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#CaseStudy #Web3 #Marketplace #B2B
HypeKOLs: Building Trust in Crypto Influencer Marketing
Designed a Web3 marketplace that connects crypto brands with Twitter KOLs, combining advanced analytics, dynamic filtering, and escrow-secured workflows to create transparency and trust in influencer collaborations.
Tools Used:
🛠 Figma
🛠 Competitive Research
🛠 Prototyping & Testing
🛠 Design Systems
Overview
Influencer marketing in Web3 has long been plagued by fake followers, opaque engagement, and informal negotiations over DMs. Brands often lacked the tools to evaluate whether they were paying for real reach, while KOLs had no secure way to structure deals and guarantee payment.
The goal of HypeKOLs was to build a transparent, data-driven marketplace that empowered brands to discover, evaluate, and hire crypto influencers with confidence. I designed the entire product experience — from rich analytics-driven profile pages, to a fully responsive KOL database with powerful dynamic filters, to an escrow-backed job lifecycle that ensured accountability on both sides.
Goal: Redefine crypto influencer marketing by combining marketplace mechanics with advanced analytics and blockchain-secured workflows.
My Role
I worked as the Lead Product Designer on this project, collaborating closely with the product owner, art director, junior designer, and developers. I led the UX/UI for both the web and mobile platforms.
My responsibilities spanned from user research and wireframing to visual design and prototyping. I also conducted usability tests and implemented design solutions based on real user feedback and behavioral analytics.
Landing Page
In-Platform Database
Discover
Researched pain points in crypto influencer marketing, analyzed competing platforms (Whop, Upwork, Koinly).
Define
Mapped requirements for both brands and KOLs, focusing on transparency, secure payments, and advanced filtering.
Develop
Designed and prototyped responsive flows — from KOL profiles to filtering tools to campaign dashboards.
Deliver
Built a scalable Figma design system, delivered high-fidelity mockups, and collaborated closely with engineers to launch an MVP
The Challenge
In crypto marketing, trust was broken. Brands were paying influencers with inflated follower counts and unverifiable engagement, often arranging deals through DMs with no accountability. Campaign results were unpredictable, payments unreliable, and many collaborations ended in disputes.
For influencers, the process was equally frustrating — negotiations were messy, payment security was uncertain, and there was no easy way to showcase verified impact.
We needed to design a platform that solved both sides of the equation: give brands transparent data and control, while giving KOLs a secure, professional way to monetize their audience.
Process and Strategy
To shape the product, I conducted research into both sides of the marketplace — crypto brands seeking trusted promotion, and KOLs looking for secure monetization. Through competitive analysis (Whop, Upwork, Koinly) and stakeholder discussions, I identified recurring pain points: lack of transparency, inflated metrics, unstructured deal-making, and unreliable payments.
From these insights, I built two primary user personas: the brand manager focused on ROI and audience quality, and the KOL focused on credibility and fair compensation. These personas guided design priorities across the platform.
To address their needs, I designed HypeKOLs around three core pillars:
- Discovery – advanced filtering and a data-rich KOL database.
- Trust – escrow-backed workflows and verifiable analytics.
- Efficiency – streamlined negotiation, approvals, and payouts in one place.
Jasmine, 32
“The Growth-Focused Brand Manager”
Goals:
- Launch campaigns that reach real crypto audiences.
- Compare KOLs by engagement, not vanity follower counts.
Frustrations:
- Fake followers inflate costs.
- Negotiations in DMs are unprofessional and risky.
- Hard to track ROI or validate influencer claims.
Habits:
- Runs multiple campaigns in parallel.
- Needs fast filtering to shortlist KOLs by budget, niche, and engagement rate.
- Works under pressure with limited time.
Motivators:
- Transparent analytics (Smart Followers, Impact Score).
- Escrow-protected payments.
- End-to-end workflow from hiring to reporting in one platform.
Alex, 32
The Crypto Native KOL
Goals:
- Monetize Twitter following consistently and fairly.
- Showcase credibility with verified engagement metrics.
- Build long-term brand relationships, not just one-off deals.
