Bitcoin's goal is to securely record and distribute data across a computer chain. It is difficult to change information once it has been added to the chain.
Blockchain can be used in many creative ways. Voting, NFTs (non-fiduciary tokens), advertising, and royalties are some examples. Learn more about blockchain, its potential impact on creative fields, design and the challenges and risks it may pose.
How Blockchain Works?
What is blockchain? Blockchain is a network of computers that stores individual transactions as blocks on threads connected by chains.
Each block contains information about a transaction, currency, or other exchanges, such as where the cash or goods were originally purchased, who owned it and where it was sent. Each block is recorded on the chain, so any computer within the blockchain network can verify any transaction at any given time.
Before they can be placed in blocks, blockchain transactions must be verified by the users of the network. In a proof-of-work process, users are rewarded for approving authentic transactions.
After the majority of computers in the network have confirmed that a transaction is valid, the block can be created.
A hash is one of the most important components of a blockchain. Each block contains its hash as well as the hash from the previous block.
Hash codes link the blocks together in a specific order and produce a unique ID for every transaction. Math functions can generate hash codes by grabbing specific information. The blocks are harder to modify and more secure.
Each modification to the original creates a hash instead of affecting the data stored in the block.
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Blockchain Security
The next block in the chain will retain the old hash if a hacker attempts to change the information within a block.
Computing the next hash, and those that follow it, would require a lot of computing power or artificial intelligence. It could also take a long time.
No central computer maintains or stores master information for a chain. Decentralization is an advantage for many and makes blockchains more secure as there is no mainframe to hack or compromise.
Each computer, or "node," is an integral part of the network. All are incentivized by the same incentive to verify that each block contains authentic transactions and accurate information.
Although smaller blockchain applications can be restricted, larger networks such as Bitcoin are open and anonymous.
To make anonymous networks more secure, networks can use consensus models that test users who want to join and confirm block data or add new records.
Two common consensus models are proof of stake and proof of work. Proof of stake tests requires users to solve a math problem which becomes increasingly complex and requires more computing power.
Solving such a problem is known as mining,' and users are able to join networks after they have solved the problem. Computers must purchase tokens to participate in proof of stake tests. The more tokens that a node holds, the more mining it can do on a network.
Creative Blockchain: Uses and Applications
Blockchain is most commonly used in cryptocurrency and other financial applications. Some of the most interesting possibilities for the future of blockchain technology and Blockchain Designers are not in the financial sector.
Healthcare
Blockchain can store and access private information, such as health records, more securely. Blockchain can be used to protect transactional information by using unique hashes.
It could also provide a solution for linking a patient's or hospital's medical records.
Voting
Blockchain will be widely used to ensure the safety of remote voting or digital voting. Hashing and storing every vote in a chain will make it much more difficult for election tampering to occur or for ballots to be missed.
Property Records
Blockchain can store and link any type of private data. Like health records, states and cities can store property deeds or other historical data on a secure blockchain.
Supply Chain
The same blockchain can record and save trades, exchanges, and other transactions. Blockchain technology makes it easier for large corporations to keep everything organized and secure from prying eyes.
Intellectual Property
NFTs are non-fungible coins. Images are stored in a blockchain and identified by hashes. This not only protects them from theft but also helps to identify certain NFTs, which are the originals of digital artworks, increasing their value.
This will allow many creatives to retain control over their work and stop big streaming companies or hosting services from taking the majority of profits.
Imagine Spotify paying artists pennies for each stream. Blockchain offers the opportunity to protect original works from piracy and unfair streaming agreements.
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Design Thinking and Creative Thinking with Blockchain
As soon as you understand how blockchains work, it becomes clear that blockchains and creative thinking go hand-in-hand.
Blockchain is one of the more innovative digital technologies in recent times.
Blockchain and creative thinking both aim to improve the user experience and eliminate pain points. Design thinking is a way to solve problems for users by using creative solutions.
You could call blockchain a specific example of design thinking.
The connection between blockchain and creative thinking hasn't yet been fully explored. Blockchain technology is not limited to cryptocurrency and financial applications.
There are many other areas where blockchain can be used in an innovative way.
NFTs can come across as being too speculative or even opposed to physical artwork. This argument is valid when it comes to traditional works of art or other physical media.
With the increase in user-generated data and smart technology, as well as the internet of everything, creative thinking, blockchain, and other technologies are taking over the design process that was previously less secure and time-consuming.
