Coinbase
|
2025
As a Product Designer on Coinbase’s Base team, I helped shape the platform’s web navigation experience from the ground up. Starting with a blank slate, we set out to design a simple, intuitive way for users to explore everything Base offers on the web through a clear and purposeful navigation system. I collaborated closely with engineers, PMs, researchers, and designers, focusing throughout the process on transforming complex ideas into a seamless user journey through rapid iteration and continuous feedback.
ROLE
Product Designer
(was the sole designer for this project)
TEAM
1 Product Manager
1 UI System Designer
1 User Researcher
1 Visual Designer
TIMELINE
July - September 2025
TOOL
Figma
CONTEXT
What is the Base App?
Base is Coinbase’s new consumer app designed to make crypto simple and part of everyday life. It’s a one-stop hub where users can store and send tokens, explore onchain apps, join communities through social experiences, make payments, and build an onchain identity.
In short: Base is Coinbase’s attempt to make crypto usable by anyone, every day — not just crypto-native users.
PROBLEM
The Base App lacks a web navigation system
When Base started expanding to the web, we were working from a completely blank slate — no navigation system, no framework, no patterns to guide us.
Our challenge was to design a navigation experience that felt simple, intuitive, and scalable from day one. It needed to help users explore everything Base has to offer and make moving through the product feel effortless, even as the platform grows.
Thus, we asked ourselves:
How might we design a web navigation system that helps users effortlessly discover, explore, and move through Base?
SOLUTION
Turning a blank slate into a foundational navigation system
Starting from a blank slate gave us the opportunity to design navigation intentionally — focused on clarity, accessibility, and scalability. Our goal was to create a system that felt intuitive to new users and powerful enough for experienced ones.
Core features of the navigation system
1. A sidebar built for the web:
We moved the mobile bottom bar into a left-aligned sidebar — a familiar web pattern that keeps key actions always visible and easy to access.
2. On-click content creation:
A dedicated "Create" button at the bottom of the left sidebar gives creators instant access to publish content without breaking flow.
3. Quick actions in a right sidebar:
On the opposite side, we introduced a right sidebar with high-impact actions. The Transact button lets users trade from anywhere, while Chat opens conversations instantly — reducing friction and keeping momentum high.
4. Centralized account controls
All account actions — switching, managing recovery, settings, or logging out — now live in one consistent place in the top-right corner.
↓ Scroll for the process!
AUDIT
Learning from what's already working
Before jumping into solutions, I started by exploring how other platforms approach navigation. I looked at direct competitors in the crypto space and even went beyond the industry — analyzing social media apps and platforms like Google.
A few patterns did emerge
📱 Consistency mattersAligning web and mobile nav patterns to reduce relearning and create familiarity. | 🌟 Focus on core actionsKeep navigation focused on high-frequency tasks and move extras into overflow. | 🗂️ Central account centerPlace login, profile, and any other account management settings in the same location. |
USER RESEARCH
Grounding decisions in real user needs
Of course, no design project is complete — or truly impactful — without user research. Before we could design the right navigation system, we first needed to figure out who we were actually designing it for.
Working closely with our UXR team, we dug into the ecosystem to understand our audience — their motivations, behaviors, and goals. Through interviews, surveys, and usability sessions, we discovered two core groups at the heart of the Base experience:
👩💻 Consumers: Crypto TradersUsers who primarily buy assets, find alpha info through social channels, and trade to profit. | 🧑🎨 Creators: Subject Matter ExpertsCrypto-savvy creators sharing alpha insights and trades to build clout and credibility on the app. |
* We also identified other important audiences — like influencers, newcomers to crypto, and casual explorers — who would eventually become part of the experience. But for this project, crypto traders and subject matter experts were our P0 users, the most critical groups to design around.
The deeper we went with our research, the more we saw how interconnected these two groups are. Creators drive activity by sharing valuable content, and consumers engage with it, fueling trading and growth. That momentum, in turn, rewards creators with more reach and credibility. Together, they form a powerful flywheel:
That insight reframed our design challenge. Navigation wasn’t just about helping users move around; it was also about accelerating that cycle and making every step just one click away.
This led us to our next guiding question:
How might we design the web navigation so every step of the flywheel is always just one click away?
Through this research work, we also identified clear priorities for each user group:
👩💻 Consumers: Crypto TradersHelp me quickly share insights with friends so we can act together. Give me fast access to high-value info, so I can stay ahead and make smarter trades. | 🧑🎨 Creators: Subject Matter ExpertsHelp me easily publish insights as soon as opportunities arise. Help me get fast feedback on engagement so I can keep my momentum for creating content. |
BRAINSTORM
Exploring navigation ideas to get users where they need to go
From there, we mapped the user journeys for both creators and consumers, identifying where friction and inefficiencies slowed them down.
We then explored opportunities to simplify the experience — making key actions faster, smoother, and easier to access.
I then explored different navigation approaches, including ideas like quick links and how to define primary vs. secondary navigation, to figure out how information is organized and how to guide users to the right place more efficiently.
FEEDBACK
Refining the experience through iteration and team input
After exploring different ideas, I began bringing navigation designs weekly in Base App Design team crits and sharing them in our Base App design Slack channel to gather async feedback regularly.
One major takeaway was the idea of introducing a right sidebar for quick actions. This allowed users (especially crypto traders) to see and use important tools without leaving the screen they’re on, removing an extra step of navigating elsewhere and keeping their workflow uninterrupted.
I also iterated extensively on visual design, ensuring the Base website felt cohesive and aligned with existing patterns on the Coinbase retail site.
FINAL SOLUTION
A streamlined navigation built for both consumers and creators
We started by rethinking the main navigation bar. On web, we moved the mobile bottom bar to a left sidebar, aligning with industry standards to keep key actions visible and easy to access on a larger screen.
At the bottom of the nav bar, we added a “Create” button — built specifically for creators, giving them one-click access to content creation tools.
On the right side, we introduced a quick actions sidebar for consumers, giving them instant access to commonly used features. This includes a Transact tab, which lets users trade from anywhere on the site without breaking their flow, and a chat button that opens directly on-screen, allowing them to join conversations without context-switching.
We also explored additional states — including how the experience adapts on mobile web, tablet view, and collapsed navigation states — to ensure the design remains flexible and consistent across devices.
REFLECTION
Lessons I learned along the way
Beyond the final outcome, this project really changed the way I think about design. It taught me to look past individual screens and pixels and focus more on the bigger picture — why certain decisions are made, how each piece connects to the overall experience, and how design can shape the direction of a product as it grows.
Two key lessons stood out from this project
🧐 Research Early, Design Smarter: One of the biggest lessons was the value of bringing user research in from the very start. Early insights helped guide decisions, clarify priorities, and ensure our solutions were grounded in real user needs.
🙋♀️ Stay Curious: Continuously asking “why” — to myself and the team — helped me dig deeper and uncover insights I might have missed. That curiosity kept the work focused and ensured every decision had a clear purpose.