Frustrations:
- Brands don’t trust follower counts.
- Payments delayed or sometimes never arrive.
- Constant negotiation fatigue.
Habits:
- Posts multiple times per day.
- Engages with crypto communities (DAOs, NFTs, DeFi).
- Chooses collaborations carefully to protect reputation.
Motivators:
- Clear service listings with set prices (tweet, thread, repost, spaces).
- On-chain payments in stablecoins (USDC).
- Easy-to-use dashboard to manage offers and campaigns.
Profiles
Analytics, Smart Followers, pricing.
Database
Search, compare, shortlist KOLs.
Filtering
Precise targeting by metrics.
Campaigns
Manage offers and results.
Escrow
Secure USDC payments.
User Flows and Architecture Overview
Highlight: Advanced Filtering
To help brands cut through noise and inflated metrics, I designed a dynamic filtering system that empowered users to narrow searches with precision.
The tool supported multiple operators (>, <, =, between, contains, true/false) across metrics like Smart Followers, engagement rate, service pricing, and past collaborations. This gave brands the ability to pinpoint KOLs that matched very specific campaign criteria.
The impact was immediate: brands could quickly shortlist influencers that truly fit their budget, niche, and performance needs, making discovery faster, easier, and far more transparent than competing platforms.
Result: Users gained confidence in campaign planning and significantly reduced the time spent finding the right KOLs.
Advanced Filtering in the Databse
Creating a Seamless
Cross-Platform Experience
One of the biggest challenges was ensuring the KOL database and campaign tools worked seamlessly across desktop and mobile. Brand managers often searched and shortlisted influencers on desktop, while KOLs managed offers and approvals on mobile.
Using shared components in Figma and a responsive design system, I created layouts that adapted fluidly to each context. The same features — profile analytics, advanced filters, escrow flow, and chat — were optimized to feel consistent and accessible across all devices.
This ensured that no feature felt limited to one platform, giving both brands and KOLs the flexibility to work how and where they preferred.
Job Flow
End-to-end workflow for offers, escrow, and campaign management.
Mobile
Web
User profile
Analytics-rich dashboard showcasing performance and services.
Mobile
Web
KOL Database
The central hub for discovering and comparing influencers.
Mobile
Web
Landing Page
The entry point introducing HypeKOLs and its value proposition.
Mobile
Web
Outcomes
The launch of HypeKOLs delivered measurable improvements across discovery, trust, and workflow. Brands could now find and evaluate KOLs faster, while influencers benefited from transparent pricing and escrow-secured payments.
The advanced filtering system became a standout feature, giving businesses confidence that every campaign was reaching the right audience at the right price.
+45%
Faster time-to-shortlist using dynamic filters
100%
Secure payments via USDC escrow
Global
adoption across brands and KOLs in multiple regions
92%
Positive feedback from both brands and influencers
What I Learned
Designing for both sides of a two-sided marketplace — brands and KOLs — taught me the importance of balancing trust and usability. Each group had unique goals, but both needed clarity, transparency, and security to engage confidently.
I learned that small details — like flexible filters, clear service pricing, and transparent workflow steps — can dramatically increase user trust. More than flashy visuals, it was data integrity and process clarity that created lasting value.
This project also strengthened my ability to design for Web3-specific behaviors, ensuring that blockchain features like escrow and smart contracts felt intuitive, not intimidating.
DATA OVER HYPE.
Conclusion
Designing HypeKOLs was about bringing clarity and trust to one of the most opaque areas in Web3: influencer marketing. By structuring the platform around transparent analytics, dynamic filtering, and escrow-backed workflows, we created an experience that empowered both sides of the marketplace — brands and KOLs alike.
The introduction of Smart Follower metrics and advanced filters gave brands confidence that they were reaching real audiences. Meanwhile, KOLs gained a professional, secure way to monetize their reach through clear service pricing and guaranteed payment.
Through research and iteration, I learned that trust is built through data and workflow transparency, not just design polish. The result wasn’t just a marketplace — it was a platform evolution, redefining how crypto brands and influencers collaborate.
