In our first months of work, we’ve focused on building a solid operational foundation to tackle complex and impactful initiatives. With this now in place, we’re excited to propose an expanded vision for the UX Bounty in 2025.
While we remain committed to resolving UX issues, we also aim to strengthen the ecosystem through increased collaboration and grants. Additionally, we want to attract more UX talent to foster a culture of great UX in the eco.
New Organization and Structure
To create a more agile and responsive team, we are reducing the curator set while keeping everyone close to the decision circle.
DJ (SubWallet), Toby (Talisman) and Anton (Nova) will step down as curators but remain closely involved, given their products’ integration with most UX projects. They will participate at key project milestones to ensure alignment.
Tommi and Jeeper (OpenGovWatch), Nico (Velocity Labs), Cisco (Parity), and Rocio (DH3) will also step down as curators and continue as advisors, providing expertise when needed.
Additionally, Braille, previously the Operator (admin), will take on the General Manager role, which is now part of the curator set. This change is based on operational reality: Braille has been involved in all initiatives since day one and should participate in decision-making.
Finally, we’re excited to welcome Flez as one of the five new curators! With 20+ years of experience in web, UI, and UX design, along with a deep passion for Polkadot and several upcoming ecosystem projects, Flez brings a unique blend of expertise and vision to the team.
New Curator Set (3/5 Multisig)
- Valeria (DH3) - Curator
- Remy (Parity) - Curator
- Nino (Apillon) - Curator
- Flez (flez.xyz) - Curator
- Braille - General Manager
Advisors
- Tommi & Jeeper (OpenGovWatch)
- Nico (Velocity Labs)
- Cisco (Parity)
- Rocio (DH3)
Wallet
- Anton (Nova)
- DJ (SubWallet)
- Toby (Talisman)
You can find the job descriptions here:
Activities for 2025
We have divided our activities in three categories:
- Projects
- Grants
- Ops
1. Projects
Internal Projects
This is what the UX Bounty has been doing so far. After a clean up and priorization of our UX Backlog, we’ll launch a new batch of UXBs while still addressing the ongoing projects.
→ Did you come across a UX issue recently that you would like the UX Bounty to resolve? Let us know!
External Projects
Initiatives led by other ecosystem stakeholders where we provide expertise and support. Examples:
- Asset Hub Migration: Working with Parity to assess user impact and coordinate a smooth transition for the users.
- Onboarding Platform: Collaborating with every teams in the ecosystem (like Distractive and Airlyft) to consolidate and optimize the user onboarding experience.
→ Are you working on another project where the UX Bounty can help? Please reach out.
2. Grants
UX Audit Grants
(Max $10,000 per grant)
We will provide grants for UX audits by vetted vendors. During the Proof of Concept phase that DH3 and Braille will run, we’ll start with Subsquare, Polkassembly and the UI Bounty Manager. This allow us to test the process while ensuring the ratio value/impact is great for the ecosystem.
By the end of February, we’ll open this grant to all teams that would like help, as well as onboarding additional UX experts to provide a larger pool of vendors.
→ Do you know anyone that has UX skills to provide an UX Audit? Send them our way!
Other Grants (Currently under debate following discussion)
We want community input before going forward with these grants:
-
Direct Grant: Small envelope to fund teams developing MVPs or features improving the UX for Polkadot users.
→ Should the UX Bounty offload OpenGov from some proposals to help teams building their product?
-
Solution Grant: Grants targeting specific solution needs in the ecosystem. This would be an open grant for any teams in the industry to compete and get into the ecosystem. For example, we see a need for a tax tool.
→ What solution/tool/product is lacking the ecosystem that would improve its UX?
-
UX Consultancy Grant: Similar to UX Audit Grants, but covering broader UX consulting for ecosystem teams. This grant is a bit far down the line as we are first testing this format with the UX Audit grant.
→ Are there teams out there needing UX Consultancy?
3. Ops
To ensure these initiatives are well-coordinated and structured, we need to operate as a department.
The operational tasks include:
- Keeping documentation clean and updated.
- Producing quarterly reports.
- Managing the budget.
- Advocating on the UX best practices and standards.
Final Words
We are committed to continuously improving UX while aligning with the community’s direction, as defined in the initial proposal and referenda that established this bounty. Community involvement is key to this initiative, and we encourage everyone to participate in the next OpenUX call to share insights and help shape the future of UX in the Polkadot ecosystem.
- Join the UX Guild
- Reach out to me directly — I’m cofounder of Braille, GM of the UX Bounty
