Not until past 4 pm on Wed, June 5, 2024, did I never know I’d get an opportunity like this one, well the universe works in strange ways, I got a WhatsApp notification, and it was from a number that wasn’t saved on my phone asking for my availability to speak at the Figma config watch party.

I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to do it but I knew this wasn’t an opportunity I would allow to pass just like that as Figma is one product I love so much, I responded by asking more for details and I got sent a list of topic to choose from to give me an idea on what is expected.

I declined to use the suggested topics and proposed the topic “Communication in Design: Articulation, A Key Tool for Designers.” Modeled after a book I read, Articulating Design Decisions by Tom Greever.

Why did I choose this topic?…

So here is a short story on why; I chose to speak about Articulation in Design because this was a problem I believe most designers have issues with. just to add, I had it on my list of topics I would love to talk about whenever I got invited to speak, as I already have the one for my next invite.

I once had an interview where I spoke about my work and even though I didn’t produce the design as expected I was able to talk about my design with decision and intent in a way that convinced the interviewer that I knew what I was doing, then they figured their task wasn’t clear enough and gave me a second chance since they did like my work.

But this is just one of many instances where communicating my design rightly has gotten me a place in the hearts of my stakeholders.

And, I figured after mentoring a couple of designers that not so many designers know how to do this, and they end up loosing their confidence after getting little pushbacks from stakeholders, which leaves them frustrated at the end.

Enough of the Why…

Now Let’s Talk about my Topic and how I did.

ARTICULATION IN DESIGN is basically how well a designer communicates their designs to pass down their message properly for the stakeholders and other team members can follow through rightly.

I spoke about how defining a design’s purpose helps the team members understand your decisions and intents you have in mind.

The audience got even more glued when I spoke about how they can get buy-in from their team members by speaking to each person in the language they understand which is infusing their needs and values, they could also achieve this by listening properly and then responding properly this was one of the points thought them.

I highlighted the importance of documenting their work which has been helpful in my career since I learnt about it.

They learned about how taking notes isn’t documenting.

I gave them tips on documenting smartly while explaining why it is critical.

To wrap my talk up I extensively spoke about best practices for articulating design decisions.

Then gave them key takeaways, more like a summary of my talk.

With certain quotes from Tom Greever — the author, of Articulating Design Decisions

Before I continue here are some of my pictures at the event.

Okay, One more!!!

Now let’s talk more…

HOW I PREPARED

I have always wanted to challenge myself and this was a way for me to get myself out there, so it was a “do it scared” moment for me.

I did my research not leaving out my personal experiences.

Added just points so I don’t end of up reading directly from the screen, that would allow me space to talk more and not depend on my slide.

I attended the event with my partner and that made it a memorable one for me as she saw me speak and acknowledged how well I composed myself.

She also gave me areas to improve on, which was very helpful.

Finally…

Big Thanks for taking your time to read through my story and how I navigated my speaking engagement, I would be open to guiding anyone who has an interest in learning about how they can start building themselves to speak at an event like this as well as how they can positions themselves to get invited just like I did.

And for those that are getting their first the first time, I have just one advice for you.

“Just do it! it gets easier while you’re on it”

If you would love to learn more about Articulating Design Decisions, please feel free to reach out to me, I would be glad to walk you through and help you with references to learn from aside from the book.

Cheers. 🥂

Here’s a link to my Slide; Bright Mba ConfigPH watch party Slide

It all started from just following a friend on Instagram, visiting his place at Choba, Port Harcourt, even though it was not the fanciest of apartments, it gave me hope and dreams, and I knew there was something there for me. I will not be taking you guys through the details of that journey because it is a lot to talk about without breaking it down into a series.

I want to keep this note as simple as possible while sounding like I would sound if I were telling this story on voice or video record, I mean sound like myself.

My Name is Bright Mba, also known as Brightmac like many of you know, I have designed and gotten the opportunity to work on a couple of products in various niches, well I missed out on one fascinating one — some time ago improving the experience of an Airline’s website here in Nigeria (I am not going to tell you which one it is, but it is one of the airlines with an improved website, check all of them out… 😅), It went to a friend though so it’s still a win and he did a fantastic job.

I want this note to not just reflect on a few of my highs and lows in the past but to tell you about my recent struggles as I move from the intermediate to senior-level stage in my career. In the past 12 months, I have had the opportunity to work with a team I love and on a product, I never imagined I would work on.

So here’s the tea ☕️

On September 5th, 2022, I joined Storyblok as a Product designer, after over 6 months of interviews and rejections, I love every part of the job, especially with this amazing team that I will choose over and over again, the perks and benefits are just a part, and the liberty to lead features pushed me to get even more intentional with every detail down from research, design, testing, to production.