Back to works
Back to works
#CaseStudy #Web3 #Marketplace #B2B
HypeKOLs: Building Trust in Crypto Influencer Marketing
Designed a Web3 marketplace that connects crypto brands with Twitter KOLs, combining advanced analytics, dynamic filtering, and escrow-secured workflows to create transparency and trust in influencer collaborations.
Tools Used:
🛠 Figma
🛠 Competitive Research
🛠 Prototyping & Testing
🛠 Design Systems
Overview
Influencer marketing in Web3 has long been plagued by fake followers, opaque engagement, and informal negotiations over DMs. Brands often lacked the tools to evaluate whether they were paying for real reach, while KOLs had no secure way to structure deals and guarantee payment.
The goal of HypeKOLs was to build a transparent, data-driven marketplace that empowered brands to discover, evaluate, and hire crypto influencers with confidence. I designed the entire product experience — from rich analytics-driven profile pages, to a fully responsive KOL database with powerful dynamic filters, to an escrow-backed job lifecycle that ensured accountability on both sides.
Goal: Redefine crypto influencer marketing by combining marketplace mechanics with advanced analytics and blockchain-secured workflows.
My Role
I worked as the Lead Product Designer on this project, collaborating closely with the product owner, art director, junior designer, and developers. I led the UX/UI for both the web and mobile platforms.
My responsibilities spanned from user research and wireframing to visual design and prototyping. I also conducted usability tests and implemented design solutions based on real user feedback and behavioral analytics.
Landing Page
In-Platform Database
Discover
Researched pain points in crypto influencer marketing, analyzed competing platforms (Whop, Upwork, Koinly).
Define
Mapped requirements for both brands and KOLs, focusing on transparency, secure payments, and advanced filtering.
Develop
Designed and prototyped responsive flows — from KOL profiles to filtering tools to campaign dashboards.
Deliver
Built a scalable Figma design system, delivered high-fidelity mockups, and collaborated closely with engineers to launch an MVP
The Challenge
In crypto marketing, trust was broken. Brands were paying influencers with inflated follower counts and unverifiable engagement, often arranging deals through DMs with no accountability. Campaign results were unpredictable, payments unreliable, and many collaborations ended in disputes.
For influencers, the process was equally frustrating — negotiations were messy, payment security was uncertain, and there was no easy way to showcase verified impact.
We needed to design a platform that solved both sides of the equation: give brands transparent data and control, while giving KOLs a secure, professional way to monetize their audience.
Process and Strategy
To shape the product, I conducted research into both sides of the marketplace — crypto brands seeking trusted promotion, and KOLs looking for secure monetization. Through competitive analysis (Whop, Upwork, Koinly) and stakeholder discussions, I identified recurring pain points: lack of transparency, inflated metrics, unstructured deal-making, and unreliable payments.
From these insights, I built two primary user personas: the brand manager focused on ROI and audience quality, and the KOL focused on credibility and fair compensation. These personas guided design priorities across the platform.
To address their needs, I designed HypeKOLs around three core pillars:
- Discovery – advanced filtering and a data-rich KOL database.
- Trust – escrow-backed workflows and verifiable analytics.
- Efficiency – streamlined negotiation, approvals, and payouts in one place.
Jasmine, 32
“The Growth-Focused Brand Manager”
Goals:
- Launch campaigns that reach real crypto audiences.
- Compare KOLs by engagement, not vanity follower counts.
Frustrations:
- Fake followers inflate costs.
- Negotiations in DMs are unprofessional and risky.
- Hard to track ROI or validate influencer claims.
Habits:
- Runs multiple campaigns in parallel.
- Needs fast filtering to shortlist KOLs by budget, niche, and engagement rate.
- Works under pressure with limited time.
Motivators:
- Transparent analytics (Smart Followers, Impact Score).
- Escrow-protected payments.
- End-to-end workflow from hiring to reporting in one platform.
Alex, 32
The Crypto Native KOL
Goals:
- Monetize Twitter following consistently and fairly.
- Showcase credibility with verified engagement metrics.
- Build long-term brand relationships, not just one-off deals.
