Overview

Kabin is more than an NFT dashboard, it’s a story-driven ecosystem that merges travel, collectibles, and real-world perks. My role was to define and lead the end-to-end product strategy and design execution. I was responsible for shaping the vision, writing key UX language, and guiding the team through delivery of a platform that would appeal to both seasoned Web3 users and total newcomers.

We reimagined what NFT utility can look like: not speculative or abstract, but tangible, gamified, and human.

Challenge

How do you design a Web3 platform that:

• attracts both crypto-native and crypto-curious users,
• ties real-world utility to NFTs,
• avoids technical jargon,
• and feels like a lifestyle product?
  

We had four key personas to satisfy:

1. Art Collectors — care about visuals & rarity.
2. Lore Lovers — want to feel immersed in a world.
3. Tech Utility Holders — stake, swap, extract value.
4. Social Traders — want hype, rewards, and easy exits.
   

The goal: create a product that feels like magic, not a manual.

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Strategy

We took a layered, gamified approach, designing around the idea of “travelers” — collectible characters who unlock real perks in the Kabin world. The word “NFT” was intentionally dropped from most user-facing surfaces. Instead, everything revolved around personas, perks, and passes.

To execute this vision, we focused on 3 strategic pillars:

1. Seamless Onboarding

• We removed all complexity from login and wallet connection.
• Users could sign up with email, and connect wallets later.
• Language was rewritten to focus on actions, not blockchain.
  

2. Real Utility Layer

• Users earn points through staking Travelers (NFTs).
• Points unlock real-world rewards like hotel discounts, food, or free nights.
• Rewards could be claimed via a Kabin Pass — a QR code users could add to Apple Wallet.

3. “Playable” Dashboard

• Every section of the dashboard was designed to feel alive:
  • A dynamic profile page (“My Kabin”) introduces your Traveler like a character sheet.
  • A shop to collect more Travelers.
  • A Discover section with real city guides.
  • A Help center built for regular users — no crypto glossary required.

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Key Screens & Features

1. Get Started / Login

Simple login flow, with wallet integration (Phantom, Metamask, Coinbase, etc.).

No jargon — just clean, friendly copy. Users can start with email and layer in Web3 features over time.

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2. My Kabin

Your home base. Displays your traveler, traits, perks, and stats like nights stayed, shops visited, and rewards unlocked.

Designed to feel like a “game save” or RPG profile — not a crypto dashboard.

3. Travelers Shop

A clean NFT marketplace designed for browsing — not trading.

• Filters for rarity, style, and price.
• Solana pricing, but fiat-friendly visual cues.

4. Staking

One-click staking, with a narrative layer: “Send your Traveler on a journey.”

• No mention of technical processes — just choose your Traveler and let them explore.
• Yields are shown as “points earned per day.”

5. Rewards & Passes

Users could redeem points for perks and claim them via a Kabin Pass, which:

• Works like a loyalty card.
• Can be scanned IRL.
• Adds directly to Apple Wallet.

Design win: we made this card feel tactile and special — metallic texture, bold scan code, and share options.

6. Swap

A cross-chain swap tool letting users convert their NFTs into tokens and vice versa.

Hidden until wallet connection is enabled — reducing noise for new users.

7. Top Up

Let users buy SOL with a credit card — right inside the dashboard.

We optimized this to require no crypto knowledge:

• Three steps.
• Instant feedback.
• Purchase history + status indicators.

8. Help & Discover

• Help Center was written in full conversational tone, with tooltips and visual guides.
• Discover lets users explore real places recommended by Kabin (IRL content strategy).

Engineering Handoff

As the lead, I oversaw the handoff process and made sure implementation stayed on-vision.

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Included:

• Specs in Figma: States, padding, interactions
• Tokens: Color, typography, icon usage
• Component library: Mapped to design system, documented usage in dev-ready page
• Responsive behavior: All layouts reviewed and approved across breakpoints
• Dev notes & annotations: Especially for staking logic, pass generation, and multi-wallet edge cases
  

I also joined QA rounds, checking:

• Wallet disconnect flows
• Token swap edge cases
• Apple Wallet integration on real devices

Design System

We built a modular system with:

• A flexible color palette balancing soft neutrals, black, and yellow brand highlights.
• Responsive layouts for desktop and mobile.
• Systematized iconography and interactive animations (e.g. pass confirmation, wallet alerts).

Results

🚀 Launch-ready within 6 months

👤 4 personas covered with custom onboarding flows

🪙 10+ real-world rewards already integrated

📱 Apple Wallet & cross-chain functionality enabled

🧑‍🎨 30+ avatars with unique traits and utility

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What I’m Proud Of

• Bridging complexity with simplicity: This wasn’t just a pretty UI. We reframed core blockchain concepts to be human-first, narrative-rich, and gamified.
• Strategic UX language: Every tooltip, button, and modal was reworded to sound like it belonged in an anime-RPG, not a tech dashboard.
• Team leadership: I set the product vision, mentored the design team, and reviewed everything hands-on to ensure consistency.