Blockchains can be used for the authentication of personal identity in apps or accounts. Also, they can protect information about smart devices to prevent hackers from stealing personal information and travel schedules.
Blockchain innovations are most likely to be seen in advertising and user data collection, which is an area that UX/UI designers will see in the future.
Also Read: How to Select the Best Blockchain UX Designer for Web3
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User Research and Blockchain For Designers
In the creative economy, user research is one of the most likely applications of blockchain. In ways that were unthinkable just a few decades ago, companies and user experience designers now incorporate the opinions and wishes of real product users.
Smart contracts using blockchain can be used not only to protect user data during the prototype testing phase but also to prevent proprietary information from being copied or altered, including user opinions and data.
Peer-to-peer transactions can be used as a way to reward people for participating in user research or improve the security of loyalty programs.
Cookies and other tracking technologies commonly used to design targeted omnichannel advertising can be used to protect app data and user stories on social networks.
Blockchain can be used on the business side to create dynamic pricing and to make changes to reflect market demand or special offers.
Artists and designers are able to control the pricing of specific products and respond faster to market changes.
Blockchain records every time a block, or creative work, is accessed. It can help measure the way users interact with specific brands and products.
Blockchain can be used to track the real-time actions of users and keep this data secure.
A blockchain is a fantastic tool for creatives and Top Blockchain Designers that often negotiate licensing agreements to use photos, films, or music in advertising campaigns or promotional materials.
Instead of purchasing an entire film or song, they can purchase rights to tiny sections.
You can now start incorporating blockchain into your creative work. UX designers, and other creatives, can better tailor their marketing and products to their potential users.
All the data collected by smart technology or the internet of things is more secure. Blockchain will have a huge impact on the creative economy. It's hard to predict how.
Blockchain is a relatively young technology that will replace many of the current applications and services, such as systems to manage our finances, track our health and determine how we communicate, transact and connect with one another.
Designers Should Consider Blockchain
While it may be tempting to dismiss blockchains and leave them to coders, their potential impact on humans is far too great to ignore.
The user experience, communication, and other new elements will all need to be carefully planned. Three reasons why designers should start thinking about Blockchain technology now:
There's More to it than Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are well-known to many people. Blockchain is the technology behind these digital currencies.
It gives them their unique characteristics that set them apart from traditional lucre such as the US Dollar. This structure allows you to transfer money directly from one person to another, anywhere in the globe, without needing an intermediary such as PayPal, Visa or Citibank.
What most people do not understand is that blockchain is so much more. A blockchain is, at its core, a type of digital ledger that records information in an easily traceable, publicly-verified way, across a network of decentralized devices.
This means that information, for example, is not just stored on one server, but is stored across many devices which communicate with each to verify the user's activity.
Blockchains are a way to track information in a different manner. Their applications are wide-ranging. They are expected to be used in the financial sector, but also for global shipping, parts trackers, digital identities, healthcare and other systems.
It's difficult to imagine an industry that relies heavily on technology and wouldn't be benefited by using a Blockchain. Designers need to think about how to use their skills in order to improve the experience of all the products and services built on this new infrastructure.
Human Interaction will be Transformed by this Technology
Blockchain is not just a tech, but also a way of thinking. But, all hype and exaggeration aside, blockchains will have a major impact on our culture.
Based on the way blockchains manage digital interactions, we'll start to expect different things from ourselves and others. People will also expect that the companies with whom they do business are transparent and open.
The consumer will want more information on the products and services that they buy. Data security will be a priority for companies.
Trust is likely to become one of the most important elements for any system. Imagine a world in which all interactions were more transparent, traceable, and egalitarian. What would it look like? How could we design to fit this new worldview?
Design is More Important than Ever for Technology
Our world is evolving at lightning speed. It's easy to be caught up in this rapid pace without considering the impact on people.
Code and algorithms are not neutral. It's not the technology that is good or bad but how we use it. All we make has a human touch. Our hopes, fears, and assumptions are woven into the systems that we design.
We'll need to create a group that advocates for human experience and human rights as we continue to develop these technologies.
It's crucial that designers have a say in the development of new technologies, such as blockchain, especially now.
Human-centered Blockchain Design Thinking can help startups to attract and retain users and can make or ruin a project.
UX design, customer experience, and other topics are not high on the list of priorities for most blockchain startups.