Frustrations:
- Brands don’t trust follower counts.
- Payments delayed or sometimes never arrive.
- Constant negotiation fatigue.
Habits:
- Posts multiple times per day.
- Engages with crypto communities (DAOs, NFTs, DeFi).
- Chooses collaborations carefully to protect reputation.
Motivators:
- Clear service listings with set prices (tweet, thread, repost, spaces).
- On-chain payments in stablecoins (USDC).
- Easy-to-use dashboard to manage offers and campaigns.
Profiles
Analytics, Smart Followers, pricing.
Database
Search, compare, shortlist KOLs.
Filtering
Precise targeting by metrics.
Campaigns
Manage offers and results.
Escrow
Secure USDC payments.
User Flows and Architecture Overview
Highlight: Advanced Filtering
To help brands cut through noise and inflated metrics, I designed a dynamic filtering system that empowered users to narrow searches with precision.
The tool supported multiple operators (>, <, =, between, contains, true/false) across metrics like Smart Followers, engagement rate, service pricing, and past collaborations. This gave brands the ability to pinpoint KOLs that matched very specific campaign criteria.
The impact was immediate: brands could quickly shortlist influencers that truly fit their budget, niche, and performance needs, making discovery faster, easier, and far more transparent than competing platforms.
Result: Users gained confidence in campaign planning and significantly reduced the time spent finding the right KOLs.
Advanced Filtering in the Databse
Creating a Seamless
Cross-Platform Experience
One of the biggest challenges was ensuring the KOL database and campaign tools worked seamlessly across desktop and mobile. Brand managers often searched and shortlisted influencers on desktop, while KOLs managed offers and approvals on mobile.
Using shared components in Figma and a responsive design system, I created layouts that adapted fluidly to each context. The same features — profile analytics, advanced filters, escrow flow, and chat — were optimized to feel consistent and accessible across all devices.
This ensured that no feature felt limited to one platform, giving both brands and KOLs the flexibility to work how and where they preferred.
Job Flow
End-to-end workflow for offers, escrow, and campaign management.
Mobile
Web
User profile
Analytics-rich dashboard showcasing performance and services.
Mobile
Web
KOL Database
The central hub for discovering and comparing influencers.
Mobile
Web
Landing Page
The entry point introducing HypeKOLs and its value proposition.
Mobile
Web
Outcomes
The launch of HypeKOLs delivered measurable improvements across discovery, trust, and workflow. Brands could now find and evaluate KOLs faster, while influencers benefited from transparent pricing and escrow-secured payments.
The advanced filtering system became a standout feature, giving businesses confidence that every campaign was reaching the right audience at the right price.
+45%
Faster time-to-shortlist using dynamic filters
100%
Secure payments via USDC escrow
Global
adoption across brands and KOLs in multiple regions
92%
Positive feedback from both brands and influencers
What I Learned
Designing for both sides of a two-sided marketplace — brands and KOLs — taught me the importance of balancing trust and usability. Each group had unique goals, but both needed clarity, transparency, and security to engage confidently.
I learned that small details — like flexible filters, clear service pricing, and transparent workflow steps — can dramatically increase user trust. More than flashy visuals, it was data integrity and process clarity that created lasting value.
This project also strengthened my ability to design for Web3-specific behaviors, ensuring that blockchain features like escrow and smart contracts felt intuitive, not intimidating.
DATA OVER HYPE.
Conclusion
Designing HypeKOLs was about bringing clarity and trust to one of the most opaque areas in Web3: influencer marketing. By structuring the platform around transparent analytics, dynamic filtering, and escrow-backed workflows, we created an experience that empowered both sides of the marketplace — brands and KOLs alike.
The introduction of Smart Follower metrics and advanced filters gave brands confidence that they were reaching real audiences. Meanwhile, KOLs gained a professional, secure way to monetize their reach through clear service pricing and guaranteed payment.
Through research and iteration, I learned that trust is built through data and workflow transparency, not just design polish. The result wasn’t just a marketplace — it was a platform evolution, redefining how crypto brands and influencers collaborate.
