CASE STUDY
Unslashed Finance - Decentralized Insurance Protocol

- TIMELINE
- Jun 2020 - Dec 2020
- COMPANY
- Unslashed Finance
- MY ROLE
- Founding Designer
The Project
Founding designer for a DeFi insurance protocol. Designed the full UX, claims flow, and design system from scratch. $100M+ TVL at launch.
The Challenge
A working MVP, no real user experience
2020 was early DeFi. Most protocols shipped bare-minimum interfaces, and users were eager to explore but hesitant to commit capital when the UX felt unpolished. In a space where people trust code with their money, a credible experience was a direct competitive advantage.
Before I joined, the team had a functional protocol, but the interface was a raw smart contract wrapper that barely showcased its capabilities. The UX didn't match the ambition.

Research & Discovery
Understanding what DeFi users actually need from insurance
Through 1:1 interviews, competitive analysis of Nexus Mutual and Cover Protocol, and jobs-to-be-done mapping, I identified the core tension: users understood the coverage conceptually but couldn't evaluate what they were actually protected against. Trust wasn't just about smart contract security. It was about whether the interface communicated risk clearly enough to commit capital.
Competing protocols prioritized functionality over clarity. The opportunity was to make the experience self-explanatory for cover buyers and capital providers.
Mapping a protocol with two very different user types
The first step was untangling the product's complexity. Unslashed serves two audiences with opposing mental models: capital providers seeking yield, and cover buyers seeking protection.
I mapped every state, flow, and relationship across the protocol: collateral management, cover purchasing, claims filing, dispute resolution, and policy documentation. This IA became the foundation for every design decision that followed.
The Solution
Experience Design: three core workflows, one coherent product
The platform supported three core journeys: Collaterals, where capital providers deposit into markets, track APY, and manage withdrawals. Covers, where buyers browse, purchase, and manage protection policies. And Claims, where users file incidents and navigate deposit requirements, challenge periods, and dispute resolution through Kleros arbitration.




Focus
Claims Flow Deep Dive: designing trust into a trustless system
The claims process was the highest-stakes flow in the product. I designed a step-by-step guided experience: select protocol, choose incident type, specify compensation, understand deposit requirements, and submit. Every step surfaces the right context at the right time, because in DeFi, clarity is the difference between trust and abandonment.
If a claim gets challenged, it enters Kleros arbitration. The UI needed to communicate status transitions, evidence windows, and appeal mechanics without overwhelming the user.



Landing Page Design
First impressions convert
I designed and built a landing page using Figma and Webflow to give the protocol a credible front door. The goal was to turn curious DeFi users into cover buyers and capital providers by communicating the value proposition clearly and inspiring trust from the first interaction.

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