Sinthoniza is my independent project, rooted in a deep passion for music, design, and culture. It serves as a space for exploration and curation of underground sounds, blending research, DJing, and visual storytelling to engage and inspire listeners. As the creator, music researcher, host, designer, and DJ, I manage every aspect of Sinthoniza.
logo by @dietmunhoz
Hypha solves the problem of multiple tools in many places: wallet (Classic & ERC-4337), interoperability, P2P Swap, a launchpad for creators and brands, rewards, and an innovative ID system to unlock exclusive products and benefits.
Non Custodial | Interoperability | P2P Swap | Wrapped
Web3 marks a new era of the internet, emphasizing decentralization and user ownership. Built on blockchain technology, Web3 facilitates a secure, open, and transparent system without central authorities. Rhizom leverages these principles by integrating traceability and transparency into its solutions, empowering users to engage in a decentralized economy characterized by openness and security.
In developing Hypha, we studied the technologies underpinning DeFi wallets, focusing on decentralized ledgers, consensus mechanisms, cryptographic protocols, and smart contract execution, designing an intuitive and trustworthy product.
Decentralized finance is revolutionizing traditional finance by offering automated, permissionless services such as lending, borrowing, and asset exchange. Operating on self-executing smart contracts, DeFi eliminates the need for intermediaries, granting users global access to financial services without banks or regulatory constraints. Rhizom's solutions prioritize traceability and visibility, enabling users to transact with confidence, thus democratizing finance through increased transparency and accessibility.
Provides classic wallet functionality and more robust security steps.
A wallet that mints your assets with multiple network options.
Hypha Interoperability is an innovative function that allows you to switch network assets.
Fungible & Non-Fungible Tokens between wallets. Any fee structure is possible. Pay in stablecoins or no gas fees users.
Organize your assets inside a portfolio format, providing full visibility and search for any assets.
Creating Hypha required extensive technical and user research. I explored the needs of both early adopters and heavy users, identifying their motivations, pain points, and interaction patterns to design features tailored to their needs. The research also included competitor analysis, which revealed the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for differentiation among existing DeFi wallets. This informed our approach, allowing us to create a wallet that meets high user expectations through a blend of technical expertise and intuitive user experiences.
The ideation process for Hypha was collaborative, involving stakeholders across the organization. Key participants included the CEO, business team, CTO, and developers, each contributing unique insights. Researchers provided valuable information on blockchain trends and user personas, ensuring Hypha is aligned with market demands and technical possibilities while maintaining business alignment.
To deliver a consistent and scalable product, we created a robust Design System (DS) for Hypha. This DS established standardized components, UI patterns, and guidelines to enhance efficiency and visual cohesion. It facilitated faster iterations, reduced redundancies, and fostered collaboration between the design and development teams. We developed a distinct color palette for Hypha, giving the product a unique personality aligned with Rhizom's branding. This approach resulted in a visually engaging, user-friendly, and technically sound DeFi wallet, allowing users to exchange cryptocurrency, store NFTs, and explore DeFi opportunities confidently.
The structured design system for Hypha streamlined the design and development process, reducing time to market and ensuring a cohesive user experience.
The conversation around money in Brazil often starts with a heavy silence. Financial literacy isn't just a tool—it's a lifeline, a gateway to empowerment and autonomy. I set out on a mission: to shatter the taboos surrounding money and transform financial literacy into a shared language of confidence and resilience for underserved communities. Through Open Finance, I envisioned finance as personal, accessible, and impactful for a generation grappling with unique challenges.
Senior Product Designer @ iti Itaú
2022
My research journey went beyond cold statistics; it dove deep into Brazilians' emotional and cultural relationships with money. Through heartfelt interviews and rich qualitative insights, I discovered a complex tapestry of emotions tied to financial management: fear, guilt, and shame—all intertwined with a history of inequality. In my country, only 12% of people can read complex charts, and this number drops significantly among vulnerable groups like black communities and homemakers. I realized that financial education is not merely academic but an emotional journey that requires empathy and innovation. The weight of economic stress on daily life is staggering. It anchors dreams and stifles potential, trapping generations in cycles of despair. Yet, amidst this struggle, I found hope in a powerful counter-current: a new wave of voices and influencers, like Nath Finanças, opening doors to money management with humor, authenticity, and relatability. Inspired by this movement, I aimed to go beyond traditional financial tools and promote a positive, long-term financial mindset.
Using a Box1824 research, I've got four behavioral clusters: Alienated, Bothered, Motivated, and Plenary. I chose to focus on the Motivated group, which comprises 39% of my audience (proved by internal research). These individuals are eager to build healthier financial relationships, and with the right support, they can evolve into financially confident individuals. By honing in on this group, I prioritized those who had the potential to magnify our impact and ignite change within their communities.
I organized a "Thinking Hats" workshop to bring my ideas to life, inviting voices from diverse backgrounds into the design process. Each participant wore a different "hat," exploring perspectives from logic to creativity, emotion to innovation. This multifaceted brainstorming approach enriched my vision, resulting in prototypes that balanced emotional resonance with usability.
Emotional Hat: Get the negative emotions our audience associates with money and craft designs that feel reassuring.
Logical Hat: Ensure the user journey is intuitive and straightforward, steering clear of unnecessary complexity.
Out-of-the-Box Hat: Allowed the imagination to run wild, exploring innovative approaches, like gamification and personalized guidance.
This layered approach ensured that the solutions were not only functional but also deeply aligned with my audience's financial and emotional realities.Â
With the insights I gathered, I developed an experience that prioritized accessibility and inclusivity, built on principles of refuge, trust, personalization, and simplicity. I consciously moved away from intimidating charts, opting for visuals that translate financial data into actionable insights—for those of us managing multiple accounts—an all-too-common scenario in Brazil—Open Finance provided a seamless view of all balances, offering a sense of clarity and control. Every design step underwent rigorous testing through SUM usability assessments, leading to a polished, user-centric interface that made complex financial concepts accessible and inviting.
To gauge future interest, we introduced a waitlist to understand our potential users, resulting in over 200,000 subscriptions.
To prevent integration errors, we implemented a gradual rollout, initially available only to Itaú customers. This ensured that only individuals with Itaú accounts could access the solution.
Presentation of the feature's value propositions.
A summarized balance overview for each financial institution linked to the account.
A dedicated experience for users without any linked accounts.
Options for users to personalize their experience.
Collecting user feedback to facilitate continuous improvement of the solution.
The results we achieved exceeded my wildest expectations, highlighting the profound connection between financial literacy and personal empowerment:
80% of users accessed the feature more than twice a week.
70% of my target demographic embraced the feature.
65% linked multiple accounts, benefiting from a unified financial view.
This success demonstrated the transformative potential of technology when it aligns with genuine human needs and social realities. Our project garnered national recognition, with media coverage celebrating how Itaú anticipated Open Finance with this initiative. It was more than just a feature launch; it was a pivotal step toward financial emancipation for young Brazilians, helping us envision brighter futures beyond constraints and scarcity.
This project has become a personal testament to the power of design and technology in driving social change. Financial literacy is a crucial tool in achieving independence for low-income young Brazilians like myself. By harnessing Open Finance to simplify access to money management, I transformed an overwhelming experience into one of empowerment. This journey reaffirms my commitment: through empathetic and innovative design, we can cultivate not just financial literacy but also lasting financial confidence for all.