Back to works
Back to works
#CaseStudy #Web3 #Marketplace #B2B
HypeKOLs: Building Trust in Crypto Influencer Marketing
Designed a Web3 marketplace that connects crypto brands with Twitter KOLs, combining advanced analytics, dynamic filtering, and escrow-secured workflows to create transparency and trust in influencer collaborations.
Tools Used:
🛠 Figma
🛠 Competitive Research
🛠 Prototyping & Testing
🛠 Design Systems
Overview
Influencer marketing in Web3 has long been plagued by fake followers, opaque engagement, and informal negotiations over DMs. Brands often lacked the tools to evaluate whether they were paying for real reach, while KOLs had no secure way to structure deals and guarantee payment.
The goal of HypeKOLs was to build a transparent, data-driven marketplace that empowered brands to discover, evaluate, and hire crypto influencers with confidence. I designed the entire product experience — from rich analytics-driven profile pages, to a fully responsive KOL database with powerful dynamic filters, to an escrow-backed job lifecycle that ensured accountability on both sides.
Goal: Redefine crypto influencer marketing by combining marketplace mechanics with advanced analytics and blockchain-secured workflows.
My Role
I worked as the Lead Product Designer on this project, collaborating closely with the product owner, art director, junior designer, and developers. I led the UX/UI for both the web and mobile platforms.
My responsibilities spanned from user research and wireframing to visual design and prototyping. I also conducted usability tests and implemented design solutions based on real user feedback and behavioral analytics.
Landing Page
In-Platform Database
Discover
Researched pain points in crypto influencer marketing, analyzed competing platforms (Whop, Upwork, Koinly).
Define
Mapped requirements for both brands and KOLs, focusing on transparency, secure payments, and advanced filtering.
Develop
Designed and prototyped responsive flows — from KOL profiles to filtering tools to campaign dashboards.
Deliver
Built a scalable Figma design system, delivered high-fidelity mockups, and collaborated closely with engineers to launch an MVP
✌️
🤝
👍
👏
The Challenge
In crypto marketing, trust was broken. Brands were paying influencers with inflated follower counts and unverifiable engagement, often arranging deals through DMs with no accountability. Campaign results were unpredictable, payments unreliable, and many collaborations ended in disputes.
For influencers, the process was equally frustrating — negotiations were messy, payment security was uncertain, and there was no easy way to showcase verified impact.
We needed to design a platform that solved both sides of the equation: give brands transparent data and control, while giving KOLs a secure, professional way to monetize their audience.
Process and Strategy
To shape the product, I conducted research into both sides of the marketplace — crypto brands seeking trusted promotion, and KOLs looking for secure monetization. Through competitive analysis (Whop, Upwork, Koinly) and stakeholder discussions, I identified recurring pain points: lack of transparency, inflated metrics, unstructured deal-making, and unreliable payments.
From these insights, I built two primary user personas: the brand manager focused on ROI and audience quality, and the KOL focused on credibility and fair compensation. These personas guided design priorities across the platform.
To address their needs, I designed HypeKOLs around three core pillars:
- Discovery – advanced filtering and a data-rich KOL database.
- Trust – escrow-backed workflows and verifiable analytics.
- Efficiency – streamlined negotiation, approvals, and payouts in one place.
Jasmine, 32
“The Growth-Focused Brand Manager”
Goals:
- Launch campaigns that reach real crypto audiences.
- Compare KOLs by engagement, not vanity follower counts.
Frustrations:
- Fake followers inflate costs.
- Negotiations in DMs are unprofessional and risky.
- Hard to track ROI or validate influencer claims.
Habits:
- Runs multiple campaigns in parallel.
- Needs fast filtering to shortlist KOLs by budget, niche, and engagement rate.
- Works under pressure with limited time.
Motivators:
- Transparent analytics (Smart Followers, Impact Score).
- Escrow-protected payments.
- End-to-end workflow from hiring to reporting in one platform.
Alex, 32
The Crypto Native KOL
Goals:
- Monetize Twitter following consistently and fairly.
- Showcase credibility with verified engagement metrics.
- Build long-term brand relationships, not just one-off deals.
