How do you turn a complex, developer-built interface into a sleek product managing 11M SOL ($2.5B+)? After 3 years leading design for @MarinadeFinance, I'm sharing the playbook. From chaotic UI to a scalable design system. A thread 🧵👇

This guide must be a banger 🤞 If you’re a founder — it’s definitely a must read. No mercy. Goes live next week.

100 more boys and girls on board! ✨ Happy to see you all 🫂 Warm welcome and there we go to the next milestone :D

Bottom line for your next hire: ✅ Business outcomes > Aesthetics ✅ Web3 patterns > Generic skill ✅ Execution speed > Agency prestige ✅ Implementation ready > Pretty Figma files Get this right, and you ship faster. Need strategic design partnership for your Web3 product?

5️⃣ Mistake 5: Ignoring implementation. A designer who doesn't care about dev handoff will burn your runway. If they design a fancy chart that your library doesn't support, your dev will waste a month coding it custom. Ask: "Do you use a component library? How do you optimize

4️⃣ Mistake 4: Hiring an agency for "safety." In Web3, speed is everything. You need a "fast racing car," not a bus filled with middle managers. Big agencies mean internal meetings, slow iterations, and huge overhead. Small teams or expert freelancers offer direct communication

3️⃣ Mistake 3: Hiring a Web2 pro with zero Web3 context. A great fintech designer might fail in DeFi. ❓ Do they understand gas fees? ❓ Do they know the difference between Ethereum and Solana chain patterns? ❓ How do they handle wallet connection? Without this, they will

2️⃣ Mistake 2: Expecting Dribbble shots instead of user flows. DeFi isn't just a hero section. It's transaction flows, error states, and edge cases. 60% of DeFi users are on mobile. If your designer only shows you desktop hero sections, run. Ask: "Show me how you handle a

1️⃣ Mistake 1: Hiring for "crypto vibes" over business results. Neon gradients and futuristic dark modes look cool on Twitter. But aesthetics ≠ Good UX. If a designer can't explain how their layout improves conversion or reduces drop-off, you are just buying "Expensive

I see a dangerous trend in Web3: Founders are hiring designers based on Twitter followers rather than actual competence. You are trusting your product's future to someone just because they have a "cool aesthetic" or have 20k followers and are followed by some degen you respect.

The gap between "AI Users" and "Non-AI Users" is widening every week. You don't need to be a prompt engineer. You just need to stop Googling things and start building things.

🎙️ The Voice: Tella Stop typing long emails. I use Tella with their AI sound enhancer to record quick updates for clients. 🔸 Crisp audio (even in a noisy room) 🔸 Professional appearance 🔸 Easier to consume → better involvement 🔸 Higher trust High-touch feel, low-effort

✋ The Hands: Cursor, Figma Make, v0 This is the biggest shift for designers. "Vibe Coding." I’m using Cursor, Figma Make, and v0 to build interactive prototypes that actually work. No more static mockups. I ship code that feels like the final product, and it gives much better

👁️ The Eye: Midjourney, Krea, Gemini I don't stare at blank canvases anymore. 🔸 Midjourney: Infinite moodboarding. 🔸 https://t.co/SCltEiEl1O: More models for different cases. 🔸 Gemini: Generation when I need precise logo or text. I skip the "Blank Page Syndrome" and go

🧠 The Brain: Perplexity, Claude, Gemini I haven't "Googled" a complex question in months. 🔸 Perplexity Labs: Deep dives on customer markets. "Simulate a user persona for [Product] and list their top 3 pain points." 🔸 Claude (in Notion AI) or Gemini: Formatting mess into

Most people think AI is just for writing copy. They are missing 90% of the utility. You should be using it for: 🔸 Market Research 🔸 Idea Validation (Simulating user feedback) 🔸 Vibe Coding (prototyping without dev skills) 🔸 Design Tokens & Systems It’s not a chatbot. It’s a

Ignore the "AI Bubble" discourse. It’s a distraction. While Twitter debates if the bubble is popping, smart operators are quietly building 10x faster. Whether you are a designer or a founder, if you aren't integrating AI right now, you are voluntarily slowing yourself down.

November recap ✨ Had a few nice ideas I still like Wdyt? :D

November recap ✨ Had a few nice ideas I still like Wdyt? :D

Thanks to @d__raptis I spent an hour in gemini instead of work, but I've got this 👀 Barely holding myself from changing my pfp to this one

I saw this post on LinkedIn a few days ago. It claims you need "decades of experience" to earn premium rates ($10k+). I respect the sentiment, but I completely disagree. In fact, I know designers with 10+ years of experience who are currently billing **half** of my rate.