As the blockchain revolution begins, developers and startups are racing to create projects that will take full advantage of this new technology.
In the midst of the excitement surrounding Bitcoin and altcoins, and the decentralized system hype, it is easy to overlook a key component of product development: what the people want.
Early adopters and highly-technical innovators have dominated the blockchain and crypto world. To realize the potential of blockchain, it will be necessary to use and adopt new platforms, apps, cryptocurrency, etc.
The technology of blockchain is only now beginning to reach the general public, but it can be confusing for those who are not technical. The confusion is exacerbated when the jargon used by blockchain startups or ICOs becomes too technical.
The mass adoption of blockchain is a design issue, not a technical problem. Startups should focus on what is possible instead of building the impossible.
They should talk to users to find out what gaps they can fill in the market with products people want to use. The key to mass adoption is good UX design and clear language. Even minor improvements in the usability and accessibility of blockchain tools will help to bring this technology to more users.
Principles of Blockchain Design
The focus of software and web development is shifting from a focus on the possibilities that new technology could offer to one more focused on principles of human-centered design.
Modern product design is the foundation of today's winning companies. It must meet consumer demands. Digital design teams create technical solutions by understanding the needs and behaviors of consumers.
This allows them to develop products that are useful and engaging to users over time.
Most new blockchain startups neglect design, UX, and branding. In order to create better products and services, Dedicated Blockchain Designers, developers and founders will need to incorporate user-centered design principles.
Here are four ways you can apply UX principles to your Blockchain project:
Design for Humans
The principles of user-centered design help create products and services people want and need -- instead of building tech just for the sake of it.
Iterative decisions are made to determine how a product or system will interact with humans. You must understand who and why you are solving the problem.
It's common for blockchain projects and startups to create a whitepaper outlining what they plan to build. Then, they get funding to do it.
If these ideas are not validated before they go to market, the project may be a complete flop and expensive development resources wasted.
Design thinking encourages user research in order to develop empathy and validated learning via rapid prototype testing and iteration.
This solution-based design helps product teams reduce the risk of launching products that nobody wants or understands how to use. This process also leads to experiences that are more engaging and accessible, which can ultimately lead to greater adoption.
To be adopted, an idea, product, or behavior must have some value in the life of a person.
Design to Build Trust
Usability research has shown that, as websites and design trends change, users' priorities have not changed. Nor have their methods for evaluating a website's credibility.
Experts in UX/Usability Research, identified four factors that indicate the credibility of a site: the design, the upfront disclosure of data, the comprehensive content, and the connection to other websites.
These usability guidelines all share a common theme: people will be more confident in using your product or services if they can see that you're well-informed and dedicated to helping them.
Blockchain Design Team also proposes several UX Best-Practices for 'designing with trust,' including consistent UI, iconography and language, jargon-free language to communicate directly to users, and common design patterns that reduce the learning curve.
In order to convert visitors into customers, you must present your website as credible and trustworthy. Blockchain projects face the challenge of establishing trust in technology.
They must therefore be transparent, explain how they work, and do so in an accessible and understandable way. A trust may be the most important design element. If decentralized systems act as a "trust layer" for the internet and change the way people interact with one another, it could be the most crucial.
Design for Understanding
Hash functions, decentralized ledgers, and mining are all protocols. The burden falls on the pioneers of any industry to educate the public about the new technologies and their benefits.
How much blockchain technology should everyday users understand? Although TCP/IP or blockchain is the basis for many digital products and services today, focusing on the technical aspects of crypto startups will alienate many casual users.
Understanding the behavior of these potential customers can help simplify messaging and ensure that the information provided is valuable and clear.
The principles of UX design can be used to create a user experience that is intuitive and does not require extensive background information or explanation. The people want to know what makes blockchain apps different from the apps they are used to, but they also want to learn how they can benefit.
Unfamiliar UX, laced with technical jargon, becomes a significant barrier to communicating (and promoting) the benefits of new tools.
Design to Stand Out
Today's consumers are accustomed to using their laptops and smartphones. They have high expectations for digital products and services.
This is largely due to the shared design standards of top tech companies and the thoughtful design of user experiences. The design of a website becomes important when the offerings and prices are similar. This is when selecting the right designer doesn't require overthinking on the Blockchain Designers cost.
