Improve usability of Bitcoin &
Lightning wallets
Simplify advanced crypto features
through clear UI
Build a consistent visual system for dashboards and flows
Overview
Bitvora provides APIs, webhooks, wallets, and reporting tools that enable developers and businesses to build on Bitcoin. It is designed to be developer-first, but with a stronger user-facing layer to ensure adoption and usability. My role was to bridge this gap through design, building a modern UI that reduces complexity, clarifies user journeys, and helps Bitvora stand out in a crowded crypto ecosystem.
Background
Bitcoin infrastructure can be intimidating. Features like Lightning addresses, API connections, multi-sig wallets, and real-time webhooks are powerful but can feel abstract and inaccessible when not presented clearly.
In crypto, many platforms fall into one of two extremes:
Highly technical dashboards that overwhelm users with data and jargon.
Over-simplified wallets that remove advanced features for the sake of clarity.
Bitvora’s ambition was to bridge these worlds, offering powerful developer tools while keeping the interface approachable. The design work therefore required creating a balance: clarity without compromise.
The Problem
Features like multi-sig approvals and webhook notifications are critical but often intimidating.
Without a consistent design system, dashboards quickly become cluttered and hard to scale.
Wallet creation and Lightning setup can be confusing without proper guidance.
These challenges are not unique to Bitvora, they represent broader problems in designing crypto tools.
Vision & Solution
The vision was to make Bitvora feel approachable, modern, and trustworthy while still serving developers with advanced features. My solution was to create:
A complete UI system that defined typography, colors, components, and layouts
Step-by-step flows for wallet creation, Lightning setup, and multi-sig approvals
Modular dashboards that unify APIs, transactions, and reporting in one view
A design identity that is now the visual backbone of Bitvora’s product
The Process
1. Research & Discovery
Studying existing wallets and developer tools highlighted common usability pitfalls: complex onboarding, poorly explained features, and inconsistent dashboards. These insights guided the direction for Bitvora’s design.
2. Planning
User journeys were mapped out for:
Wallet creation and onboarding
API setup and management
Transaction approvals and reporting
Each journey was designed around reducing friction and guiding the user through progressive steps.
3. UI Design
The interface was built on a design system that established consistent typography, color, and components. Key principles included:
Clarity: use of whitespace, strong hierarchy, and clear labels
Consistency: repeatable patterns across dashboards and flows
Scalability: modular layouts that support future features
4. Development Collaboration
Designs were validated with engineers to ensure technical feasibility. Iterations were made where necessary, keeping the balance between product capability and user comprehension.
Design System
A core part of Bitvora’s UI was establishing a scalable design system from scratch. Since the platform needed to support wallets, APIs, reporting, and real-time transactions, consistency was essential.
The design system was built on three guiding principles:
Clarity: Every element should reduce cognitive load and make complex actions intuitive.
Consistency: Shared patterns across screens to reinforce predictability and user confidence.
Scalability: Flexible enough to grow with new product features and future use cases.
Key Elements of the System:
Typography: A hierarchy that balances readability with technical precision. Larger headings for orientation, compact body text for data-heavy screens.
Color Palette: Neutral base tones paired with accent colors for status indicators (success, error, pending, warning). Bitcoin-orange highlights were used sparingly for emphasis.
Components: Reusable UI elements such as buttons, input fields, dropdowns, and modals designed with consistent spacing and states (hover, active, disabled).
Iconography: A custom icon set for wallets, transactions, approvals, and notifications to improve scannability.
Layouts & Grids: Modular grid system for dashboards, allowing sections to be rearranged or expanded without breaking hierarchy.
Status Indicators: Clear visual cues for transaction states (pending, confirmed, failed) designed to be instantly recognizable.
The result was not just a set of UI screens, but a system of reusable building blocks that ensured Bitvora could scale while maintaining visual and functional consistency.
Design
Designing for a Bitcoin platform meant more than making screens look good — it required creating a structured experience that guides users through complex processes with confidence.
The experience was defined around three pillars:
Guided Journeys – Wallet creation, Lightning setup, and multi-signature approvals were broken down into step-by-step flows, reducing confusion and risk of error.
Information Hierarchy – Dashboards were designed to present critical data first (balances, transactions, pending actions) while secondary features were accessible but not overwhelming.
Consistency Across Features – Whether creating a wallet, setting up an API, or approving a transaction, the same visual patterns were applied to build user familiarity.
To achieve this, we mapped out the end-to-end user journeys:
First-time onboarding into the wallet
Connecting and managing APIs
Tracking and approving transactions (including multi-sig)
Configuring Lightning addresses and monitoring webhooks
By defining the experience at this level, the UI could be shaped not just as individual screens, but as a cohesive flow that teaches users as they go.
Bitvora represents the intersection of Bitcoin’s technical power and human-centered design. By building a system that feels intuitive yet robust, we created an experience that helps developers and businesses integrate Bitcoin with confidence.
The platform is live and accessible, you can explore it yourself by logging in and using the app directly at www.bitvora.com.