Minima

Designing usable mini-dapps for a scalable Web3 ecosystem

Crypto MVP Product discovery Product strategy Prototyping & validation Startup UX / UI

Project in brief

I led UX/UI analysis, wireframing, prototyping, and design system creation for Minima’s blockchain MiniDapps ecosystem.

Product ideas needed to be validated against strict blockchain constraints before progressing to full design and build.

Designing performant, scalable applications without traditional user testing, while optimising for mobile and IoT environments.

Multiple MiniDapps were successfully validated on Testnet and supported Minima’s MainNet launch in March 2023 through a cohesive, scalable design system.

Minima blockchain Hugo Feiler

Graham helped translate Minima’s complex decentralised technology into clear, usable product experiences. His ability to work closely with engineers while maintaining strong UX and product thinking made a meaningful impact on the platform.

My role

I worked closely with Minima’s core team to explore, validate, and design a suite of blockchain-based applications that could run fully on Minima’s lightweight Layer 1 protocol. My focus was on UX/UI analysis, wireframing, prototyping, and building a scalable design system to support rapid iteration across multiple MiniDapps.

Mini-dapp UX discovery, flows, and interaction mapping

Mini-dapp wireframes and multi-flow mobile architecture

Problem

Minima’s core challenge was proving that a full Layer 1 blockchain could support usable, production-ready applications on mobile and IoT devices, without compromising performance, file size, or developer feasibility. Product ideas needed to be validated early to ensure they were compatible with the blockchain before committing to detailed design or build.

Early mini-dapp browsing and install experience

Mini-dapp package selection and install patterns

Challenges

Designing for a blockchain-first environment introduced several constraints:

Ensuring all UX patterns and UI components were lightweight enough to run efficiently on-device.
Designing multiple MiniDapps (including NFTs and peer-to-peer communication) while maintaining consistency and scalability.
Working without traditional user testing due to the confidentiality of the protocol ahead of MainNet launch, relying instead on developer validation and Testnet deployment.

Outcome

The resulting ecosystem included a diverse dashboard of MiniDapps ranging from NFTs to a peer-to-peer conversational app (Banter), all supported by a shared design system.

Despite the absence of traditional user testing, successful Testnet validation confirmed feasibility and usability, enabling Minima’s MainNet launch in March 2023. The work demonstrated that complex blockchain applications could be delivered with a user-centric approach, even under strict technical and confidentiality constraints.