Overview
I worked as a Senior Product Designer on the core 1inch web dApp — a large-scale DeFi aggregator operating across hundreds of liquidity sources and serving millions of users. My focus was improving critical swap and transaction flows in a high-risk, data-dense environment, while contributing reusable patterns to a scalable design system adopted across multiple product surfaces.
Context
1inch is a high-scale DeFi platform that aggregates liquidity from hundreds of sources and supports complex financial interactions such as multi-route swaps, slippage control, gas optimization, and advanced trading modes. As the platform evolved, new features increased functional power but also significantly raised cognitive load and decision complexity for users, especially during high-stakes transaction flows.
Problem
Product analysis and internal feedback revealed several systemic UX issues impacting core swap interactions. Users experienced high cognitive load during configuration and confirmation, frequently abandoned advanced trading modes, and struggled to interpret dense financial parameters. Inconsistent interaction patterns across features further reduced confidence in critical, high-risk transactions.
Key issues included
- •High cognitive load during swap configuration and confirmation
- •Frequent abandonment of advanced swap modes in favor of simpler flows
- •Poor scannability of complex parameters such as rates, presets, and advanced settings
- •Inconsistent UX patterns across features reducing predictability and trust
My Responsibility
I owned the UX/UI design of core swap flows end-to-end and contributed to system-level improvements.
- •End-to-end UX optimization for core swap and advanced trading flows
- •Designing and validating complex user journeys with multiple decision points
- •Simplifying data-heavy interfaces while preserving transparency and trust
- •Collaborating closely with product, engineering, and analytics teams
- •Contributing reusable components and interaction patterns to the design system
This role required deep understanding of both user behavior and DeFi mechanics.
Solution
I redesigned key parts of the swap experience with a focus on clarity, predictability, and progressive disclosure. The goal was not to remove complexity, but to structure it — surfacing the right information at the right moment and guiding users through decision-heavy flows with confidence. All improvements were implemented within the existing design system to ensure consistency and long-term scalability.
Approach
I followed a structured, iterative approach aligned with large product teams:
- •Analyzed user behavior and drop-off points across swap and confirmation flows
- •Reviewed internal analytics and qualitative feedback from product and support teams
- •Identified moments of hesitation, confusion, and loss of user confidence
- •Reworked information hierarchy for critical values such as rates, receive amounts, and price impact
- •Introduced clearer visual grouping and scan patterns for dense financial data
- •Applied progressive disclosure to advanced settings and secondary parameters
- •Reduced visual noise while preserving transparency and decision context
- •Conducted usability reviews and internal feedback sessions
- •Standardized components and interaction patterns across swap-related features
- •Aligned UX patterns across multiple product areas using the design system
Increasing Fusion Swap Adoption
Context
1inch is a DeFi aggregator operating at massive scale, combining hundreds of liquidity sources and serving millions of users. One of the key strategic directions was increasing adoption of Fusion swaps — a more profitable and technically advanced swap mode compared to the default (legacy) flow. Despite clear business advantages, Fusion usage remained relatively low, indicating friction in user understanding and interaction with the interface.
Problem
Product analytics revealed that less than 20% of users were actively using Fusion mode, despite it being positioned as the key value driver of the platform.
A deeper look showed:
- •Users frequently opened Fusion but abandoned the flow
- •Many users switched back to legacy mode before confirming a swap
- •Advanced settings and pricing controls introduced high cognitive load
- •The value of Fusion presets was not obvious at the decision-making moment
What I Did (Hands-on Work)
I worked end-to-end on improving the Fusion swap experience, combining data analysis, UX research, interface design, and validation.
1. Behavioral Analysis & Analytics
Analyzed detailed user flow data to identify drop-off points. Mapped transitions between Fusion, Custom, and Legacy modes. Identified critical moments where users abandoned or downgraded the swap flow. This helped isolate where and why users were leaving Fusion.
2. UX Research & User Journey Mapping
Conducted internal reviews and usability sessions, collecting qualitative feedback from users and stakeholders. Reviewed real swap scenarios to understand confusion around presets, hesitation caused by advanced parameters, and lack of confidence at the confirmation stage. Created a detailed user journey from opening Fusion to swap confirmation, mapping emotional states, hesitation points, and trust signals. This combined research approach revealed critical friction points where users lost confidence or abandoned the flow.
3. UX & UI Design Improvements
I redesigned key parts of the Fusion swap interface with a focus on clarity, confidence, and progressive disclosure: simplified presentation of rate ranges and outcomes, improved visibility and meaning of Fusion presets, reduced visual noise in advanced settings, made critical values (receive / min receive / rate impact) easier to scan, and designed clearer separation between default and advanced decision paths. All changes were implemented within the existing design system and aligned with platform-wide UI standards.
4. Solution Design & Implementation
Based on insights from user journey mapping and interview feedback, I translated identified friction points into specific design solutions. The journey map revealed that users needed clearer value communication at preset selection, more confidence signals during rate calculation, and simplified decision paths at confirmation. Interview insights about confusion around presets led to redesigning preset presentation with clearer value propositions. Hesitation points around advanced parameters informed the progressive disclosure pattern. The lack of confidence at confirmation stage drove the addition of clear transaction summary and trust indicators. Each design decision directly addressed a specific pain point identified in the research phase.
Implementation followed an iterative approach: initial designs were validated through internal reviews, refined based on feedback, and tested with target users to ensure each change reduced friction rather than adding complexity. The final solution maintained design system consistency while addressing all critical user journey pain points.
Result & Impact
After implementation:
- •Fusion swap usage increased (measured and confirmed by product analytics)
- •Users were less likely to abandon or switch to legacy mode
- •Feedback indicated higher confidence and understanding of Fusion behavior
- •The redesigned flow reduced disengagement caused by complex settings
- •The solution was validated through usability testing and internal reviews
- •Retention and efficiency improvements were measured and confirmed by product analytics and team-wide evaluation
Impact
- •Users were less likely to abandon advanced swap flows
- •Confidence and clarity during transaction configuration improved
- •UX friction caused by complex financial parameters was reduced
- •Teams iterated faster using standardized components and patterns
- •Improvements were validated through product analytics, internal reviews, and qualitative feedback
Reflection
"This case reinforced that in high-risk financial systems, UX clarity is not about simplicity but about predictable decision-making under uncertainty. Progressive disclosure and strong hierarchy directly impact trust, conversion, and long-term retention."