— My note to you starts here…

Working with Storyblok during this time has given me more in this space than I would have ever requested, the flexibility, the resources, and the right to own ideas while being a team player, Seeing my work get pushed to production has never been more rewarding, especially with this team of top talents.

The major challenges I have had were being proactive whilst paying attention to the tiniest of details, and time management too but I have made significant progress so far.
They have been my challenge and I am taking steps to correct them, I am innovative with my thinking but sometimes find it hard to put my thoughts to work — I will explain to you guys the measures I am taking to correct all of this and my progress so far.

Now Let’s Rock…

Attention to Detail
Talking about this — it does not mean I don’t do this, but sometimes I miss points because I overthink the process of the smallest of procedures, then in the process, it gets overwhelming and looks like a lot leaving me with my eyes on the big picture instead of the pixels making up the big picture.

Progress: I now ask lots of questions and talk about what I am thinking on the first call whilst paying attention to the initial walkthrough, I now take notes and do lots of benchmarking as well as go over ticket specs over and over again.
I also converse with Devs to know what their limitations are and how best I can maximize that by showing them my research and walking them through my line and chain of thoughts

Being Proactive
My challenge with this is being focused on just actual work assigned to me, well I have progressed over time with this, and this usually arises from having too many engagements at hand, hence leaving little to no room for innovative thinking.

Progress: I now keep room for these thoughts, I assign enough time to each task and take my time with completing them whilst keeping in mind the extra days/ hours for more research to drive innovation through my unique line of thought.

Taking Initiatives and Owning Ideas
I have grown to understand that Only I can think like myself and my thoughts should never be dismissed — My manager once mentioned that I need to learn to own up to my ideas and defend them because that’s how much power I own on the team and the company at large, so I no longer have to just agree to every nudge and fidget at every question.

Progress: I no longer get this as much as I used to but first I had to learn that to be respected you have to have a streak of winning ideas and defend them with research, data, results, and impact, not just because “I felt” — To help myself improve more, I am currently reading the book, Articulating Design Decisions by Tom Greever — it helps you discuss design like a professional and passionate designer should.

Innovative Thoughts
I never wanted to be a victim of my thoughts, Knowing how curious I can be now imagine procrastinating alongside having these thoughts, it keeps me in a loop, I think, plan to execute, NOT EXECUTE, and go on and on with this, it never stops and it gets to not just eat me up but keep me from perming other important tasks because I am waiting to complete what I had in mind to do.

Progress: I now take it easy on myself and channel my energy into other things I enjoy (even though there are not a lot of them, except being with my girlfriend. lol), well I game now and got a PS5 a few months ago, I am currently starting a new e-commerce business and I also work on other projects, sometimes I contribute to the design/tech community — I hit the gym occasionally (I should regularly though). All of these help my mind stay sane and divert to other things while staying productive and still growing.

Take Home for Beginner and Intermediate designers;
You should never run from any task, instead ask questions no matter how silly from the onset after going through the specs on the tickets, because you’ll look even sillier if you act like you understand only to show up on the delivery date with un-useable designs — your stakeholder owe you those answers.

I will drop my pen here, I honestly felt like writing today and wanted to give you guys a sneak peek of how I have been in the past months.

I am currently building a product with a team of highly talented developer friends to be launched as a startup in the coming months, this would be huge but sadly I can’t give you guys a hint till it is set to launch, trust me you’ll be the first to know when it is time.

Also, it would not be nice of me if I didn't tell you guys about my new content journey, I now create design content on my Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok accounts.

https://www.instagram.com/thisbrightmac?igsh=c3BqZWE2a2s5anM5&utm_source=qr

TikTok - Make Your Day

A lot is going on at the moment that I can’t tell you right now, but I think you know a lot already 😅😅

Big Thanks to you for taking the time to read my note, feel free to reach out to me for guidance and tips on how to navigate this space, and if you like notes like this, let me know so I can write more about how I am navigating my life as a designer.

I was talking to a friend recently when I realized I had already completed my third year as a product designer.

So as a measure to mark this stage of my career, I decided to share with you guys some lessons I have learnt over the years while gaining the necessary experience to scale in the field.

