1 – Introduction
I joined Verse in 2022 as the company transitioned from Views, a private sales tool for art dealers, into a curated digital art marketplace. Views had already built trust with blue chip galleries such as White Cube, Gagosian, Almine Rech and Sadie Coles, and the founding team included a former Tate curator with deep experience in contemporary art.
The opportunity was clear. The NFT market was large and noisy, but there was no platform that combined art world expertise with an accessible user experience. I joined as the sole product designer, responsible for the product vision, user experience and full high fidelity design.
Team, 2022
2 – Challenges
Collectors needed a trustworthy place to buy digital art
Most NFT platforms surfaced huge volumes of low quality work with no reliable signals of credibility or provenance.
The traditional art world had no safe way to enter Web3
Galleries, curators and high value collectors were interested in digital art but found most platforms visually inconsistent and technically confusing.
Technical barriers prevented newcomers from taking part
Wallet setup, private keys, gas fees and unfamiliar terminology created friction that caused many users to drop out.
3 – Opportunity
In 2022, the NFT market reached $46.2 billion. There was strong demand for digital native art, but the experience was inaccessible and often untrustworthy.
Verse aimed to bridge this gap by combining contemporary art world knowledge with a clear, intuitive product experience.
My goal was to design a platform that felt credible, modern and easy to use, even for people collecting digital work for the first time.
The state of existing NFT marketplaces
4 – Role
Product vision
User research
Journey and flow design
Wireframes and prototypes
High fidelity UI and visual direction
Design system creation
Usability testing and iteration
Post launch improvements
I partnered closely with leadership, engineering and the product manager throughout the project.
5 – Research
Technical discovery
Verse combined Web2 features such as credit card payments with Web3 features such as custodial wallets and on chain ownership. I joined backend discussions early to ensure decisions across engineering and design aligned, and to safeguard the simplicity of core flows.
This helped us remove unnecessary steps, automate technical processes and prevent users from encountering confusing terminology.
User and market research
Interviews with collectors, gallerists and crypto native users surfaced clear themes.
People needed reliable indicators of trust and provenance.
Newcomers wanted plain language and predictable steps.
Experienced collectors valued transparency and speed.
These insights shaped our Jobs to be Done framework and helped define the MVP.
JTBD framework to determine MVP
6 – Strategy
Journey mapping
I mapped the complete collector journey from discovery to purchase, ownership and resale via the secondary marketplace. The objective was to give users clarity at every step.
Key considerations included:
Easy onboarding for users with no Web3 experience
Credit card checkout to reduce entry barriers
Artwork pages focused on context, provenance and curatorial framing
Wireframing and iteration
We worked in two week cycles, testing flows and resolving constraints early. Including a fully functional secondary marketplace in the MVP required careful structuring but positioned Verse as a complete marketplace from the start.
Initial wireframes to determine user flows
Collection page wireframes
7 – Visual and UI exploration
After defining the core flows, I led the visual direction for the product. The goal was to create an interface that felt aligned with contemporary art presentation while supporting clear and predictable interaction patterns.
I explored a wide range of type systems, layouts and tonal directions to understand how Verse should look and feel. The focus was on giving artworks space, establishing a calm visual hierarchy and creating a system that could scale across exhibitions, artwork pages and transactional flows.
This exploration phase produced the foundations for the high fidelity UI. It clarified how to balance art-first presentation with functional clarity and ensured that every page communicated trust and consistency.
Early brand and UI exploration
8 – Purchasing with credit card
The flow abstracted a complex technical process and gave users a purchase experience that felt simple and familiar.
Purchasing flow
Objectives
Provide a straightforward checkout experience that doesn't require a crypto wallet
Provide flexible payment options to accommodate for both new and experienced users
Outcome
This flow allowed users without cryptocurrency to collect digital art and became a central differentiator for Verse.
30% used card payment on the primary market
50% used card payment on the secondary market
9 – Onboarding without a wallet
The onboarding experience was designed to let collectors join Verse without creating or connecting a crypto wallet. Research showed that wallet setup, seed phrases and gas fees were the biggest reasons people abandoned traditional NFT platforms. Removing these barriers was essential to making digital collecting accessible to a wider audience.
Onboarding flow
Objectives
Allow users to create an account using only an email address
Still allow more experienced users to connect a wallet
Encourage 2FA due to the high risk nature of the Web3 space
Outcome
By removing the need for a crypto wallet, new collectors could create an account in seconds. This reduced the barrier to entry and made Verse a far more approachable alternative to typical Web3 marketplaces.
11 – Feature highlights
Custodial wallet
Verse enables users to buy digital art with a standard credit or debit card. Purchased works are stored in Verse’s custodial wallet until collectors choose to withdraw them. This removes technical barriers and makes the experience straightforward for users unfamiliar with Web3.
Withdraw or mint to private a wallet
If a user doesn't own a crypto wallet, Verse securely stores purchased artworks. Collectors may later withdraw works to their private wallet - offering flexibility and long-term control without complicating the first purchase. More advanced users can select where to send their works during checkout.
Flexible payment options
Users have the choice to pay via credit/debit card, crypto wallets, or existing account balance. This flexibility respects users’ preferences and reduces friction, helping people confidently purchase digital art even if they have little or no crypto experience.
Secondary market
Collectors can list and resell artwork on Verse without needing to handle smart contracts or gas fees. This is integrated directly into the platform, giving both new and experienced collectors a trusted, frictionless resale path.
12 – Design system
I built a design system to support consistency and speed as the platform grew. It included:
Typography and layout
Spacing and grid
Buttons, inputs and cards
Artwork tiles
Interaction and feedback patterns
The system improved reliability, reduced rework and accelerated development.
Verse design system
13 – Post launch and impact
Verse grew quickly after launch.
$14 million GMV
14,700 accounts
290,000 unique visitors in 12 months
50% retention at 6 months
We ran weekly interviews and monitored community feedback through Discord and Twitter. I led UX improvements across flows, usability and visual clarity.
Verse is now recognised as a trusted place for artists to release digital work. The combination of expert guidance and accessible design helped define its position in the market.
Platform UI, 2025
14 – Reflection
Designing Verse required simplifying a complex space while maintaining the standards expected in the contemporary art world. It reinforced the value of clear communication, predictable workflows and thoughtful sequencing.
Working across architecture, UX and UI helped create a product that introduced many people to digital art collecting for the first time. The project highlighted how design can reduce barriers and create confidence in emerging industries.
15 - Recommendations
Sam was one of Verse’s earliest team members and played a pivotal role in shaping the product from the ground up. He tackled genuinely new design problems and consistently found elegant, user-centred solutions.
Users regularly praise our design, and competitors have clearly taken note. Sam’s craft, taste, and willingness to dive into uncharted territory were a huge part of that. He worked hard, took initiative well beyond his remit, and engaged directly with the community to uncover valuable insights.
Sam’s a designer you can count on — thoughtful, collaborative and proactive. I would be delighted to have the chance to work with him again.
George Cunliffe, Head of Product
Sam is an excellent product designer. He designed the first version of Verse nearly 4 years ago, and has played a major role in bringing every new page and feature to life since. He has been an brilliant colleague throughout -he works quickly, makes everything look amazing, and is a fantastic guy.
Our time working together came to an unfortunate end when we had to downsize our engineering team, resulting in a large backlog of Sam-designed features. Sadly, the company wasn't in a position to continue funding the design of features that may not end up being built.
I couldn't recommend working with Sam more highly and would be very happy to provide a reference to any potential future employers.
Jamie Gourlay, Co-founder and CEO