dm.fun
CHAT. TRADE. MEME.
CHAT. TRADE. MEME.
Matrica Labs · Sole Designer (Product + Design Systems)
Matrica Labs · Sole Designer
Designing a social trading experience for crypto's most
active communities.
Designing a social trading experience for crypto's most active communities.
Designing a social trading experience for crypto's
most active communities.
1.7M+ Users on the Matrica platform dm.fun launched into
2000+ Users on dmfun private beta
30+ Core flows designed and shipped as sole product designer
67% Fewer front-end revisions after I built the design system
1.7M+ Users on the Matrica platform dm.fun launched into
2000+ Users on dmfun private beta
30+ Core flows designed and shipped as sole product designer
67% Fewer front-end revisions after I built the design system
Crypto traders didn't lack tools. They lacked a connection between them.
Crypto traders didn't lack tools. They lacked
a connection between them.
Crypto traders didn't lack tools. They lacked a connection between them.
Traders discovered tokens in one place, discussed them in Telegram or Discord, tracked them in another tool, and executed somewhere else. Every handoff cost them time and context.
Traders discovered tokens in one place, discussed them in Telegram or Discord,
tracked them in another tool, and executed somewhere else. Every handoff cost
them time and context.
Traders discovered tokens in one place, discussed them in Telegram or Discord, tracked them in another tool, and executed somewhere else. Every handoff cost them time and context.
DISCOVER → VERIFY → TRACK → DISCUSS → TRADE
DISCOVER → VERIFY → TRACK → DICUSS → TRADE
dm.fun set out to collapse that loop into one product. n dm.fun, a pasted contract address covers verify, track and trade inside the chat itself.
My job was to make social interaction, real-time market data, and on-chain complexity feel like a single experience.
Traders discovered tokens in one place, discussed them in Telegram or Discord,
tracked them in another tool, and executed somewhere else. Every handoff cost
them time and context.
dm.fun set out to collapse that loop into one product. n dm.fun, a pasted contract address covers verify, track and trade inside the chat itself. My job was to make social interaction, real-time market data, and on-chain complexity feel like a single experience.
My role
My role
I was the sole product designer on dm.fun, from early concept to a full social trading ecosystem. I owned strategy, information architecture, interaction design, and visual systems, working directly with product and engineering.
I was the sole product designer on dm.fun, from early concept to a full social trading ecosystem. I owned strategy, information architecture, interaction design, and visual systems, working directly with product and engineering.
I also built the Matrica design system, creating the foundations and reusable components that helped the product scale consistently across the experience.
I also built the Matrica design system, creating the foundations and reusable components that helped the product scale consistently across the experience.
Surfaces I owned:
Trading · Chat · Communities · Discovery · Wallets · Calls · Activity · Missions · Rewards · Profiles · Notifications · Collectibles · Onboarding
Trading · Chat · Communities · Discovery · Wallets · Calls · Activity · Missions · Rewards · Profiles · Notifications · Collectibles · Onboarding
The real design challenge - Making three very different behaviors feel like one product.
The real design challenge - Making three very different behaviors feel like one product.
CHAT
Communities, conversations, DMs, groups
Communities, conversations, DMs, groups
TRADE
Tokens, wallets, transactions, portfolio
Tokens, wallets, transactions, portfolio
MEME
Raids, memes, social culture, collectibles
Raids, memes, social culture, collectibles
The product had to feel fast enough for crypto communities while still being understandable to someone encountering a token, wallet or transaction for the first time.
The product had to feel fast enough for crypto communities while still being understandable to someone encountering a token, wallet or transaction for the first time.
Layer 1: Chat.
Layer 1: Chat.
Decision: Make chat the center of the loop, not a feature next to the trading.
Decision: Make chat the center of the loop, not a feature next to the trading.
Crypto communities already live in chat. Rather than adding chat to a trading app, I built the trading app around chat, so messages stop being text and become things you can act on.
Crypto communities already live in chat. Rather than adding chat to a trading app, I built the trading app around chat, so messages stop being text and become things you can act on.
The idea was to build a familiar messaging experience while embedding the context, incentives, and actions that make crypto communities unique.
The idea was to build a familiar messaging experience while embedding the context, incentives, and actions that make crypto communities unique.
Around that foundation, I designed the core community experience:
Around that foundation, I designed the core community experience:
Token communities - conversations organized around specific tokens.
Token communities - conversations organized around specific tokens.
Holder & Whale chats - identity and access shaped by on-chain ownership.
Holder & Whale chats - identity and access shaped by on-chain ownership.
Boost groups - mechanisms for communities to rally around and increase their visibility.
