative approach: initial designs were validated through internal reviews, refined based on feedback, and tested with target users to ensure each change reduced friction rather than adding complexity. The final solution maintained design system consistency while addressing all critical user journey pain points.
Result & Impact
After implementation:
- •Fusion swap usage increased (measured and confirmed by product analytics)
- •Users were less likely to abandon or switch to legacy mode
- •Feedback indicated higher confidence and understanding of Fusion behavior
- •The redesigned flow reduced disengagement caused by complex settings
- •The solution was validated through usability testing and internal reviews
- •Retention and efficiency improvements were measured and confirmed by product analytics and team-wide evaluation
Impact
- •Product analytics showed improved user retention following UX improvements, with users more likely to complete transactions and return to the platform
- •Design system and standardized components enabled faster feature shipping, with engineering teams able to implement new features more quickly using existing components
- •Design system was adopted across multiple products (Swap, Staking, Pro, Developer Portal), ensuring visual and behavioral consistency
- •Qualitative feedback from users indicated improved confidence in transactions, clearer understanding of transaction status, and better error recovery
- •Reduced time spent on repetitive component design enabled designers to focus on product strategy and user research
- •Engineering teams reported improved alignment and reduced rework through clearer specifications and component documentation
Reflection
"Designing for DeFi requires balancing three critical factors: security, clarity, and efficiency. Users need to trust the system (security), understand what's happening (clarity), and complete transactions quickly (efficiency). The challenge was making complex blockchain mechanics feel simple without hiding critical information that users need to make informed decisions. Key learnings included the importance of progressive disclosure for DeFi interfaces — showing essential information upfront while making advanced options accessible. I also learned that transaction feedback is critical — users need constant reassurance that their transaction is progressing correctly, especially in a space where errors can be costly. The collaboration with smart contract engineers was essential — understanding gas optimization and contract constraints directly informed design decisions, ensuring that designs worked within technical realities while optimizing for user experience. This experience reinforced that great DeFi UX requires deep technical understanding, not just surface-level interface design. The work on 1inch's design system and component standardization directly informed my approach to ODOS, where I applied similar system thinking to create scalable, consistent interfaces for another DeFi platform."
