A Website for a German Crypto Startup
3
Weeks to launch
Two designers and a frontend developer, working intensely.
$4bn
Raised via ICO in 2017
By blockchain companies in that year alone.
The client
Herdius is a Berlin startup building a high-performance decentralised financial platform, using recent innovations in distributed systems design to become next-generation infrastructure for cryptocurrency and blockchain. It sits between users and the root blockchains of the relevant currencies — in blockchain terms, a sidechain.
It chose to raise capital through an ICO as an alternative to traditional venture funding, which meant convincing investors of the idea.
The challengeWhat the teams actually needed
The founder approached Netguru wanting a landing page ahead of the project launch. The real task was turning a long and unwelcoming white paper into a narrative that convinces.
Challenge 01A white paper nobody finishes
The source material was lengthy and forbidding, and it had to become something to the point.
Challenge 02Attracting investors
An ICO stands or falls on whether people believe the idea, which puts the whole weight on one page.
Challenge 03Three weeks
The site had to be designed and built inside a very short window.
What we did
Design carrying the emotion a white paper cannot
The product design team used a range of design elements to evoke emotion and give the project the right feel.
From document to argument
The white paper was transformed into a convincing, to-the-point narrative rather than summarised.
Design doing the persuading
Design elements were used deliberately to evoke feeling, which is what a technical document cannot do.
Two designers, one developer
A small team built and shipped the whole site.
Live in three weeks
The website went live after three intense weeks, and the ICO ran on it.
More like thisOther places we scaled product teams for growth.
What’s next