As part of a small, three-person product team, we were tasked with designing and launching the Swan Bitcoin app on an aggressive three-month timeline. This project required rapid decision-making, tight collaboration, and a focus on delivering a polished, reliable experience from day one. Our goal: Make Bitcoin more accessible.
Role:
Swan was already an established, trusted voice in the Bitcoin community with a robust web app. Unlike "crypto casinos," Swan’s Bitcoin-only focus required a design language that felt secure, intentional, and educational. Our primary task was to get up to speed with the existing web infrastructure and translate those core features into a solid native experience for iPhone and Android.
Auditing core web features to shape a V1 mobile experience, prioritising buy flows, portfolio data, and seamless account switching.
Mapping the initial journey from sign-up to first buy, including the essential flows for setting up recurring purchases and secure withdrawals.
In this playground, I transformed abstract purchases into stacking goals, visualising milestones from “getting off zero” to becoming a whole-coiner.
The buy flow was designed to reduce taps while reinforcing Swan’s mission. We included sharable Satoshi quotes on the confirmation screen to add a sense of delight. We also focused on automating the “Stacking Sats” philosophy through flexible, easy-to-set-up recurring buy plans.
Shaping Swan’s design system meant bringing more clarity and consistency across the brand through colour scales and tokens. As a cornerstone of Swan's identity, I selected and successfully implemented Swan Sans, a custom typeface now central to the brand’s voice.
Despite the pace, we delivered a fully functional V1 of the Swan app on schedule. The launch established the product’s mobile foundation and paved the way for iterative improvements, new features, and significant team growth.
Video Design and Direction: Ryan Shelton and Jörn Röder. Motion Graphics: Bruno Silva
App Launched
in 3 months
App Store
Downloads
