BitRights is a web app that aims to provide a platform for digital content providers to license their intellectual properties using Blockchain, thus creating an indisputable trail of ownership.
BitRights is unique amongst the competitors in that the focus is on the content creators and their needs while addressing the needs of those purchasing the content.
Founders of BitRights are seeking to streamline the process of uploading and licensing contents. The goal is to make the entire experience intuitive and seamless for the users.

“I don’t really understand the process of content registration and content licensing.“ - user 2

HOW

Step 1: Research

Slide titled 'User Interviews' shows data: 6 users interviewed, average age 36.5, professions include musicians, photographers, jingle producer, creative producer, executive director, and a map of the US highlighting locations in NY and LA.

Dark silhouette of a musician holding a guitar and standing next to a microphone on a stage, with spotlight and smoke effects.

Venn diagram comparing independent creators and professional needs, showing typical challenges faced by creators and their goals, with an overlap labeled 'AVG. USER' highlighting common concerns.

Hypothesize, Synthesize

A digital presentation slide titled 'Problem Statement' with text explaining issues content creators face when licensing their work, centered around legal rights and licensing difficulties, and questioning how to guide Alex through the licensing process.

A professional resume summary for Alex, a 37-year-old creative director in Los Angeles, CA, including a black and white photo of a woman with curly hair holding a camera, and sectioned details about goals, needs, pain points, and behavior.

A customer journey graph illustrating Alex's experience from self-promotion to realization, including key moments like uploading a photo, receiving messages, signing a contract, and learning rights, with emotional states from happy to sad.

During this phase, we conducted a Design Studio with the founders of BitRights, devised a MoSCoW Map, Competitive & Comparative Analysis, and Heuristic Evaluation…

Step 2: Ideation

Hand-drawn sketch of a personal finance dashboard with charts and graphs, including a line graph showing earnings, licenses, and spending over time, a pie chart illustrating spending categories, and icons representing earnings, licenses, spending, and payments.

Hand-drawn wireframe sketch of a content upload interface with sections for selecting content type, uploading files, entering title and description, adding tags, owner and creator search fields, content privacy options, and a save button.

Wireframes - Lo-Fi

Screenshot of a personal portfolio webpage for Alex Johnson, a photographer, showcasing two landscape photos: one of a gray ocean with waves and another of Mount Fuji with snow, reflected in a lake.

Screenshot of a user interface from BitRights showing a photo of Mount Fuji, titled 'Mt. Fuji,' taken on September 4, 2018, with various data including ownership, creator, description, tags, type, date, a pie chart of ownership, and a line graph showing activity over a week.

Screenshot of the BitRights website's Discover Content page displaying various videos and images, including landscapes, animals, and people, with titles, dates, and play buttons for videos.

Confirmation message for a successfully issued license for a photo of Mount Fuji with snow-capped peak, reflected in water.

Wireframes - Hi-Fi

Step 3: Prototyping

Infographic comparing the On-Boarding and Discover Screen interfaces of the BitRights app, highlighting features and user navigation.

Guide for uploading content on a web platform, showing steps for dragging and dropping files or browsing, filling in title, description, tags, owner, creator, type, and privacy options, with visual annotations of the process flow and confirmation screens.

Guide to using analytics dashboard, showing options for changing dates, updating settings, and viewing detailed analytics with dropdown menus, checkboxes, and a line graph.

During steps 2 & 3, we also devised methods such as Site Maps & Feature Prioritization. Usability Testing for every stage and iteration of Wireframing, then revised and reiterated based on feedback, and creating the Spec Doc, along with the Prototype.

Meet the Team

Ariella Mamlin

Karina Oh

Zhen Zia

Kevin KC Tsui

My Role

UX Researcher, UX Designer, UI Designer, Wireframing, Prototyping, Hosting Workshop, Presentation & Conflict Management.

Tools

Adobe CC, Sketch, InVision, Google Suite

Next Steps

Test High(er) Fidelity Prototype
Mobile version of BitRights
Develop BitRights into a social platform
Conduct more user interviews
Develop a secondary persona
Create a separate portal for content buyers
Clarify “owner“ vs “creator“
Create infrastructure for content distribution

Lessons Learnt

Working with a client on an unfamiliar subject matter (Blockchain) can be exhilarating and nerve-wracking. Even though knowledge of Blockchain ended up not being essential to this project, understanding the basics helped us with research and design, from interview questions to required fields in the layout.

The challenges presented by designing BitRights’ web-app were multifold. We had to navigate all content uploading, licensing, hosting, and purchasing aspects. How to make the entire uploading and downloading process clean, intuitive, and still aesthetically pleasant.

In the end, given the time constraint of 2 weeks, we had achieved most of what we set out to accomplish. Clients were pleased, and I made a few new friends.