Lets get into it;

1. You will fail at some time; you will disappoint people, which is perfectly OK, as long as you fail ahead, which means you learn from your mistakes and develop; it may cost you a lot, but you will come back stronger.
2. Building relationships is equally as important as learning the skill.
3. Learning never stops, there is always something new to learn, keep improving
4. Find a way to put yourself out there; social media, word of mouth, just do it.
5. Don’t burn bridges, although you will at some time and you won’t be able to do anything about it. Instead, attempt to fix it and if it doesn’t work, move on.
6. Beware of the Comfort trap its a career killer, find a way to stay hungry to stay relevant.
7. Good things can happen to you too
8. You are so much more than just an employee at your workplace, you can do more, so do it!
9. Strive to always out do yourself, shock yourself.
10. Ask for help if you need to
11. Our Journeys are unique and different — take inspiration but never try modelling after someones path, find yours and keep being amazing
12. Volunteer if you can as it gives you exposure and relationships are easier to build in this space
13. During your spare time go back and revise the basics
14. The NO’s are equally as important as the YES, because getting some YES would set you up for failure especially when you’re not prepared for it.
15. You matter in this industry so long as you’re willing to do good work
16. You can redesign/revamp as you please, just have a reason why and indicate when you share them with the public
17. Never try to please the public, there are so many mad people with phones even in this space
18. There’s nothing wrong with loving the money, so long as you equally love the process and you’re willing to do great work
19. Keep your friends close, they’ll help you find yourself when you start going astray, because you will at some point
20. Cut off any relationship costing your focus, they’re not worth it
21. Learn to communicate, it can make or mar you it is also as important as the skill it self.
22. Research can be overrated at times, but you should learn and know it extensively anyway.
23. Most of the jobs you will get will be via referrals nurture your clients well.
24. Avoid mediocrity and strive for excellence in all that you do; you will shine brighter.
25. God is the greatest, he’s never late.

There are many more, but for now, I’ll stop here. If you need assistance in any way, feel free to contact me via social media.

Stay safe and hungry.

25 Lessons Learnt after 3 years of creating product designs for Businesses was originally published in Bootcamp on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

What happened in my 2022, what didn’t, my mistakes, and everything in between.

The year 2022 started out rather calmly, just like every other year. If I had to sum up my 2022 in three words, I’d say it’s been wholesome, challenging and interesting.

I began the year with high hopes for a variety of things, including professional and personal development, social skill improvement, and a lot more.

I’ll just say that I ended the year with a lot of successes in these areas.

Highlights:

• I improved in several areas of my life and career, including design, UX research, interviewing, writing, and speaking.
• I’ve gotten a lot better at saying no, which has always been challenging for me. Learning to prioritize my interests first has improved my mental wellbeing.
• I ended a few pointless relationships that were really toxic for me.
• I got my first full-time job as a product designer (Outside of Nigeria).
• I moved into my first residence in Port Harcourt since graduating from university in 2021.
• I launched a podcast in which I discuss the Life of Designer and all of its related topics.
• I mentored a few designers and assisted a few of them in getting jobs.
• I left a position that wasn’t helping my career in any manner.
• I suffered my largest professional setback as well; it’s all part of the process, I think.
• I gained height (a few inches) 😅
• My earnings improved.

……

Career-wise, I authored multiple articles and explored several industry niches, such as blockchain and health tech. I joined one of my dream companies towards the end of the year. I’ve always wanted to work with this team, and so far, the experience with them has been incredible. I can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us.

I also got the courage to quit a job that was causing me unneeded stress and was, in large part, a waste of my time as I was neither learning nor earning.

……

With School, I got my first degree with a CGPA of 4.04/5.0 from the Environmental Biology Department at the University of Port Harcourt.

……

Socially, In addition to starting to build my social media presence and reading books, I was able to work on over ten different products this year and as well pick up a number of new skills.

……

Personally, With more self-awareness and intentionality, of course, my relationships with other people have improved. I grew into a better version of myself as I learned that everyone has a unique perspective on life that is shaped by their unique life experiences, which is what makes the world a fascinating place to live in. I now appreciate others’ decisions, whether I agree with them or not.

I came to realize that the journey is the most important aspect of life and that all of my goals and accomplishments will come as a result of that journey.

I also learned about love; I understood that it takes effort and intention, but the best part is that it is a choice. Hopefully it will be in use next year. lol

……

With setbacks, I was dismissed from a number of projects primarily due to my lack of industry expertise. This made me feel less confident in my craft, it was a really horrible moment for me.

However, with the help of friends and patience, I was able to find myself again and I’ve improved greatly at my craft.

……

Financially, my finances greatly improved, and I was able to give more. In 2023, I want to give even more while increasing my savings and investments.

For 2023

For next year, I am looking to;

• Improve my relationship with God.
• Grow greatly in my career (learn new and career propelling skills)
• Help others and make their lives easier.
• Gain proficiency in business, decision-making, and interpersonal interactions.
• Make more friends and social circles.
• Gain financial knowledge and make wise investments.
• Make more money!
• Explore different countries — Travel Travel!!!!

