Lead Product Designer

Splinterlands

GAMIFYING FINANCE

Splinterlands is a Web3 project that combines traditional trading card mechanics with digital NFT ownership and a play-to-earn system, allowing players to earn in-game tokens through gameplay.

GOING FROM 0 TO 1

Role

Lead Product Designer

Website

https://splinterlands.com

Duration

Oct 2021 - Present

I joined Splinterlands when the team was just 20 people, and we've now grown to 150, leading the future of Web3 gaming and asset ownership. This journey, from startup to the #1 ranked dapp, taught me key lessons in ownership, testing, and ideation, where constant innovation and grit are essential for building revolutionary tech.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND RESPONSIBILTIES

Tasks

Designing and Implementing.

  • Wore multiple hats in Splinterlands' startup culture, leading end to end design for our consumer facing storefronts, marketplaces, exchanges, and wallet features from ideation to final product launch.

  • Helped grow the recurring user base from 25 DAU to 400,000 DAU across client and web platforms, achieving #1 ranking on Dapp Radar making it the top decentralized app .

  • Produced production-ready UI assets, animations, and coded UI components and layouts in a React-based web product.

  • Maintained and enhanced design systems, ensuring consistency through close collaboration with engineers and driving adoption across teams.

  • Grew our marketing channels through organic discord marketing and community management.

FEATURES LAUNCHED

Platforms : Mobile and Web

Wallets and Currency Dashboards - Developed tools and features for Splinterlands' in-game currency and governance, enabling users to manage their wallets and keys, stake currency, collect rewards, and transfer funds across chains.

Liquidity Pools and Swap Exchanges - Designed and launched proprietary liquidity pools for Splinterlands' in-game currencies, providing seamless swap exchanges for all users. These features increased liquidity and enabled users to easily trade and manage assets within the game ecosystem, enhancing overall user engagement and the financial infrastructure of the platform.

NFT Marketplaces and Storefront Landing Pages - Designed and implemented Splinterlands' Trading Card Marketplace, along with multiple storefront landing pages for company-wide sale events. These marketplaces facilitated the sale of 12 million card sets and limited edition NFTs, generating up to $13 million in revenue, significantly boosting the company's financial performance and user engagement.

ANIMATIONS AND DESIGN SYSTEMS

Created a range of Figma-based animations, prototypes, and icons for the game, enhancing the user experience with polished, interactive elements that improved design clarity and engagement.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Designing real applications (as opposed to class projects or visionary ideas) is rarely straightforward.

Growing Splinterlands from an idea into a full company was a wild ride. Designing real applications, unlike class projects or visionary ideas, is rarely straightforward. Some days the users were happy, others not so much, as we balanced their needs with investor expectations. It was all about staying flexible, communicating constantly, and adapting fast to keep things moving forward.

Execution matters. Focus on real user needs, not invented problems.

Execution is the key to any successful product. It’s easy to get caught up in hypothetical issues, but focusing on what users truly need is far more important. Instead of wasting time on made-up problems, channel that energy into continuously improving the product to meet real user demands. Staying grounded in what actually benefits the user ensures you're always moving forward in the right direction.