Blockchain Marketplace

Dopamine was building a marketplace where physical streetwear is tied to an NFT. Each piece carries a chip that links it to an on-chain version, which opens the door to digital extras later (in-game cosmetics, digital collections).

I joined as a freelance product designer for a 3-month contract, a few months into the build. The two co-founders knew they wanted a storefront and a way to verify product. They didn't know how that would look and it was my job to give them the "how."

Being a brand new space, I had a lot of questions. What does it mean to own a physical item on-chain? What happens to the NFT if the jacket is destroyed? What if someone else scans the chip?

Before designing any screens, we mapped the flows for scanning, claiming, and selling. After we agreed on our happy paths, we could start exploring the rest.

The principle we kept coming back to: owning it online should be as easy as holding it in person.

Challenges

• New storefront and new UX patterns for consumers
• How to claim items and keep your digital version safe

Opportunities

• Streetwear drops run on hype, and a buyer's first minutes with the product matter most. A one-scan claim made the NFT part of the drop instead of a separate chore.

I worked in two layers, structure first and then experience.

For structure, we brainstormed together. I brought specific directions and the founders picked and pushed back. From there I built out the marketplace, the storefront model (Hellstar was the pilot), and the infrastructure underneath.

For experience, Dopamine's brand is loud on purpose: high-contrast colors, patterns, heavy type. The early direction was built around that energy. The system had to learn to scale it, so I designed a UI that holds the loud brand while leaving room for other brands to plug in.

What shipped

• Marketplace and social profile system: browsing, brand storefronts, product pages, profiles
• Chip-based verification and claim flow tying a physical item to its on-chain twin
• A scalable design system built for more than one brand

Results

The founders started with a goal and no "how." They finished with a full Figma file giving their engineer a system he could build from.