dYdX — crypto project website design concept
Crypto project website design as an independent concept: we reimagined the dYdX grants programme site from the first screen to the application. dYdX was not our client; the concept shows how to speak to a Web3 community simply and warmly.
Challenge
dYdX is a decentralised platform for trading crypto perpetual futures, and its grants programme funds community projects: tools, research, integrations and community work. dYdX was not our client: this is an independent redesign concept of the programme's website, made from public materials as a design study.
We created this crypto project website design concept on our own initiative: dYdX did not commission the work, and the website of its grants programme became the subject of an independent redesign. The main difficulty of the topic is language: crypto projects slip into jargon easily, while a grants programme has to make sense both to a seasoned developer and to an author thinking about applying for the first time.
An applicant wants to see proof before promises: which projects have already been funded, what amounts to expect and what the teams are working on. Without such examples, talk of community support sounds abstract, and the decision to apply gets postponed.
The road to a grant has several stages, from application to interview to offer, and each one raises questions: how long a reply takes, how payouts work, whether a US company can take part, which ideas qualify. If the answers are hidden, people never reach the form.
Finally, there is tone. The dark interfaces of crypto exchanges look technical but cold, whereas a grants programme is about people and their ideas. The design had to keep the recognisable Web3 aesthetic and add some life, so that the site invites people to take part rather than simply informing them.
Solution
We built the page as an applicant's journey: the programme's promise and two buttons on the first screen, a carousel of funded projects, news about approval rounds, answers to frequent questions, three application steps and a closing call to action with an apply button.
Grant cards show the type, title, funding range, a description and contributor avatars, so there are people behind every amount. Round news, a seven-question accordion and a three-card process remove the main doubts before anyone fills in a form, while the Apply for grant button stays within reach in the header and at the end of the page.
We designed the concept in Figma as a dark theme with a violet accent and a faint grid in the background. A monospaced typeface handles navigation, amounts and dates, while hand-drawn underlines, ovals, arrows and numerals add life: the interface stays technical but is no longer cold.
A first screen for two scenarios
The headline about a dYdX future powered by community grants is underlined with a hand-drawn stroke. Below it sit two buttons for different visitors, Discover RFPs for those looking for a task and Apply for grant for those who already have an idea, followed by a row of key programme figures.
Funded project cards
The Projects built with grants section scrolls horizontally. Each card shows the grant type, project title, funding range in a monospaced face, a short description and contributor avatars, and a link leads to all funded projects.
News about approval rounds
The What's new? block surfaces fresh blog posts: cards with a grid cover and a hand-drawn oval, a Funding round label, the round title and the publication date. The blog link sits right under the section heading.
Answers before applying
A seven-question accordion gathers what matters to an applicant: how to apply, whether US applicants can take part, how compensation works, which projects qualify, how long a reply takes, how to improve the odds and how often rounds happen. Answers open with a tap on the plus sign, so the list stays compact.
Three application steps
The process is shown as three slightly tilted cards with hand-written numerals and arrows: apply, interview, grant offer. Each step is described in a sentence or two, so the path from idea to grant reads in a few seconds.
A dark theme with lively accents
A violet accent, a grid on a dark background and a monospaced typeface set a technical tone, and hand-drawn elements soften it. A closing gradient banner invites visitors to apply, and the footer links to the dYdX Foundation, the trading platform, brand assets and social channels.
Results
The project's key outcomes in numbers.
- 6Page sections
First screen, grants, news, questions, application process and a closing call to action in one scroll.
- 3Application steps
Apply, interview and grant offer are shown as cards with hand-written numerals and arrows.
- 7FAQ questions
The accordion answers an applicant's main questions: timing, payouts, project criteria and US eligibility.
- 10 daysTime to develop
Ten days went into the structure, the visual language and the six-section mock-up.
Design & interfaces
Key screens and interfaces of the project.
Project tech stack
The stack we used to build the solution for the client's task.
- Figma
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