Shaype Developer Portal MVP Design
Shaype provides businesses with a flexible suite of financial services, enabling their customers to seamlessly integrate and manage their own financial products. As part of my role at Whitespace, I was embedded within the Shaype team to design a new product experience that would allow developers to onboard, set up, and interact with Shaype’s Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform.
The goal was to create a Proof of Concept (PoC) that would validate the feasibility of the Shaype platform, demonstrate its capabilities to potential users, and serve as a foundation for future iterations. This PoC would be used as a testing platform, ensuring that key design and technical decisions aligned with both user needs and business objectives.
To achieve this, the Whitespace team worked directly alongside Shaype’s product, marketing, and development teams, ensuring close collaboration and alignment. This integration allowed us to gain deep insights into their requirements, strategy, and technical capabilities, helping us create a PoC that not only met Shaype’s immediate needs but also set the stage for future expansion.
Role
- Competitor & User Research
- User Journey Design
- Wireframe Design
- UI Design
Discovery & Exploration
Understanding how developers onboard and interact with financial APIs was critical to designing an effective experience. Working alongside researchers and other designers, I conducted competitive analysis and user research, benchmarking Shaype against platforms like Stripe, Plaid, and Adyen.
Through workshops, stakeholder interviews, and user testing, we uncovered several key insights:
- Developers needed an easy, self-service onboarding flow. Complexity in setting up API credentials was a major barrier to adoption.
- Clarity in API access and permissions was essential. Users needed transparent role-based controls without excessive friction.
- Sandbox testing had to be intuitive. Developers wanted a fast way to generate API keys and experiment with Shaype’s services before full implementation.
- Security was a top concern. Managing credentials and team access had to be secure but user-friendly, avoiding unnecessary obstacles.
To organise these insights and align stakeholders, we used Miro, mapping out user journeys, workflows, and pain points. This process ensured that our designs addressed real developer needs, rather than assumptions.
From Concept to Prototype
With research insights in place, I translated findings into structured user flows and wireframes, refining the developer onboarding and API management experience.
The initial design concepts focused on:
- A simplified registration process that balanced security with ease of use.
- A clean dashboard for managing API keys, credentials, and permissions.
- A self-service model where developers could whitelist APIs, invite team members, and configure integrations without manual intervention.
- A flexible information architecture that scaled for both small teams and large enterprise use cases.
I created interactive wireframes in Figma, testing them with internal stakeholders and external developers to gather feedback. These early tests helped us refine the dashboard layout, API setup process, and authentication flow, ensuring they were intuitive and aligned with best practices.
UI Design & Usability Testing
Once the structure was validated, I took the lead on UI design, ensuring that the PoC was both aesthetically polished and functionally effective. The design needed to reflect Shaype’s brand identity while maintaining clarity, accessibility, and responsiveness across devices.
During this phase, I focused on:
- Refining user journeys based on feedback from early testers.
- Creating high-fidelity UI designs for both desktop and mobile.
- Ensuring accessibility compliance to make the experience intuitive for a broad audience.
To validate the design decisions, I conducted usability testing using Maze, gathering insights from developers navigating the platform. This testing revealed the need for stronger contextual guidance, leading us to introduce inline tooltips, API usage examples, and clearer system feedback to enhance the developer experience.
Collaboration with Development & UX QA
As the project moved into development, I worked closely with engineers to ensure a seamless transition from design to implementation. This involved:
- Providing detailed design specifications and annotated user flows.
- Addressing edge cases (e.g., handling expired API keys, managing multiple team roles).
- Working through technical constraints to balance design vision with feasibility.
Beyond handoff, I was actively involved in UX QA, reviewing builds and ensuring:
- UI components were implemented correctly across different screen sizes.
- Authentication flows were smooth and error handling was clear.
- Developers could easily generate, manage, and revoke API keys as intended.
This hands-on approach helped catch inconsistencies early, ensuring the final PoC was not just a prototype, but a functional and user-tested tool.
Outcomes & Impact
The PoC received positive feedback from Shaype’s leadership and product teams, who highlighted the depth of UX thinking and attention to detail in the design.
Key successes included:
- A fully functional prototype that demonstrated Shaype’s capabilities and served as a foundation for the next iteration.
- Stronger user validation, ensuring the developer experience was intuitive and aligned with industry best practices.
- A scalable design framework that could be expanded in future releases.
The PoC continues to evolve as a testing platform for refining design and business decisions, helping Shaype validate new features before committing to full-scale development.
Lessons Learned & Reflections
User-Centred Research Makes a Difference
By conducting early usability testing and competitive analysis, we identified critical pain points that helped refine onboarding and API management workflows.
Security and Simplicity Must Coexist
One of the biggest challenges was balancing strong security measures with a seamless developer experience. Through iterative design and testing, we struck a balance that met security needs without creating unnecessary friction.
Cross-Team Collaboration is Key
Working directly with Shaype’s developers and product teams ensured that design decisions were grounded in technical feasibility, reducing unnecessary rework and accelerating development.
Looking Ahead
With the PoC successfully delivered, Shaype is now using it as a foundation to refine and expand their developer platform. This project reinforced my passion for designing intuitive, security-conscious digital experiences, particularly in developer tools and financial services.
If you’re interested in the research, design, and strategy behind this project—or how to create seamless, developer-friendly onboarding experiences—let’s connect.
