NEAR Inc.
NEAR Protocol is a Layer 1 blockchain known for developer-friendly tooling, sharding-based scalability, and a focus on user accessibility across Web3.
Snapshot
- Role
- UX/UI Designer
- Team
- Developer Relations
- Duration
- 3 months
- Products
- Crescent, NFT.HipHop
Context
I was hired into the developer relations team. Three other designers worked in other teams and we shared work in weekly meetings. Three months in, our team found its specialisation in the NFT vertical and spun off into satori.art, where I stayed for the next 2+ years.
What I did
- Designed Crescent, NEAR’s blockchain data querying and analytics platform. A SQL editor, query library, dashboard builder with drag-and-drop widgets, data visualisations, and shareable dashboard links. Comparable to Dune, which at the time only served Ethereum.
- Designed the NFT.HipHop marketplace, a collaboration between NEAR, the Universal Hip Hop Museum, and Ed Young, co-founder of The Source magazine. 103 NFT portraits of 47 hip-hop legends. The marketplace accepted credit card payments as a test of whether mainstream buyers would enter Web3 without a wallet.
- Contributed to the new NEAR corporate identity alongside the wider design team.
Results
- NFT.HipHop received press coverage in CoinDesk and AfroTech and proved that a Web2-style checkout could work for NFT purchases.
- The devrel team’s work led to the satori.art spin-off, where I continued as sole designer for 2+ years.
