Celsius’s native mobile app allowed users to store, buy, sell, swap, and transfer coins without any prior knowledge of cryptocurrency.
I led my agency’s partnership with Celsius to define a new strategic direction for their mobile app and design an experience that unlocked the power and opportunity of cryptocurrency so they could extend their services to every corner of the world.
The app introduced Celsius's dynamic new visual identity, crafted by my team. Our approach centered on a typographic sizing system, strategically employing weight and scale contrast to establish a strong communication hierarchy. With clarity as a priority, customers felt secure and informed as they interacted with their assets, which led to increased adoption and engagement.
While the core audience was crypto enthusiasts, Celsius also wanted to attract new, less crypto-savvy members. As a result, the app needed to appear simple and unintimidating while still packing a punch.
I believe that portability leads to engagement, so the idea of a mobile app came naturally. However, I needed to take it one step further and design a system that incentivized members to take action. It couldn’t be static, it couldn’t be stale, and it certainly couldn’t be one-size-fits-all. It needed to feel personal and alive – like having your financial freedom in the palm of your hand.
While the core audience was crypto enthusiasts, Celsius also wanted to attract new, less crypto-savvy members. As a result, the app needed to appear simple and unintimidating while still packing a punch.
To make Celsius more than just a crypto wallet, I was inspired by modern fitness apps. My team designed a series of challenges – quick-hit opportunities to build financial habits, better understand crypto, and plan for the long-term. The best part? They capitalize on people’s innate desire to learn and achieve, and they drive meaningful engagement with key functionality.
Examples of challenges include:
Designed specifically for people on-the-go, the Celsius app took full advantage of its ubiquity. And while a mobile app is an enabler by nature, strategic design choices helped make it intuitive and pleasing to the eye.
These included:
All of this helped make the Celsius app inviting. When a member logged in, they could easily see important data without feeling overwhelmed, quickly navigate to their desired destination, and take action with minimal friction. It made for a joyful experience that members wanted to come back to again and again.
Thanks to the design choices made, members could quickly assess the health of every coin thanks to a short, snackable display of available assets.
Immediately upon login, the dashboard was designed to offer a clear snapshot of their financial positions, perfectly sized to their mobile device.
Throughout the app and via notifications, members could easily see the latest opportunities and opt in at any time.
Navigation was designed to be cleanly tucked away, but always readily accessible so that it was easy to move throughout the app and locate specific features.
To increase adoption of CEL (Celsius’s native coin), we designed an intuitive enrollment process that removed unnecessary barriers for members to earn their interest in the coin.
Members could borrow in minutes by submitting a streamlined loan application while retaining the value of their crypto.
The Celsius brand stood for opportunity, and together with them my team designed an experience that embodied that value. With mobile-friendly elements that satisfied the senses and a sharp interface that welcomed people of all backgrounds, the app invited members to actively participate. And with fitness-inspired challenges, they were encouraged to engage in meaningful ways.
Staying connected is a form of freedom. The Celsius mobile app enabled their members to never lose sight of their financial well-being and to take conscious steps to improve upon it. To grow their portfolio. To maximize their returns. And to achieve their financial goals, one tap at a time.
Following our engagement, Celsius declared bankruptcy and halted withdrawals, leading to significant losses for their customers, myself included. Despite this negative outcome, I stand by the quality of my work, which was created under the belief that Celsius's vision of a better world through cryptocurrency was authentic.