Crossfire
Designing a Cutting-Edge Trading System
Crossfire is a comprehensive trading venue-as-a-service solution that provides a range of pre-built technologies to enable users to establish their own trading exchanges, create listings for auctions or trading, and build markets with ease.
Overview
As the Lead UX Designer on Tecassa's development team, I played a pivotal role in the creation of their latest product, Crossfire. My primary responsibility was to design an intuitive and seamless user experience for the trading platform, ensuring ease of navigation and interaction. Leveraging my expertise in UI/UX design, I collaborated closely with the team to deliver a visually appealing, highly functional, and user-centered design that set Crossfire apart in a competitive market.
Challenges and Approach
Research and Discovery
At the outset, I conducted comprehensive UX research, analysing the market, competitors, and user needs to identify the critical design components that would resonate with our target audience. Collaborating with the product owner, I translated these insights into detailed user journey maps and wireframes that accurately captured and optimized the user experience. This foundational work ensured that every design decision was grounded in real user needs and business goals.
Visual Design and UI Development
Design System
To ensure consistency and efficiency across the platform, I developed a comprehensive UI design system. This system included a style guide that defined the principles and guidelines governing typography, color palette, iconography, and layout. By creating a library of reusable UI components—such as buttons, form fields, and navigation elements—I ensured that both designers and developers had easy access to the elements needed to maintain a cohesive and consistent interface throughout the product.
Design Elements
For Crossfire's design, I selected the Roboto typeface to balance content density with readability, ensuring crisp text rendering across all modern browsers and older systems. To enhance accessibility and visual appeal, I chose a cold, bright color palette that complemented the existing logo while improving visibility and reducing eye strain. High-contrast color combinations were used to ensure legibility for users with visual impairments, adhering to WCAG standards. Additionally, I incorporated outlined, tech-inspired icons, which are simpler and easier to read, crucial for quick decision-making in a trading environment. These icons contributed to a cohesive, modern design that scales effectively across different screen sizes, enhancing both navigation and the platform's innovative feel.
Interaction Design and Prototyping
Using Figma, I developed high-fidelity prototypes for Crossfire, creating realistic and interactive representations of the user interface. These prototypes were essential in assessing the system's functionality and usability before moving into development. Additionally, the polished mockups provided stakeholders with a clear, professional vision of the final product, playing a key role in securing investor funding.
A little extra
Beyond the core trading system, I also designed a customer-facing website and a pitch presentation to highlight Crossfire’s key features and value proposition. These assets were critical in showcasing the product to potential clients and investors, effectively communicating its strengths and market potential.
Outcome
The design and development of Crossfire were highly successful, culminating in its acquisition by a financial services firm. The acquiring company not only purchased the product but also expressed a strong interest in further investing in Tecassa, validating the strategic design decisions and the value that Crossfire brought to the market.