Boost groups - mechanisms for communities to rally around and increase their visibility.
Token widgets - contextual information and actions surfaced directly inside conversations.
Token widgets - contextual information and actions surfaced directly inside conversations.
Rich messaging - a familiar chat experience designed to support the speed and culture of crypto communities.
Rich messaging - a familiar chat experience designed to support the speed and culture
of crypto communities.
Rich messaging - a familiar chat experience designed to support the speed and culture of crypto communities.
Layer 2: Trade
Layer 2: Trade.
Decision: Turn pasted contract addresses into inline trade cards.
Decision: Turn pasted contract addresses into inline trade cards.
When someone pastes a contract address in chat, it isn't text. I designed it to become an interactive token object showing identity, price, chart, holder context, contract verification, and buy/sell actions in place.
When someone pastes a contract address in chat, it isn't text. I designed it to become an interactive token object showing identity, price, chart, holder context, contract verification, and buy/sell actions in place.
Alternatives I considered were a "Trade" button that opens a full token page, and one-tap buying on every pasted address. I figured I could merge the first and the second because it does not take away the context traders need to judge a token.
Alternatives I considered were a "Trade" button that opens a full token page, and one-tap buying on every pasted address. I figured I could merge the first and the second because it does not take away the context traders need to judge a token.
Four tensions I had to resolve
Four tensions I had to resolve
Speed vs. Context: Traders shouldn't navigate through multiple pages to place a trade, so the buy happens where the conversation is.
Speed vs. Context: Traders shouldn't navigate through multiple pages to place a trade, so the buy happens where the conversation is.
Speed vs. Risk: Buying had to be fast enough for degen trading, but I kept enough risk information on screen to support a decision without turning it into a Bloomberg terminal.
Speed vs. Risk: Buying had to be fast enough for degen trading, but I kept enough risk information on screen to support a decision without turning it into a Bloomberg terminal.
Experts vs. Newcomers: The same flow had to work for experienced traders and for someone discovering a token through chat. Preset amounts ("Ape In") serve repeat buyers.
Experts vs. Newcomers: The same flow had to work for experienced traders and for someone discovering a token through chat. Preset amounts ("Ape In") serve repeat buyers.
Blockchain isn't instant. Transactions take time and can fail confusingly, so I designed explicit states: Confirming → Processing → Successful / Failed.
Blockchain isn't instant. Transactions take time and can fail confusingly, so I designed explicit states: Confirming → Processing → Successful / Failed.
Funding became part of the flow. If someone finds an opportunity without enough in their wallet, the journey shouldn't end. I integrated MoonPay funding into the trade flow so it stops being a separate task.
Funding became part of the flow. If someone finds an opportunity without enough in their wallet, the journey shouldn't end. I integrated MoonPay funding into the trade flow so it stops being a separate task.
Result
Result
Improved the end-to-end trading flow, with 78% of tested users completing a trade without assistance during usability testing.
Improved the end-to-end trading flow, with 78% of tested users completing a trade without assistance during usability testing.
Users could move from funding → token selection → trade without leaving the core experience, creating a much more direct path to the first transaction.
Users could move from funding → token selection → trade without leaving the core experience, creating a much more direct path to the first transaction.
Layer 3: MEME.
Layer 1: Chat. Where conversation becomes the market
Decision: Make memes functional, not decorative.
Decision: Make memes functional, not decorative.
In crypto, memes are culture, identity, and coordination. Rather than skinning the product with meme visuals, I turned community energy into a loop users move through:
Discover → React → Join → Participate → Amplify → Trade
The mechanics:
The mechanics:
Meme discovery - surfacing emerging tokens and communities through a highly visual, constantly moving discovery experience.
Meme discovery - surfacing emerging tokens and communities through a highly visual, constantly moving discovery experience.
Community raids - giving groups a way to coordinate and amplify a token beyond the chat.
Community raids - giving groups a way to coordinate and amplify a token beyond the chat.
Boosts - creating visible signals of community participation and momentum.
Boosts - creating visible signals of community participation and momentum.
Missions & rewards - turning participation into structured actions users could
complete and be rewarded for.
Missions & rewards - turning participation into structured actions users could complete and be rewarded for.
Badges & identity - giving users ways to express status, contribution, and reputation within the ecosystem.
Badges & identity - giving users ways to express status, contribution, and reputation within the ecosystem.
Token communities - connecting the meme, the people behind it, and the token
itself in one place.
Token communities - connecting the meme, the people behind it, and the token itself in one place.
