LinkedTrust
Encouraging trust online
Client: LinkedTrust, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Role: User Experience Designer & Mentor
Contributions: Designed live proof-of-concept website and web application for clients & future investors
Impact: Met project milestone outlined in contract with U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and collaboratively designed the first public-facing product for LinkedTrust
“Alex is a thoughtful designer with the ability to guide a group towards clarity of vision, something we had greatly been struggling with! He was able to set the stage and gently urge a group of talented juniors to think creatively and independently, to form a vision together, and also provided ongoing mentoring to other designers. Having a grounded, user-focused approach and the ability to both pull out thoughts and guide them into a coherent whole is incredibly valuable, and I greatly appreciate Alex's contributions to the LinkedTrust project!” – Golda Velez, Sr. Software Engineer @ LinkedTrust
The LinkedTrust Mission: online trust
LinkedTrust invented a tool called LinkedClaims, (source: https://blog.identity.foundation/dif-labs-ssi-market-gets-an-innovation-hub-2/). LinkedClaims is a decentralized verification process that enables people to make claims, and allows others to give testimony on a claim's validity. The claims are preserved via blockchain in a shareable, tamper-proof, and open source environment. They comply with standards for enterprise and regulatory requirements. A LinkedClaim can be used to authenticate information without needing to share personal information about the claim-maker or claim-assessor – so, you can make and share a claim without sharing even your name, and those viewing it will still be assured of authenticity.
So far, the most valuable uses of this technology have been to build investors' trust in the authenticity of digital evidence, leading to greater comfort making large investments. A different example is social media platform Bluesky, which allows users to ‘own’ their own profiles – their data, and what server they access the platform from. The CEO, Jay Graber, said that LinkedTrust’s help was “instrumental in building a healthy, active community for Bluesky.”
For the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “Can LinkedClaims stimulate the economy?” (Part 1)
An ongoing, multi-phase contract between LinkedTrust and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The following project was Part 1: "Could tamper-proof, claims with open-source social proof benefit small businesses? If so, design and a deploy a public-facing tool to demonstrate these benefits."
Our Design Process
- Research small business owners’ hiring practices (“identify what they’re using to manage their hiring and personnel records”) “to determine how… LinkedClaims… could be most useful.”
- Create an initial concept of a product, and share wireframes with the client
- Proof of Concept – public LinkedClaims service deployment
- Conduct initial testing and present insight
What we made: https://linkedtrust.us/, a website that functions as a live demo of LinkedClaims, and as an interactive presentation to investors.
Design contributions
A responsive, interactive prototype for our website.
Design process from wireframes (top) to deliverable (bottom)
Another design process, from a wireframe to a deliverable
A raw, live feed showing all LinkedClaims across the web, accompanied by evidence and other users' testimony (light & dark modes shown).
Outcome and impact
- Client approved, moved onto next phase of the project
- Was able to use the website & web app to attract new investors
- Graphic design: I created visualizations of the LinkedTrust "Web of Trust," communicating their Mission and expertise with iconic & appealing images
