DBAY Exchange

Challenges

• Tight 2-week turnaround with daily deliverables
• Outdated UI with inconsistent visual language
• No prior design system or strong brand identity
• Coordination with an overseas dev team in real time

Objectives

• Modernize the platform to align with current UI trends
• Build user trust through culturally appropriate visual language
• Ensure seamless UX for both new and frequent traders
• Restructure layout for trading-first behavior
• Deliver designs fast enough to keep pace with live development

Design Approach

Understanding the Problem
The original UI used a color palette that unintentionally triggered mistrust especially in Vietnam and China, where red is associated with gain and green with loss, the opposite of most Western markets. I knew immediately that the color system had to be rethought.

Visual Direction
I proposed a blue-gradient palette as the neutral base, with color-coded highlights that respected regional associations. The result: a more trustworthy, clean look that aligned better with users’ mental models.

Layout Realignment
The homepage was restructured to show what most users cared about: their investment value upfront. I brought the Buy/Sell experience forward in the flow to reduce friction and motivate transactions.

Quick Research Tactics
Even though the client skipped formal research due to time constraints, I conducted a quick, informal survey with traders to validate design direction and user goals. I also ran a competitive audit using platforms preferred by the client to spot UX patterns worth adopting or avoiding.

Localization & Collaboration
To ensure localization worked, I worked with the DBay team to fine-tune Vietnamese copywriting and made sure designs were structured for both layout harmony and linguistic clarity. This minimized implementation issues for the overseas dev team.

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UX Research

Since the project skipped formal user interviews due to time constraints, I grounded my process in a heuristic evaluation of the existing platform. I reviewed each screen against Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics, identifying violations in areas like:

• Visual hierarchy – Important data was buried or poorly grouped
• Consistency & standards – Color meanings conflicted with user expectations in the region
• Error prevention – The buy/sell flows lacked clear confirmation steps
• Aesthetic & minimalist design – UI was cluttered with low visual contrast, leading to mistrust

Each issue was annotated and prioritized to guide the redesign. This evaluation helped justify major layout and color changes, especially in the absence of hard data.

I also supplemented this with a quick competitive analysis using platforms preferred by the client to benchmark layout, trust signals, and onboarding flows.

Together, these methods ensured that even with minimal time and research access, the redesign was rooted in usability principles and market awareness.

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In parallel, I ran a competitive analysis, asking the client to share crypto platforms they admired. I quickly assessed those references to identify effective trust signals, layout patterns, and content strategiesespecially how they presented market data and crypto asset value.

My focus for this project was clear:
👉 Prioritize how information about cryptocurrencies is displayed and build a strong sense of trust between the user and the platform.

Together, these lean research methods ensured that even under tight constraints, the redesign was rooted in usability principles and aligned with both client vision and user expectations.

Results

• Delivered full desktop redesign within 2 weeks
• Completed mobile UI in an additional 2-week sprint
• Increased website traffic from the Vietnamese market post-launch
• Client was satisfied and extended the partnership for further redesign projects
• Gained experience designing for a non-local market and collaborating with an overseas development team

Design

Initially, I designed a landing page with bright and fun vibes as to cater to the trust matter and following crypto design trends. The client wishes to maintain the dark style of the current website and make it more business-like profile. So I came up with these two designs:

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DBAY Exchange pick the second option and then I continue with designing the rest of the inside pages following the style of the agreed landing page design. Delivering and fixing design everyday for the next two weeks until the project is completed.

Lessons Learned

Designing for a different cultural context taught me that even small details like color choices can deeply influence user perception and trust. It was a valuable reminder that UI is never neutral; it reflects and shapes how users interpret meaning.

This was also my first experience collaborating with an overseas development team. Despite language barriers, the daily design handoffs and focused sprints helped keep us aligned. I learned how to structure my files and annotations more clearly for remote teams, and how to ask the right questions early to avoid misalignment later.

Lastly, working without formal research pushed me to be resourceful. Heuristic evaluation and competitive analysis became my compass. It reaffirmed that even without full UX resources, good design decisions can still be grounded in principles, patterns, and intent.

Reflection

This project taught me that trust isn’t just about features, it’s embedded in color, copy, and context. Working with a non-Malaysian market and adapting to a reversed color meaning challenged my assumptions and expanded my cultural design literacy. Collaborating with overseas developers pushed me to be clearer, faster, and more intentional in my handovers. DBay became more than a sprint project—it became a lesson in global design fluency.