In the rapidly evolving world of Web3, user experience (UX) often takes a backseat. Christine Erispe's WAIFU Project aims to change that by providing an open-source toolkit for designing intuitive and consistent decentralized applications (dApps).

When people talk about blockchain and Web3, the conversation usually revolves around innovation, speed, or scalability. But for the average user, what matters most is experience. Can they understand what to click? Do they feel secure making a transaction? Do they know what’s happening behind the scenes?

Christine Erispe, DevRel head at ETH PH (ETH63), has spent years answering those questions through workshops, blogs, and UX critiques. Now, she’s turned those ideas into action through the WAIFU Project, an open-source toolkit built to simplify and improve how decentralized applications are designed.

More than just a frontend library, WAIFU is Christine’s attempt to standardize good user experience across Web3 platforms. With open-source templates, design components, and a strong focus on collaboration, WAIFU offers both designers and developers a faster and more consistent way to build dApps. Its goal: to make decentralized technology usable by everyone, not just the crypto-native.

What is WAIFU Project?

The WAIFU Project is an open-source design system and frontend library tailored for Web3 applications. Its primary goal is to create habit-forming user experiences in the decentralized ecosystem by offering designers and developers a suite of tools to streamline the creation of dApps. By emphasizing uniform interaction patterns, WAIFU seeks to make Web3 applications more intuitive and user-friendly.

Originally imagined as a practical book on Web3 UX, WAIFU was born during Christine’s stay in Chiangmai, where mentors from Eigenlayer and MegaETH encouraged her to build a modular software toolkit instead. She then explored training a Web3-specific AI agent but found that UX needs varied too widely across dApps.

This led to WAIFU’s current form: an opinionated yet composable open-source system built with Tailwind CSS, React, and TypeScript, and is designed to establish a unified UX pattern for Ethereum-based chains that support ERC-4337.

How Does the WAIFU Project Work?

WAIFU offers several key components to assist in Web3 and crypto dApp development:

• Figma UI Pack: This pack enables rapid prototyping with ready-made complex Web3 components. It features well-thought-out templates for DeFi platforms, wallets, account abstraction (AA), and NFTs, all grounded in UX design principles. This allows designers to visualize and iterate on their projects efficiently.
• Components Library: Built with Tailwind CSS, this library provides a collection of pre-designed components that simplify the development of crypto interfaces. Developers can quickly assemble and customize these components, reducing the need to build interfaces from scratch and accelerating the development process.
• Web3 UX System: By open-sourcing both tools and guidelines, WAIFU promotes uniform interaction patterns across the industry. Consistent UX practices help users develop familiarity with dApp interfaces, leading to more habit-forming and intuitive experiences.
• Developer and Designer Collaboration: WAIFU bridges the communication gap between designers and developers by providing a shared set of tools and resources. This collaboration ensures that design intentions are accurately translated into functional code, resulting in cohesive and well-designed dApps.
• Community-Driven Development: The project is open to feedback and welcomes new contributors. Component designs and layouts can evolve based on community decisions, ensuring that WAIFU remains adaptable to the ecosystem's needs and continues to address real-world challenges in Web3 UX.

How Does the WAIFU Project Benefit the Ecosystem?

WAIFU addresses several critical challenges in the Web3 space:

• Enhanced User Experience: By providing standardized components and design principles, WAIFU helps create dApps that are more intuitive and user-friendly. This reduces the learning curve for new users and enhances overall satisfaction.
• Accelerated Development: Developers can leverage WAIFU's pre-built components to rapidly prototype and deploy dApps. This efficiency allows for quicker iteration and innovation within the Web3 space.
• Consistency Across Applications: Uniform design patterns foster a cohesive user experience across different dApps. When users encounter familiar interfaces and interactions, they are more likely to engage with new applications confidently.
• Empowered Solo Developers and Small Teams: WAIFU provides foundational blocks that enable solo hackers and small teams to focus on the core logic of their applications without getting bogged down by complex UI/UX design challenges.

The WAIFU Project, spearheaded by Christine Erispe, serves as a pivotal initiative in enhancing Web3 UX and signals the rise of system-first design principles in the decentralized future. By offering a comprehensive toolkit and fostering community collaboration, WAIFU paves the way for more accessible and user-centric decentralized applications.