Explore - Helping users find what matters
Explore - Helping users find
what matters
Decision: Make discovery a live window, not just another list of assets
Decision: Make discovery a live window, not just another list of assets
Thousands of tokens compete for attention, so a plain ranked list overwhelms. I organized Explore around relevance and momentum, combining token information, community activity, categories, and social signals so users move from curiosity to context without knowing what they're looking for.
Thousands of tokens compete for attention, so a plain ranked list overwhelms. I organized Explore around relevance and momentum, combining token information, community activity, categories, and social signals so users move from curiosity to context without knowing what they're looking for.
The Explore experience was designed to give users a fast, visual way to find tokens, communities, prediction markets, collectibles, and emerging opportunities.
The Explore experience was designed to give users a fast, visual way to find tokens, communities, prediction markets, collectibles, and emerging opportunities without having to know exactly what they were looking for.
Identity & Reputation - Making on-chain
identity visible
Identity & Reputation - Making on-chain identity visible
Decision: Treat on-chain activity as a social context
Decision: Treat on-chain activity as a social context
Crypto communities aren't anonymous in the way traditional social networks are. Wallet activity, holdings, participation, and contribution can all become signals of identity.
Crypto communities aren't anonymous in the way traditional social networks are. Wallet activity, holdings, participation, and contribution can all become signals of identity.
I designed a system that allowed those signals to become part of the social experience.
I designed a system that allowed those signals to become part of the social experience.
Badges, holder and whale status, username customization, community participation, and rewards gave users ways to establish who they were and what they contributed.
Badges, holder and whale status, username customization, community participation, and rewards gave users ways to establish who they were and what they contributed.
A profile answers four questions at a glance: who are you, what do you hold, how do you contribute, what have you earned?
A profile answers four questions at a glance: who are you, what do you hold, how do you contribute, what have you earned?
Onboarding - From curiosity to participation
Onboarding - From curiosity
to participation
Decision: Don't teach the product, get people into it
Decision: Don't teach the product, get people into it
I introduced complexity progressively instead of all at once, aiming for a user's first meaningful interaction as fast as possible. Referral codes, wallet setup, and funding are woven into the journey so setup never blocks exploration.
I introduced complexity progressively instead of all at once, aiming for a user's first meaningful interaction as fast as possible. Referral codes, wallet setup, and funding are woven into the journey so setup never blocks exploration.
Sign up → Set up identity → Enter the ecosystem → Discover a community → Participate
Sign up → Set up identity → Enter the ecosystem → Discover a community → Participate
Design System - Building consistency at speed
Design System - Building consistency
at speed
Decision: Build the system around the engineers stack
Decision: Build the system around the engineers stack
dm.fun shipped new features constantly across social, trading, and community surfaces. I built a component library aligned with engineering's existing tech stack, which reduced front-end revisions per sprint from 3 - 1 (and sometimes 0)
Closing
Designing a product at the intersection
of culture and finance
dm.fun launched into Matrica's ecosystem of 1.7M+ users and is rapidly growing to thousands of users of its own. The company's token presale raised $1.5M. As sole designer, I defined how the product behaved across chat, trading, discovery, identity, and onboarding, not
just how it looked.
More experiences
More experiences
Real World Assets - Trade pokemon cards and other RWAs
Real World Assets - Trade pokemon cards
and other RWAs
Private Groups - Create exclusive alpha groups
Private Groups - Create exclusive alpha groups
Calls - Predict the trajectory of a token
Calls - Predict the trajectory of a token
Direct Messaging / Social Flow - Follow friends, create groups, interact privately
Direct Messaging / Social Flow - Follow friends, create groups, interact privately
dmfun turbo - Exclusive UI for premium users
dmfun turbo - Exclusive UI for premium users
dmfun Web
Up Next
Up Next
The Hectre
Designing a housing marketplace around people, not properties.
Making crypto trading social without
making it overwhelming.
0→1
Housing
Social
Marketplace
Design Systems
AI
Finding a home is rarely just about finding a property. The Hectre is a people-first housing marketplace designed around how renters actually move, live and find others to live with. I shaped the product from the ground up - from marketplace strategy and matching to the design system that brings it all together.
Finding a home is rarely just about finding a property. The Hectre is a people-first housing marketplace designed around how renters actually move, live and find others to live with. I shaped the product from the ground up - from marketplace strategy and matching to the design system that brings it all together.
You’ve seen the work. You’ve
met Batman. Now let’s build
something difficult.
birthrightntuk@gmail.com
You’ve seen the work. You’ve
met Batman. Now let’s build
something difficult.
birthrightntuk@gmail.com
You’ve seen the work. You’ve met Batman. Now let’s build something difficult.
birthrightntuk@gmail.com