In all,

This is definitely not a success story or write-up; rather, it is a story about progress. I think 2023 will be full of surprises because many of the events that took place this year were not at all anticipated.

I hope you have a wonderful 2023. I wish you a Merry Christmas🎄, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays. 🥂🥂

Thanks for reading.

I have gotten several messages from designers who just landed their first job and are nervous about what they should do in their role. So I decided to just give you all that the process entails. I am currently on my fifth job since I became a professional designer and yeah, I had a similar challenge while on my first, it took a while to really understand what was going on and what I needed to do so as not to be seen as incompetent or not fit for the job, although, thankfully my first employer understood my level and was willing to put me on track even though he didn’t know so much about the design. He showed me what the previous designer had done and what was expected of me.

Well, I got better in my second, third, fourth, and fifth job.

I will take you through the detailed steps that will help you handle this process professionally while controlling their perception of you.

We will be looking at the detailed steps to take so as to be creatively professional in handling this process while controlling their perception of you.

Like we know;

Your new job could require you to design a new product, build on an existing one or modify an existing product. Whatever the case may be, I am here for you 😎😎.

Now let's consider those building a completely new product or building on an existing product.

Here are some steps to take;

1. Request for a Product document (PRD)
   The product required document (also known as a product brief) is one that gives you an understanding of what the product is all about, its features, requirement, and all of that.
2. Make notes based on your understanding of the document.
   After going through the document or while going through the document make notes; this helps you understand easily what the document is talking about.
3. Share your ideas with the team in a way they’d understand better
   You can request a meeting or make use of a shareable google doc to note things; depending on which works best and saves time. Ensure your notes are easily understandable and they can include questions as well.
4. Based on their response you commence your design process
   You can now commence your design process or take the next step based on what is required of you on the project.

Now for the modifiers if there’s a word like that, lol. Those modifying existing products.

Modifying an existing product

1. Take screenshots of every page — Ensure to take screenshots of default states, hover states, errors screens, dialogue boxes too. You also want to be able to evaluate the micro and macro interactions.
2. Make notes — Walk through each screen, and make notes on your observations. You could use either benchmarking or heuristics to guide your observation-noting process, and this decision is solely dependent on the stakeholder’s goals. If they are after the competitors the former works best but if they are after the user’s experience the latter does it.
3. Share ideas — Basically, make them see what you’re seeing and understand what you want to do as well. know what they think, since they understand the business better they would actually add more ideas to benefit the business.
4. To communicate better use the Impact vs Effort matrix — instead of just explaining the need for a new design, the impact vs Effort matrix should be used to pass your point clearly — this is a phenomenon where you align the priorities and get projects on track while reducing wasted time and energy, you get to compare the effort (design and development time, availability of APIs and the logic used in executing the feature) and the Impact (The need of both the user and the stakeholders/business)
5. You can run customer service workshops or meetings — where you get to know what the customers are saying and how well you update the product so you minimize or end the complaints that come in.

My view

Most of the startups you will be joining might not really care about your process and would give you strict deadlines, so note that you do not have to judiciously follow these steps if the environment does not allow it, you can always compromise and still solve the problem, the client's satisfaction is very important (in some cases).

Things you should keep in mind.

While client and support can provide great insight about these users, always remember that they aren’t the users. Customer support also tends to be the main players of the system who want a whole lot of features or fixes/configuration because they want to lessen the number of complaints that comes in. They would not be the best group to determine what features or configurations to cut because to them, everything seems necessary.

You do not have to overlook user research taking every information given by the client, except you do not have access to the users then the client intercedes for them.

Big thanks to you all for taking your time to read what I have here. Your comments would be highly appreciated.

To Improve usability and Accessibility (A11Y) for decentralized exchanges.

Role: UX Researcher, UX Designer, UI Designer
Duration: 8 weeks
Methodology: User Research, Wireframes, UX Design, UI Design, Prototyping
Tools Used: Figma, Figjam by Figma, Figma mirror, Google meet, Google Docs, Notion
Industry: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Exchange (DEX), Decentralized Application (DApps), Decentralized Finance (DeFi).

Problem Statement

The major problem causing the invention of this product was that users needed to be provided with a seamless crypto exchange different from that used on the regular; one that allows users to easily carry out transactions in the shortest time possible without having to regularly reach out to the support team.

Research showed that most persons barely use Decentralized exchanges (DEX) and their major challenge is the complexity of these DEX platforms.

