An endeavour to make Defi accessible to all

Creating a Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platform is no small feat—especially one that is intuitive, accessible, and engaging for both crypto-native users and newcomers. Plenty Network, a DeFi ecosystem on Tezos, needed a product built entirely from scratch to streamline swaps, staking, liquidity provision, and governance while maintaining the core principles of decentralization.

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Role Product Designer

Industry DeFi, Crypto

Duration 32 weeks

Context

Plenty Network’s journey from a basic AMM to a full-fledged DeFi ecosystem on Tezos was an exciting challenge as a Product Designer. Plenty V1 (https://old.plentydefi.com/) introduced token swaps but lacked advanced liquidity management and incentives. While it laid the foundation, the platform needed a more intuitive and rewarding experience to drive engagement.

With Plenty V2 (https://app.plenty.network/swap?from=XTZ&to=), the focus shifted toward staking, governance, and liquidity incentives, making DeFi interactions more accessible while retaining depth for advanced users. Plenty V3 refined these mechanisms further, optimizing incentives, governance, and scalability for liquidity providers and protocol builders.

Beyond functionality, branding and UX played a key role in building trust and engagement in the Web3 space. This journey was an incredible learning experience in merging DeFi mechanics with user-centered design.

Case Study: An Endeavour to Make DeFi Accessible to All

https://medium.com/@srinivas94e/an-endeavour-to-make-defi-accessible-to-all-612e6404b6a6

Branding & Positioning: 200 Days Designing for Web3.0

https://medium.com/@srinivas94e/200-days-designing-for-web3-0-plenty-network-15c01bd6d650

My Approach

1. Identifying the Opportunity in DeFi UX:
The AMM space was dominated by Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and linch, but Tezos lacked a truly user-friendly AMM. This was an opportunity to create an intuitive, accessible, and efficient DeFi experience—one that simplified complex financial interactions while still offering depth for advanced users.

2. Research and Competitor Analysis:
To bridge this gap, extensive user research, competitor analysis, and testing were conducted. Studying platforms like Uniswap helped identify best practices, while feedback from Tezos users and DeFi participants highlighted pain points in navigation, liquidity management, and governance.

3. Designing for Clarity and Accessibility
The focus was on step-by-step guidance, intuitive layouts, and real-time feedback, making interactions seamless for both new and experienced users. A mobile-responsive design ensured easy access across all devices, reducing friction in trading, staking, and governance participation.

4. Building a Scalable Design System:
A standardized design system was introduced to keep the platform consistent, scalable, and easy to iterate on. This included streamlined UI components, interaction patterns, and branding, ensuring a smooth and cohesive experience.

5. Strengthening Plenty’s Brand Identity:
Beyond UX, brand positioning played a key role. A refined visual identity, clearer messaging, and a more engaging website helped establish Plenty as a leading DeFi platform on Tezos, boosting its visibility and adoption.

Results

The redesign and development of Plenty Network led to significant growth in adoption, engagement, and user experience within the Tezos DeFi ecosystem. By prioritizing usability, accessibility, and intuitive workflows, the platform became the go-to AMM on Tezos, setting a new standard for decentralized exchanges in the network.

User-centric branding established Plenty as a leading Web3 AMM competitor.

Simplified onboarding drove DeFi adoption and
long-term liquidity.

Request for Figma Prototype here

140%

increase in user
adoption

200%

improvement in task
completion rates

140% increase in user adoption – More users engaged with the platform post-launch due to its improved UX and simplified DeFi.
200% boost in user engagement – Enhanced staking, governance, and liquidity management features resulted in higher platform activity.
Expanded Plenty's presence in the Web3 space – The improved branding and user-centric approach positioned Plenty as a strong competitor in the AMM market.
Seamless onboarding for new users – The guided UX flow and mobile-responsive design lowered the barrier to entry for DeFi beginners.

This project validated the power of human-centered design in DeFi, proving that a well-crafted UX can drive adoption in blockchain ecosystems. By bridging the gap between complex DeFi mechanics and intuitive user experiences, Plenty became a leading DeFi product on Tezos.

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