Ramp’s checkout widget powered millions in crypto volume, but it had become slow, rigid, and hard to trust. I led a full redesign to scale the product with the business, improve speed and usability, and rebuild user trust.
Company
Ramp Network
INDUSTRY
Crypto fintech
MY ROLE
Head of Design
PROJECT TIMELINE
6 months
COMPANY SIZE
Series B scaleup
Authentication
Exchange page for swaps
Order summary
Transaction status
Document verificatioon
Actionable error drawer
THE CHALLENGE
Ramp’s most critical product was falling behind
After years of rapid iteration under pressure from investors and four different regulators, Ramp’s core product had achieved strong market fit but also accumulated serious flaws. It was inconsistent in its UI, broken in edge cases, and burdened with long, confusing user journeys. Users began to lose trust, and competitors were catching up fast.
Over time, the product broke down further. It became slow, hard to integrate, and full of friction. Compliance demands made changes even harder, with four global regulators involved. We needed a complete rebuild. One that improved performance, restored trust, and met strict standards across markets.
This was Ramp’s largest product initiative to date, with over 30 people involved in building and delivering the new checkout experience.
The process brought together:
✦ 5 designers from my team
✦ 6 product managers, including the Chief Product Officer
✦ Around 20 engineers across 5 product teams
This was a true team effort, and every contributor played a meaningful role in shaping and delivering the new checkout experience. I’m proud to have led the design work while supporting a team that brought clarity, speed, and quality to a complex product challenge.
Common quotes we heard again and again in exploratory user interviews.
MY ROLE
I led both strategy and execution, balancing individual contribution with cross-team coordination
In parallel, I initiated the creation of the design system. I handed over ownership to one of my designers but stayed close throughout the process to ensure it supported our business goals. The system enabled faster iteration, stronger alignment, and higher quality across multiple teams contributing to the front-end experience.
MY APPROACH
Design grounded in real behavior, not assumptions
This redesign was powered by the research practice I built at Ramp (covered in a separate case study). Together with a second researcher we ran 100+ exploratory and unmoderated interviews, collected 1,000+ survey responses, and reviewed dozens of Hotjar sessions to identify drop-off points, decision bottlenecks, and gaps in user trust.
Each key insights was mapped to each stage of the customer journey, surfacing pain points and opportunities across compliance, payment, and post-purchase flows. This helped teams align around the highest-impact problems instead of chasing assumptions or edge cases.
On-ramping flow video inside Uniswap application
Every major product decision was then tested through moderated and unmoderated usability studies on Dscout.com. This allowed us to move fast while de-risking bold UX changes—saving engineering time, reducing product churn, and helping us ship with more confidence.
DARK MODE, FINALLY
After years without it, we added dark mode. One of those “small” features that users expect by default, even if it’s not a business priority.
the outcome
After 8 months new product didn’t just look better. It performed like a beast.
We rebuilt trust, clarified key decisions, and removed friction across the journey.
The result was a 90% uplift in conversion and a faster, more scalable product.
+0%
Faster transactions
+0%
Auth conversion
+0%
Payment conversion
+0%
Checkout conversion
testimonial
Ziad El Baba
Chief product officer at Ramp network