The Solution

• To help improve the usability and accessibility of the platform
• To create a seamless platform for the users (smooth navigation)

About Cactus Exchange

Cactus Exchange is a Decentralized Trading & Crypto Platform with a whole Ecosystem running fully on-chain. It allows users to swap, provide liquidity, farm, and stake as well.

The platform is designed to deliver all the advantages of Decentralized Finance whilst bringing the traditional Centralized Finance experience and tools onboard.

The Context

I was contacted earlier this year (2022), to design this web application and I was very excited because late last year there was the whole buzz of Blockchain design, and of course, I got interested even though I didn't know what it was, I had to do some personal research. Afterward, I learned that web 3 projects are similar to web 2's which I was familiar with and all I needed to do was approach it with empathy as usual.

Project Goal

• Satisfy — The project aim at solving the existing problem of complexity and satisfy users
• Transparency — Users should understand where their money is going and how it is being used
• Consistent — Design an interface that is consistent across all platforms
• Intuitive — Create a user flow that the users resonate with
• Seamless- Users should be able to smoothly and easily navigate through the platform

The Design Process

Since every good project starts with a proper plan and a good thinking process. I ensured that I applied design thinking as a problem-solving method all through the UX process.

The Design thinking process used is the one proposed by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school).

The five stages of Design Thinking, according to d.school, are as follows:

• Empathize
• Define
• Ideate
• Prototype
• Test

Empathize

At this stage I had to immerse myself into the user’s environment setting aside my own assumptions about what the experience should be like, I had to interview several users, study blockchain technology by reading articles, books, watching videos, taking courses, and asking experts in the industry. I also analyzed existing solutions to look out for patterns and flows the users resonates with already, I explored popular exchanges like;

• Pancakeswap
• Position Exchange
• Pokaswap
• Uniswap etc.

Research

I was able to interview about 13 persons (Physical meetings, Google meet sessions/calls, and chats) from two areas, crypto experts, and Crypto enthusiasts, asking them about what they know about blockchain technology, the issues they face using this exchange, how they think it can be improved, what motivates them to keep using DEX platforms, etc. They are the target audience, The result of the interview showed that.

• 2 crypto enthusiasts knew nothing about staking, farming, or liquidy and would rather keep their money in popular coins like Ethereum and Bitcoin and the other 3 of them do not have any wallet at all
• The other 8 crypto experts have issues with existing platforms and their issues range from complexity to big words and some end up exiting these platforms.

The research findings shown here were limited to the experience not including whatever the team is offering to their customers, which of course is a challenge too.

Due to challenges faced by Decentralized Exchanges, users tend to lean towards Centralized exchanges. The following chart expresses the trading volume of DEX to be at the lowest i.e. 0.8% (statistics by TokenInsight).

Key Challenges

Product offering challenge

User preference for different decentralized exchanges depends on what the team is offering and how their companies tend to deliver on the promises whitepaper-wise.

Transparency

The users will always lean towards products that show necessary details concerning how their money is being spent.

Trust and security

Almost all users are skeptical as to if this new platform is safe to use and if they can always harvest their money and they need to trust the team as well.

Define

At this stage I had to put together all the information I gathered so I could generate some problem statements that guides the ideation process, which has to do with thinking of a solution based on the identified problem, then I was able to come up with some How Might Wes (HMW);

The HMWs (How might wes)

• How might we provide users with a better way to provide liquidity, stake, and farm without overwhelming them with unnecessary details?
• How might we make the user flow process intuitive enough for experts and newbies?
• How might we provide this user with a user-friendly interface to improve their involvement and create a link between the customer and the product

Ideation

This stage has to do with the design thinking process after the empathy, Ideation, and Define stage have been completed and the problem statements are laid out.

Some solution ideas I was able to generate after the ideation process

• Based on research I learned that most users prefer platforms that simplify transaction processes and run across multiple chains
• I saw the need to add tooltips so as to explain big/ambiguous words
• I eliminated unnecessary figures/details that could scare the users
• I ensured the interface was friendly and lively enough to keep the users glued to the platform.
• I proposed an FAQ section on the platform to provide quick guide.
• I ensured the major features are easily found so the users don’t get frustrated looking for them.
• I ensured I put Accessibility and Usability in the top check, with regards to my font style, size, weight and color choice.