Startups and blockchain projects face many of the UX challenges that other digital products do - how can you provide the users with the necessary information and create a seamless experience? Blockchain projects have to simultaneously introduce users to new technologies.
A quality design can make new startups stand out, especially given the state of the industry. It's important to keep in mind that other blockchain projects do not represent the only competition.
The cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges must compete with PayPal and Venmo, which are successful products that were carefully designed and thoroughly tested by a large number of users.
To compete with Facebook and Twitter, social networks built on blockchains can't just rely on the value proposition that allows users to control their data. They need an amazing UX.
Design thinking can help with the relatability issue of blockchain technology. Blockchain has been a very technical-focused world, with little design, while innovators and early users experimented with new systems and apps that will change our lives.
Blockchain technology can only be fully realized if it is widely accepted and adopted. Blockchain projects that use proven human-centered principles in their design will be better equipped to communicate the unique value of their project to a large majority of people.
The most successful way to bring this new technology into reality is to design products that are well-designed and meet the expectations of today's sophisticated consumers.
They should also create a trusting atmosphere.
Blockchain: Challenges and Risks for the Creative Economy
Blockchain's rise in the creative sector is not guaranteed to bring only positive outcomes. The status quo, which has been established over decades or even centuries, will be thrown into disarray in many ways.
Artists and creatives may have greater control over their pricing, but this could lead to a division between them and their marketing and promotion resources.
The most gloomy predictions about blockchain's future in the creative industry are unlikely to come true, but this doesn't mean that creatives shouldn't be ready for new challenges as blockchain is implemented.
The storage of data on and off the blockchain is a major consideration for all designers and creatives.
Even though blockchain is an excellent way to store information decentralized, it doesn't necessarily mean that all data will be stored there.
It could be difficult to provide a seamless user experience if certain information is stored using blockchains while other data is stored via more traditional methods such as cloud storage, hard drives, or solid-state drives.
When blockchain is used to store cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, it is possible that the platform will not support micropayments.
Bitcoin or other cryptos are not suitable for micropayments, as the values can be so small that they could have decimal places up to 10th or even longer.
On an organizational scale, it could be difficult to keep a large team of creatives on the same page while allowing them to access the information on a Blockchain.
The use of blockchains in the creative industry should theoretically make it easier for a large number of people to gain access to data on the chain. In practice, however, the hashes of all these individuals and their unique keys can create a password headache for creative team members.
Designers and other creatives may have to troubleshoot in order to find the best solution for team members to store passwords, hashes, and other unique identification.
Blockchain is only secure if the hashes and keys are protected. It's simple if there are only a few to protect, but the use of blockchain in industrial or professional settings creates troves of data that hackers and other unscrupulous eyes can find valuable.
If enough hashes were discovered, hackers could access a large amount of data on a blockchain. They would not need to make any changes.
Blockchain can increase the commoditization of creative work. This includes images, music, and design products. NFTs are just one example of how additional information in blocks, and available on chain networks, can create new markets for value that did not exist before.
It's good news for companies that can offer more customized products to customers. This could be seen as a corruption of the creative industry by many.
Even with products that seem stable, adding more paywalls for access to this newly commodified data could disrupt or change the user's experience.
The future of social networks is still a mystery to many creatives and stakeholders. They should focus on the effects that blockchain will have, particularly with the integration of wallets, payment methods, and tip functions into social media websites like Twitter.
Instead of viewing these risks as a threat and instead seeing them as an opportunity for innovation, creatives need to see these hashes or keys in a new light.
The same way that user pain points can help UX designers define the parameters for a project, the challenges presented by blockchain technology will show where creatives should focus their efforts to solve problems in the future. Blockchain is an interconnected database of transactions or information.
Conclusion
Blockchain has endless possibilities. When the right network is created and transaction history is made more accessible, information is more detailed and more secure.
Blockchain may not solve all of our problems, but it will make it easier for creatives to address some common user issues.
Paul is a highly skilled Full Stack Developer with a solid educational background that includes a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Software Engineering, as well as a decade of hands-on experience. Certifications such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect, and Agile Scrum Master bolster his knowledge. Paul's excellent contributions to the software development industry have garnered him a slew of prizes and accolades, cementing his status as a top-tier professional. Aside from coding, he finds relief in her interests, which include hiking through beautiful landscapes, finding creative outlets through painting, and giving back to the community by participating in local tech education programmer.
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