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Design principles for web3
So everyone and their cat seems to be talking about blockchain. More importantly, it’s on the radar of huge companies, and we know that where there’s money, there’s traction. However, as a designer what I really wanted to know was what this meant for user experience and design in web3. For the record, I’m mainly concentrating around the blockchain space — specifically, design around dApps (which stands for decentralised applications and are basically apps as we know it, but built off the Ethereum blockchain)
What does it mean to design for web 3? What practices can be brought over from web 2.0? What are the new challenges and key considerations that designers have to be cognizant of? How does the evolving space of web 3 impact on the role of design? In other words, how does one prepare themselves for this new revolution if it was here to stay?
This article is formed from an analysis of design case studies from DeepWork+ a lot of consuming various content (podcasts, videos, articles) of experts + my own opinions based off my journey breaking into the space and experience with dApps.
The internet evolved — web 1.0, web 2.0, web 3.0
No one asked for a history lesson but here it is because each internet evolution has fundamental differences in the way people used the web (and therefore how design for users was done). Learning the evolution of something and the different characteristics of each phase gives us an insight into the design challenges faced then. Take for example, the first automobile in 1886 and current-day self-driving Teslas. The design considerations between both would’ve been massively different because of contextual differences. The same thing applies here for the web.
Web 1.0 was characterised by users being passive consumers of content. There were limited creators (developers), pages were ‘designed’ in a static environment.
Web 2.0 (aka the internet largely, right now) is characterised by heavier user participation, interaction and personalisation. No longer were users just…