I also ensured that while I was thinking and making decisions I kept the 5 principles of designing for the blockchain in mind, and this principles include;

• Designing for Understanding — This basically means that the product needs to meet the IQ level of the users, it has to be in line with what they used to know so they don’t have difficulty learning to use the platform, and to increase adoption in the blockchain space we need to design in a way that even a blockchain novice have little or no challenge using it.
• Designing for trust — Blockchain is a new technology compared to web 2, so there’s is still the fear of incompetency in handling finance or storage matters, so this product has to make the users feel comfortable. And also when dealing with sensitive data, maintaining the user's trust is paramount, you have to actively and often remind the users you’re with them, and as well guide them through in every manner possible.
• Designing for communication — Your design should communicate whatever message you’re trying or supposed to pass in a language the users resonates with and it should be clear and concise.
• Designing for consistency — The experience must be visually consistent across different pages and products, This has to do with the layout of the product, colors, the typography used. Leveraging common design patterns reduce the amount of learning the users do on every page visited or on similar products.
• Designing for exposure — This has to do with creatively educating your users using tooltips and elements of the sort, this is basically the best way to educate users about the platform, The better the users understand the platform the better the adoption.

Prototype

With the prototype, I was able to conduct an A/B test for some components like the colors, patterns, icons, font size/weight, and the user flows too. And I ensured my solutions were implemented on the Hi-Fi prototype.

Also, I was able to get a clearer view of how the users would feel using the platform after the prototype was set.

TYPOGRAPHY AND COLORS.
Before the Hi-fi design was created, I reviewed the brand colors and ensure it worked in line with the experience I want the users to feel, based in research.
The colors Green which is the primary color symbolizes nature and it is seen as an easy color on the eyes, and it’s well communicates friendliness. Purple which is the secondary color is considered to have a tranquil quality.

Exchange

I designed the exchange/swap section to be intuitive then placed emphasis on the core figures of the transaction so users do not get overwhelmed seeing other figures equally. As designers we are responsible for directing how our users emphasize on a feature, that was why I made the swap and Liquidity feature on a page since they are similar and are core features.

• The button reads “proceed to swap” it so because I needed the users to understand what they are getting into at first sight, as a method of cutting down the time spent on performing a swap
• For the mobile, I used a floating action button (FAB) because the menu needed to be put out of the main screen to avoid obstruction, since it has to do with money everything needs to be clear and visible.
• The figures/details seen beneath the transaction card overwhelms the users which were why I place them there since they are not entirely useless.

Liquidity

Farming

Most of the time, users prefer a list view when they are searching with specific requirements while they love a grid view for exploring. so it was added here to allow users to navigate based on their preference and what they are searching for.

Staking Pool

Test

Finally, For the test here are some of the upgrades that will be made on the app after some time based on the first usability testing;

• A Darkmode will be designed to aid Accessibility and usability basically to include more users
• More figure will be hidden but can still be viewed to make the transaction process more seamless

Also, the product will be subjected to more tests and it will birth the second version of the case study.

Conclusion:

This app was designed to help improve the experience of Decentralized exchanges and as well enhance the adoption of DEX just as it is with centralized exchanges. I started this project on the 14th of January, 2022. I believe The ecosystem needs a platform like this.

This design may not be perfect, as it still has to go through several iterations and get improved on if we must build for the users.

This is my first shot at writing a Case Study, and this is my first web3 project. I am open to criticism and will appreciate your feedback.

Thanks for reading.

We have all at some point gotten advice from friends, family members and others asking us not/never to follow the crowd.

Do you think we should adhere to such advice? knowing fully well that these guys are more experienced than us but they could still be wrong

Well, lets Jump in to know how the said statement works.

Following the crowd has been a topic we discuss everyday whether consciously or unconsciously.

The reality here is that whether you want to follow the crowd or not you should always have a reason for your decision.

This is this saying in the Business world or Life In general “Copy what works”. This works actually, most times you just don’t have to try reinventing the wheel except you are soaked in it so well.

Else you will end up being frustrated and could back off from the project. Here you just have to follow what others have been doing with a little touch of your creativity.

Ok! without extra talks lets get into the main gist.

I will be giving you Instances where you should consider following the crowd and Instances where you shouldn’t even think of It.

Follow The crowd

This might sound more like a bad advice, but I bet you it’s not. Following the crowd simply means doing what others are doing just because it works. In design for instance while you’re starting out you tend to look at several designs to tap inspiration and go get yours set, That’s actually what almost everyone does and it has been helping.

There could be an issue with comprehension if you attempt to do something different from the normal which could lead to the futility of the product.

Same goes for business, you could try approaching customers in a manner that is not use to them and get rejected

It goes for school too, you’re been asked to carry out task in particular manner. going against the rule could lead to the futility of your work

The List goes on and on, this doesn’t mean you can’t try out something different but you should ensure there is a space for it. so you don’t end up burning you effort into ashes

All this happens In Life generally, your friends do a particular thing that is not against your Culture or against what you classify as wrong/bad. There will be no reason why you wouldn’t want to join them as long as you have what it takes to join. That’s actually you following the crowd.

