Business Challenge & Scope

When I joined Haste, the platform had gained initial traction but growth had begun to plateau.

User research revealed a recurring problem: prospective users were interested in the gaming experience, but hesitated when asked to engage with cryptocurrency concepts before understanding the platform's value.

Additionally, the arcade and NFT marketplace were evolving as separate products without a scalable design foundation, creating inconsistencies that threatened both usability and user trust.

The challenge became twofold:

1. Create a scalable ecosystem architecture that could support multiple products and audiences.

2. Remove adoption barriers preventing mainstream gamers from engaging with the platform.

Research & Discovery

To better understand user hesitation, I conducted a lightweight research initiative using surveys and interviews with both existing and prospective users.

After collecting more than 100 responses, four recurring barriers to adoption emerged.

Primary Problems

Key Insight

Users were interested in gaming—not cryptocurrency.

The platform introduced blockchain concepts before users had an opportunity to experience its value.

Designing an Ecosystem, Not Just a Product

Before addressing growth challenges, I needed to establish a scalable foundation for the entire Haste ecosystem.

The company operated two distinct products:

• Haste Arcade, a play-to-earn gaming platform focused on broadening adoption beyond crypto-native audiences.

• Take It, an NFT marketplace designed for users already familiar with blockchain technology and digital ownership.

Haste Ecosystem

Although Haste Arcade and Take It served different audiences, they shared core platform experiences including accounts, rewards, leaderboards, commerce, and navigation.

Designing each product independently would have created duplicated effort, inconsistent experiences, and additional maintenance overhead as the ecosystem grew.

Instead, I approached the challenge as a platform problem rather than a product problem.

To support that vision, I needed a shared foundation that could scale across products while maintaining consistency for users.

Design System Strategy

To support multiple products without duplicating design effort, I created a multi-tiered design system architecture.

Foundry served as the shared foundation for accessibility, interaction patterns, and reusable components. Product-specific systems inherited these foundations while applying distinct visual identities.

This approach improved consistency, accelerated implementation, and reduced duplicated design effort.

Shared interaction patterns and component foundations allowed multiple products to maintain consistency while expressing distinct visual identities.

This architecture enabled consistent experiences across products while allowing each brand to maintain its own visual identity. It also reduced duplication, accelerated implementation, and created a more scalable foundation for future growth.

Extending the System to the Marketplace

The NFT marketplace served a different audience than Haste Arcade.

Rather than creating a separate experience, we extended the same design system foundation while adapting the visual language to better align with crypto-native users.

The marketplace leveraged the same foundational architecture while adopting a visual identity tailored to experienced crypto users.

This allowed both products to feel distinct while maintaining shared interaction patterns, navigation, and account experiences.

Designing for Trust

Research consistently revealed that trust was one of the platform's biggest challenges.

For many users, Haste represented their first interaction with a cryptocurrency product. Before users were willing to connect wallets, create accounts, or deposit funds, they first needed confidence that the platform was legitimate.

Rather than relying on educational content alone, we focused on creating trust through the experience itself.

Design Principles

• Prioritize credibility over novelty

• Use familiar interaction patterns whenever possible

• Introduce complex concepts progressively

• Maintain consistency across ecosystem touchpoints

• Allow users to experience value before requiring commitment

These principles guided every stage of the redesign process.

Applying Trust Principles to the Marketing Experience

One of the first opportunities was the public-facing homepage.

The existing experience focused heavily on cryptocurrency concepts, requiring users to understand blockchain terminology before understanding the platform's value.

The redesign shifted messaging toward:

• Competitive gameplay

• Reward opportunities

• Social proof

Homepage redesign focused on clarifying the value proposition, communicating legitimacy, and reducing perceived risk for first-time users.

The result was a homepage experience that communicated value before introducing cryptocurrency concepts.

By emphasizing visual polish, clear messaging, and familiar patterns, we reduced the psychological barriers that often prevented mainstream users from engaging with cryptocurrency-based products.

Removing Adoption Barriers

Once the ecosystem foundation was established, I shifted focus toward acquisition and onboarding.

Research revealed a consistent pattern:

Users were interested in gaming—not cryptocurrency.

The platform was asking users to create accounts, connect wallets, and learn blockchain concepts before they had experienced any value.

Our onboarding strategy needed to reverse that sequence.

Challenge 1: Immediate Gameplay Access

Users wanted to try games immediately but were required to create accounts and connect wallets before experiencing any value.

We hypothesized that allowing users to experience gameplay before account creation would reduce perceived risk and increase conversion.

Haste Arcade Quick Play Experience

Solution: Anonymous Gameplay

One of the most significant changes was introducing a quick-play experience that allowed users to participate in games without creating an account.

This dramatically lowered the barrier to entry and gave users an opportunity to evaluate the platform before making any commitment.

Challenge 2: Reducing Registration Friction

Users who decided to create accounts encountered unnecessary friction during registration.

Simplified Sign Up Experience

Solution

The signup experience was redesigned around speed and familiarity.

Key improvements included:

• Social authentication options

• Reduced required fields

• Streamlined account creation flow

• Deferred profile customization

We focused on collecting only the information necessary to begin playing, deferring optional profile setup until later.

Reducing required information and deferring profile setup increased registration completion while allowing users to reach gameplay more quickly.

Challenge 3: Progressive Education

Users needed to understand platform rewards and opportunities without feeling overwhelmed by cryptocurrency terminology.

Haste Arcade Onboarding Experience

Solution

I designed a skippable onboarding experience focused on communicating value rather than educating users about blockchain technology.

The onboarding sequence introduced:

• Modes of play

• Reward opportunities

• Referral incentives

• Deposit matching programs

• Daily competitions

Rather than teaching blockchain concepts directly, we framed rewards and incentives in terms users already understood from traditional gaming experiences.

Each step was intentionally brief, allowing users to quickly understand the ecosystem while maintaining control over their experience.

Instead of teaching cryptocurrency first, we focused on demonstrating why the platform was worth exploring.

Results & Impact

These initiatives improved acquisition, engagement, and monetization across the platform.

Together, these improvements validated the broader strategy of reducing friction, building trust, and allowing users to experience value before commitment.

Lessons Learned

Users Want Value Before Education

Users responded better when they could experience value before learning complex concepts.

Design Systems Are Business Tools

The system accelerated development while creating consistency across products.

Trust Is a Product Feature

Credibility influenced adoption as much as functionality.

Growth Problems Are Often Experience Problems

Reducing friction improved acquisition, engagement, and revenue simultaneously.