- Client
- Lightning Labs
- Role
- Product Designer
- Year
- 2017–2021
- Scope
- Product Design · Brand Design · UX Research · Design Systems
Designing products for the Lightning Network
Lightning Labs builds infrastructure for the Lightning Network, a protocol for moving Bitcoin through payment channels. When I joined, most work happened in the command line and the products were mainly for engineers.
I designed interfaces for people using that infrastructure.
What the interface needed to explain
Channels, routing, liquidity, and nodes are unfamiliar to most people. We had to decide which details people needed, which the product could handle, and when an operator had to step in.
What I worked on
- iOS Lightning Wallet: Designed an early mobile Lightning wallet when there were few established patterns to use.
- Lightning Terminal: Turned command-line channel and liquidity workflows into a desktop interface for node operators.
- Brand system: Updated the visual identity as Lightning Labs grew from a protocol team into a product company.
- Website: Redesigned the company site for the updated brand and product range.
The product patterns were still being worked out. Much of the job was deciding how the technical system should appear in an interface, not applying conventions from an established category.