In summary there’s nothing wrong in doing what the majority does as long as it is working for them and it doesn’t mess with your sanity.

Don’t Follow the crowd

I believe In this case you must have heard several things. Well Like I said earlier you don’t have to do things that mess with you sanity.

Once you discover this 5 Things In any act you’re about to jump on, do yourself good by just Leaving them and going for another option if there’s any.

1. It goes against your belief.

2. You can’t cope with it for long or even in a short term depending on what it is.

3. Most people that jump into It come out badly hurt.

4. The risk involved is not worth taking.

5. You have more chances of failing than winning.

6. You can’t speak about it to anyone.

in Summary you don’t have to jump on every act but if you must jump any make sure it is worth spending time on. Reviews about it matter too.

You can still follow the crowd and come out with a great result

Thanks a lot for sparing this few minutes to see what content I’ve got to share. hope you got value, feel free to drop your comments and Contribution, Objections are allowed too, I’m Always willing and ready to Learn and as well make corrections so I can serve you better.

I post Articles every Friday, look forward to getting another piece soon.

Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person (Mentor) helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person (Mentee). The mentor may be older or younger than the person being mentored, but they must have a certain area of expertise.

I’ve gotten several messages from people asking me to be their design mentor, well in as much as I would love to share my knowledge.

I wouldn’t want to do so to people that would end up not taking the mentorship program serious simply because Time is very precious and if some portion of it is going to be given out to someone either free or paid there should be some level of seriousness or devotion from the recipient (Mentee).

This applies not just to me but to other experienced creatives too.

Ok! Let’s gets started, I will be giving you some tips on how to get mentors and how to get them to give you their maximum attention or get the most from them.

One thing you need to understand Is that any expert you’re choosing to be your mentor doesn’t have to know you or have any conversation with you.

You can learn from them even when they don’t know you exist. YES! I said that.

I will show you more ways in which you can learn from experienced people.

Enough of all the plenty talks, lets hit it!

1. Reading their Books

One of the ways in which Knowledge is gotten is via reading, He/she (mentor) could write a book filled with His/her experience all you need do is get the book read, take action and probably follow up on their subsequent books if they’ve got any.

Doing that, you’re directly Learning from their experience and adjusting yourself if you’re on the verge of making a similar mistake or already making the mistake.

You now see that they have actually directed your path without seeing you, talking to you or knowing you exist.

2. Attending their webinars

Attending their webinars either free or paid may get them to notice you, keep an eye on your efforts and offer a helping hand even if they observe your consistency and dedication.

If that doesn’t happen you can always learn directly from them virtually (Online webinars) or Physically (Gatherings) how they handled their challenges also some secrets, tips, Personal improvement tasks (based on their expertise) and all of that.

3. Observing them via Social media

Many Experts share their wins, Tips, challenges conquered and many other things pertaining their profession via their social media pages, I believe that is one of the easiest means of Learning from them since you don’t have to pay Instead you just wait for them to a post on their pages.

4. Applying for their mentorship program

In as much as this can be a great way of getting mentored by someone you can as well make them loose interest in mentoring you if you;

Stop being consistent and taking their task without reasonable effort, you have to understand that they don’t some of the are very busy and don’t have time for unnecessary talks so if you’re opportune to be taken in by them.

MY 0.01 CENT ADVICE

1. Whenever your mentor gives you a task do it with all seriousness.

2. Don’t run around looking for mentors when you haven’t started learning or haven’t Learnt the basics of the craft.

3. Endeavor to get only an expert to mentor you else Learning from a beginner claiming to be an expert will stunt your growth.

4. Don’t disregard the fact you have to respect them even though they happen to be nice, friendly or easy going.

5. Even if he/she is your friend don’t take them for granted.

6. They are bound to make mistakes too so research on your own before or after a session and feel free to put up your contribution politely.

7. Respect the fact that they might have other things doing so show up for sessions early and prepared.

8. Always show up.

9. They are humans and will have downsides so Ignore that and focus on picking their brain.

10. Even if it means paying for their attention or time DO IT! You won’t get all you need to grow for free.

In conclusion ensure that you have Learnt the basics of a craft before searching or contacting any mentor.

This will give you a chance of been accepted and it also shows that you’re prepared and not just a time waster because the biggest fear of any expert when it comes to mentorship is the fear of investing time & resources in a mentee and discovering that he/she is unserious and unwilling to learn.

Thanks a lot for sparing this few minutes to see what content I’ve got to share. hope you got value, feel free to drop your comments and contribution, Objections are accepted too.

I’m Always willing and ready to Learn and make corrections so I can serve you better.