Frustrations:
- Brands don’t trust follower counts.
- Payments delayed or sometimes never arrive.
- Constant negotiation fatigue.
Habits:
- Posts multiple times per day.
- Engages with crypto communities (DAOs, NFTs, DeFi).
- Chooses collaborations carefully to protect reputation.
Motivators:
- Clear service listings with set prices (tweet, thread, repost, spaces).
- On-chain payments in stablecoins (USDC).
- Easy-to-use dashboard to manage offers and campaigns.
Profiles
Analytics, Smart Followers, pricing.
Database
Search, compare, shortlist KOLs.
Filtering
Precise targeting by metrics.
Campaigns
Manage offers and results.
Escrow
Secure USDC payments.
User Flows and Architecture Overview
Highlight: Advanced Filtering
To help brands cut through noise and inflated metrics, I designed a dynamic filtering system that empowered users to narrow searches with precision.
The tool supported multiple operators (>, <, =, between, contains, true/false) across metrics like Smart Followers, engagement rate, service pricing, and past collaborations. This gave brands the ability to pinpoint KOLs that matched very specific campaign criteria.
The impact was immediate: brands could quickly shortlist influencers that truly fit their budget, niche, and performance needs, making discovery faster, easier, and far more transparent than competing platforms.
Result: Users gained confidence in campaign planning and significantly reduced the time spent finding the right KOLs.
Advanced Filtering in the Databse
Creating a Seamless
Cross-Platform Experience
One of the biggest challenges was ensuring the KOL database and campaign tools worked seamlessly across desktop and mobile. Brand managers often searched and shortlisted influencers on desktop, while KOLs managed offers and approvals on mobile.
Using shared components in Figma and a responsive design system, I created layouts that adapted fluidly to each context. The same features — profile analytics, advanced filters, escrow flow, and chat — were optimized to feel consistent and accessible across all devices.
This ensured that no feature felt limited to one platform, giving both brands and KOLs the flexibility to work how and where they preferred.
Job Flow
End-to-end workflow for offers, escrow, and campaign management.
Mobile
Web
User profile
Analytics-rich dashboard showcasing performance and services.
Mobile
Web
KOL Database
The central hub for discovering and comparing influencers.
Mobile
Web
Landing Page
The entry point introducing HypeKOLs and its value proposition.
Mobile
Web
Outcomes
The launch of HypeKOLs delivered measurable improvements across discovery, trust, and workflow. Brands could now find and evaluate KOLs faster, while influencers benefited from transparent pricing and escrow-secured payments.
The advanced filtering system became a standout feature, giving businesses confidence that every campaign was reaching the right audience at the right price.
+45%
Faster time-to-shortlist using dynamic filters
100%
Secure payments via USDC escrow
Global
adoption across brands and KOLs in multiple regions
92%
Positive feedback from both brands and influencers
What I Learned
Designing for both sides of a two-sided marketplace — brands and KOLs — taught me the importance of balancing trust and usability. Each group had unique goals, but both needed clarity, transparency, and security to engage confidently.
I learned that small details — like flexible filters, clear service pricing, and transparent workflow steps — can dramatically increase user trust. More than flashy visuals, it was data integrity and process clarity that created lasting value.
This project also strengthened my ability to design for Web3-specific behaviors, ensuring that blockchain features like escrow and smart contracts felt intuitive, not intimidating.
DATA OVER HYPE.
Conclusion
Designing HypeKOLs was about bringing clarity and trust to one of the most opaque areas in Web3: influencer marketing. By structuring the platform around transparent analytics, dynamic filtering, and escrow-backed workflows, we created an experience that empowered both sides of the marketplace — brands and KOLs alike.
The introduction of Smart Follower metrics and advanced filters gave brands confidence that they were reaching real audiences. Meanwhile, KOLs gained a professional, secure way to monetize their reach through clear service pricing and guaranteed payment.
Through research and iteration, I learned that trust is built through data and workflow transparency, not just design polish. The result wasn’t just a marketplace — it was a platform evolution, redefining how crypto brands and influencers collaborate.
Back to works