Role: Lead Designer Responsible for end-to-end UI/UX
Popset is an on-chain social network meant to serve as an onramp to Web3 for Web 2.0 natives.
My job was to design v1 of their app, working closely with their stakeholders and our developers to make sure their ideal features and the technical limitations were built into the designs.
Identifying Web3’s roadblocks
Popset’s founders are NFT enthusiasts and saw an untapped market of people interested but turned away from collecting for various reasons
Some of those reasons included:
Web3 can be overwhelming
There’s lots of technical jargon
Few services are mobile-friendly
Designing for the audience
Younger generations are more likely to adopt new tech; crypto is no exception
Because Gen Z is more interested in web3 than others, we leaned into an interface inspired by their favorite social networks: Instagram and TikTok
Maximizing the content
We wanted to make the photos as large as possible, leaning into overlays for liking or collecting
At first I was apprehensive about it, but the approach’s popularity on TikTok and Instagram Reels meant that people intuitively understood the overlays
Simplifying onchain transactions
Making minting and collecting as simple as two taps
By abstracting away the $SOL, gas fees, and contracts involved in transactions, we were able to make minting or collecting tokens a two-tap process
Branding the app listing
After the brand designs were made, the client asked me to design their App Store assets
Using the brand kit provided by The Branding People, the founders wanted me to incorporate more colors into the app’s icon and screenshots
Outcomes
Solana backed the company
App successfully released on iOS and Android
Beta and early users were enthusiastic, but use declined due to lack of social features
Struggled to get creators onboard due to low engagement
REtrospective
Focusing on comments, messaging, and discovery would’ve helped sustain early engagement
It’s harder than ever to start a social network – people expect highly refined, algorithmic recommendations that require an extensive social graph and lots of funding
A word from rob:
Lead Developer on Popset
“The best part about working with Tom wasn’t just his deep understanding of UI/UX principles or his remarkable empathy for clients—it was how consistently he respected developers’ time throughout the process. He balanced creativity with practical solutions, simplified workflows and communication, and made sure we stayed on track without ever losing sight of creativity or what users truly needed.”