Hey guys! This is my first Article on this Platform and I promise to give you authentic contents all through from my personal experience, I hope you find it helpful.

I will be giving you more than 5 reasons why you should take WhatsApp serious and how you can grow your WhatsApp audience. Interesting right?

Ok! Let’s get started.

Like we all Know WhatsApp is a social media Platform that came into the market on the 3rd of May 2009 and ever since it has been growing massively, it has over 2 billion Users, over 1.6 billion monthly users and has been downloaded over 96 million Times. It even come as a follow-come app in some phones that’s to tell you how well it is been used.

Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook saw the potentials of the App and also saw that it could be a threat to his parent platform (Facebook) then decided to buy it.

Ever since the purchase, the platform has grown too big that its now an essential part of us.

Oops! I think I have spoken too much about what WhatsApp is, lets dive into how and why WhatsApp Is beneficial to you.

Here are the major 5 out of the many reasons why WhatsApp is beneficial to you;

1. WhatsApp can be used instead of the news Platforms:

Yeah, you can now use WhatsApp to run blogs popularly known as WhatsApp TV. In case you have no Idea of What WhatsApp TV is all about, it is basically a way to share happenings around you to your contact List/Audience and The Kind of content shared ranges from Videos, Notes, audios, Pictures.

News are shared too, the news type includes gist, Advice, money making schemes, Notice and many more. To add to it.

WhatsApp TV is very profitable and can Turn in Money depending on how well you’re able to make your Audience trust you so they can run adverts on your Blog like it is done on normal blogs.

2. Mini-store for online shopping:

Like you’ve been seeing around, your friends have been posting about the products they want to market and all that, well with the way WhatsApp has grown anything at all can be sold on WhatsApp, Cars, jets, anything at all, as long as you have your target audience on your contact List you can sell anything. All you need to do is Learn how marketing is done on WhatsApp so you don’t piss your Audience off and get them to Mute or block you.

3. Group communication/meeting:

WhatsApp is a great platform for gathering people both for a quick meeting and for a Long time so they can keep track of the general Information.

All you need do is create a group, then Ask for their permission before adding them to the Group to avoid pissing them off. After which any Information posted on the groups get seen by everyone on the group.

Another way of bringing people together is by making a call either Video or Voice and you can add a maximum of 4 persons.

4. Diary:

I’m sure you don’t know about this, well I guess it’s what you’re thinking. You might have tried sometime without knowing.

Ok, let me explain

Like you know diary is Like a small book you use in keeping track of what you’ve done, what happened to you, what you want to do or save a date for something or someone or even write down something you don’t want to forget, well if I’m right.

Then all this can be done on WhatsApp in two ways:

First is you saving your personal number and sending yourself a message that way you can send yourself all this information well don’t worry about anyone seeing it. It’s as safe as sending someone a message and only you and the person gets to see it.

Another way this can be done is by creating a group, adding some random person so you can successfully create the group then removing the person before sending any message that way you’ll be the only person on the group and be the only one seeing anything you post on the group.

5. Brand Building:

In case you don’t know what a brand is, It’s basically the way people perceive you or your business/Product. You can either build a personal or a business brand.

One thing you need to understand is once you’re Online the way you contribute/handle situations will determine if people will trust anything you say or not. So If you want people to trust or Brand or perceive you as a trustworthy person you have to be careful on the kind of Topics you contribute to and the kind of message you put out.

6. Connect with family and Friends:

This is the main reason why WhatsApp was created connecting with family and friends online. All you need to do is save the contact of the friend so you can easily find them and start chatting with them.

7. Easily Spread Messages:

You can easily spread messages or Information across a wide range pf people depending on the amount of contact you’ve got on your list. Either on WhatsApp groups or on your WhatsApp status, then get those on your contact list to repost or those on your groups to share to friends and other groups.

Building and Maintaining your WhatsApp Audience

Building and Maintaining your Audience requires some form of commitment because it quite easy to get enough WhatsApp contacts and WhatsApp views. But depending on what you need this contacts for you might need a filtered List to sieve of those that are not part of your desired Audience.

Here’s a few Tips to building and maintaining your Audience;

1. Run Ads on WhatsApp blogs

2. Ask your existing contacts to share your contacts

3. Do giveaways

4. Share you contact on your other social media pages

5. Host classes on your status

6. Share nice/enticing contents

That’s all for this Article, thanks a lot for sparing this few minutes to see what content I’ve got to share. hope you got value, feel free to drop your comments and Contribution, Objections are allowed too, I’m Always willing and ready to Learn and make corrections so I can serve you better.

I post Articles every Friday, look forward to getting another piece soon