The story of Xertis began at a hackathon. Our challenge: to build something that solved a real problem through blockchain. I’d always been fascinated by how decentralized systems could create trust between strangers, so when my team decided to tackle certificate forgery, I knew we were onto something meaningful.

Xertis was born to make academic and professional certificates tamper-proof, verifiable, and easily shareable through blockchain. But beyond technology, I wanted to design an experience so simple that even someone who had never heard of blockchain could use it confidently.

In many parts of the world — especially across Africa — credential fraud is rampant. Students forge academic documents, and employers struggle to verify authenticity. While blockchain technology offers a solution, most existing platforms are complex, cluttered, and intimidating to non-technical users.

Our problem statement became clear:

This meant the success of Xertis wouldn’t depend only on its technology, but on how human-centered and accessible the design felt.

As the sole designer on the team, I wore multiple hats — researcher, brand designer strategist, and interface designer — all within the two-week hackathon timeframe.

My key responsibilities included:

Product Branding and branding materials

Leading the end-to-end design process from ideation to prototyping.

Conducting quick but focused user research to understand how institutions issue certificates.

Mapping user flows for certificate creation, verification, and management.

Designing wireframes and high-fidelity UI mockups.

Building a lightweight design system for speed and scalability.

Working closely with developers to ensure the UX aligned with blockchain constraints.

User & Market Research: Given the short timeline, I used rapid research techniques which includes stakeholder interviews, competitor reviews (like Accredify and Blockcerts), and user flow breakdowns from existing academic portals. Key insights included:

Certificate creators valued speed and simplicity over blockchain jargon.

Verification had to be instant and publicly accessible.

Most institutions needed a customizable certificate template but didn’t want to design one from scratch.

These insights became the foundation for Xertis’ MVP — simplicity, speed, and security.

2. User Surveys & Personas: Given the hackathon’s pace, I deployed short surveys and conducted two 15-minute interviews with academic administrators to learn how they currently issue and store certificates.

Key insights from the survey:

80% of respondents stored certificates as PDFs or physical copies.

70% admitted verifying documents took days or weeks.

90% said they were not familiar with blockchain but were open to using it if the process was simplified.

From this, I created two personas:

The Academic Registrar – Time-constrained, process-driven, and prefers automation.

The Training Manager – Tech-curious, but needs reassurance that new tools won’t slow down operations.

These personas guided design decisions throughout the project.

3. Competitive Analysis: I reviewed platforms like Blockcerts, Accredify, and TrueProfile dot io. While technically strong, they shared common weaknesses — dense technical language, cluttered dashboards, and non-intuitive verification flows.

This analysis clarified our north star: design an interface that feels as simple as Canva, yet as trustworthy as a government portal.

The ideation phase was fast but intentional. I started with sketches on paper, focusing on reducing friction in the user journey. The guiding principle was: one task, one clear action.

In the first version, certificate creators had to connect a blockchain wallet before doing anything else — this intimidated testers. So I moved wallet connection to the end of the flow, right before issuance. This way, the experience felt like “normal admin work” until the final blockchain step.

Wireframes evolved into clickable prototypes that allowed the team to visualize key journeys early. This iterative process helped us cut the average task flow from 9 steps to 5, increasing overall efficiency by almost 40% when re-tested.

I structured Xertis around three core modules:

Dashboard – A visual overview with metrics (e.g., certificates issued, pending verifications).

Certificates – The workspace for creating, previewing, and issuing credentials.

Verification – A public-facing section where anyone can validate a certificate by ID or QR scan.

Every decision followed a simple philosophy: put users in control, not the system. The layout avoided blockchain jargon, using human language and clear hierarchies to make navigation intuitive.

I wanted the brand to communicate trust, innovation, and transparency.

Colors: I chose deep navy blue and vibrant cyan — representing trust and technology.

Typography: Used Inter for its clean, geometric form, enhancing readability across screens.

Visual Style: Minimalist, modular, and tech-forward — evoking a sense of reliability and precision.

I chose a deep navy blue as the primary color to represent trust, reliability, and professionalism — qualities essential in certification. The vibrant cyan accent injected a sense of innovation and technology, while neutral grays balanced the interface, keeping it calm and minimal.

Color accessibility was tested to maintain WCAG contrast standards, ensuring legibility even in low-light environments.

Typography: I chose SF Pro, Apple’s signature typeface, is the ideal choice for a blockchain certification platform because it balances clarity, precision, and modernity. Designed for digital-first environments, SF Pro offers exceptional legibility across interfaces, ensuring that every certificate detail is easy to read and verify. Its clean geometry and dynamic spacing convey professionalism and trust, while its sleek, contemporary aesthetic aligns with the platform’s innovative, future-ready mission.

Using Figma, I transformed sketches into high-fidelity prototypes. The design leaned on generous white space, consistent spacing rules, and strong visual hierarchy.

I integrated micro-interactions to provide visual feedback — for example, animations on certificate uploads and progress bars during blockchain issuance. These subtle cues reassured users that the system was working in the background, bridging the trust gap often found in blockchain products.

We conducted internal usability testing within the team and with two mock users representing our personas.

Users were initially confused about blockchain terminology → replaced terms like “mint” with “issue certificate”.

Long certificate creation forms caused friction → added auto-fill templates to populate fields based on institution data.

Verification flow lacked visual feedback → added a success animation and a timestamp for transparency.

After these adjustments, task completion rates improved by 35%, and users reported a significant reduction in perceived complexity.

Initial blockchain connection step caused confusion → moved it later in the flow.

Too many input fields for certificate creation → introduced template auto-fill based on institution data.

Users wanted visual previews → added real-time certificate preview pane.

These quick iterations improved overall task completion speed by 35% during testing.

Before the list, a little context: Working on Xertis was exhilarating but demanding. Designing a blockchain product in just two weeks meant making fast yet deliberate decisions. Every obstacle required creativity and resilience.

Many users were unfamiliar with blockchain terms like “minting” and “wallets.” This risked alienating our audience.

Solution: I rephrased technical jargon into relatable language. For example, “mint” became “issue certificate” and “hash” became “verification ID.” This simple linguistic shift improved user comprehension dramatically during testing.

With only two weeks, balancing quality and delivery was tough.

Solution: I built a mini design system early on — reusable components, grids, and color tokens — allowing rapid iteration while maintaining visual consistency. It saved nearly 30% of time during the design sprint.

By the end of the hackathon, Xertis emerged as a fully functional prototype demonstrating how blockchain could be made approachable through design.

The app allowed institutions to:

Create and issue certificates in under 3 minutes.

Verify authenticity instantly via QR or blockchain record.

Manage records effortlessly with minimal training.

Xertis was recognized among the standout projects for its clarity of design and ease of use. More importantly, it sparked conversations about how decentralized tech can be democratized for institutions of all sizes.

The best designs simplify the complex — clarity always beats sophistication.

Building a lightweight design system early saves time and preserves consistency.

Empathy is crucial when designing for emerging technologies like blockchain.

Xertis reminded me that great design is not just about visual appeal — it’s about building trust through simplicity and empathy. I learned how to balance speed, usability, and innovation while making technology feel human.

For me, the project was more than a hackathon entry — it was a lesson in how thoughtful design can make futuristic ideas accessible to everyone.