Content Design @ MetaMask 🦊

Starting in May 2022, I’ve helmed content design at MetaMask, a popular web3 wallet trusted by over 100 million people worldwide. As the first content designer on the team, I’ve done everything from creating internal and external style guides to collaborating on new feature launches. I touch everything from microcopy to major feature launches. This is just a glimpse at what I’ve been able to build with my amazing team of product designers, researchers, product managers, and (of course!) developers.

Protecting users with the Secret Recovery Phrase Quiz

In an era where scams are increasingly prevalent, understanding how to prevent fraud, especially in the crypto world, is essential. Scams come in various forms—phishing attacks, rug pulls, Ponzi schemes, and more. Even seasoned users can be tricked into revealing their private keys or sending money to a scam address. However, good content design can be a powerful tool in combating some of these scams.

Clear, user-friendly interfaces and informative, concise text can empower individuals to make smarter decisions regarding their data. A prime example of this strategy is the Secret Recovery Phrase quiz. This feature provides a constructive challenge for users wanting to disclose their Secret Recovery Phrase.

Before revealing the phrase, users must first pass a two-question quiz that underscores the significance of keeping the recovery phrase confidential. The truth is, anyone asking for your Secret Recovery Phrase is most likely aiming to steal your assets. Without user education on this risk, there's a high probability they'll fall prey to a scammer, leading to a loss of trust in crypto.

Since the launch of this feature, metrics show a huge portion of users opt not to reveal their Secret Recovery Phrase after completing the quiz. While the actual stats are confidential, we can chalk this up to a win in the fight against scammers.

Spending crypto IRL with the MetaMask Card

The MetaMask Card simplifies how users spend their digital assets in everyday life. Previously, using crypto for real-world purchases was cumbersome, requiring users to move funds through exchanges and banks. This complicated process discouraged many from adopting crypto as a daily currency.

With the MetaMask Card, users can now spend their crypto directly from their MetaMask wallet—similar to using a debit card, but without the need for a bank middleman. However, because the card leverages blockchain technology, there are important steps users must complete before they can start spending. These include bridging tokens across networks, swapping token types, and setting a lifetime spending limit (or choosing to pay a transaction fee with every swipe, which weirdly enough, some folks do opt for).

Decentralized finance (DeFi) offers powerful features, but it also introduces new responsibilities for users. Managing these complexities required careful consideration in the content design process. I collaborated closely with the product team to simplify the language and user flows while maintaining accuracy. Additionally, I worked with the research team to iterate based on user feedback and partnered with marketing to ensure the content aligned with MetaMask’s brand voice.

We launched the MetaMask Card in a pilot program across the EU and UK in mid-2024 and continue to improve its usability based on real-world feedback.

Case study: The call is coming from inside the house—how crypto jargon undermines adoption

Overview

As one of the top wallets in the web3 space, MetaMask holds a unique position to make crypto more accessible and inclusive. However, the industry’s complex terminology and jargon can be a major hurdle for newcomers. So the the Content Design team decided to take on our own research project — we wanted to speak directly with the crypto-curious to understand how people learn and interpret crypto-related terms, whether unfamiliar language creates a barrier to entry, and how content design can play a pivotal role in simplifying and supporting users throughout their journey. A small but scrappy team of 2, my counterpart and I set forth finding participants who fit the following parameters:

• All participants were crypto-curious—actively learning about it and wanting to get involved.

• We sought folks of different ages, backgrounds, and careers.

• Every participant knew a little bit about traditional financial platforms.
  

Objectives

• Understand how participants research and gather information, both generally and specific to crypto.

• Explore the motivations driving people to take their first steps into crypto and decentralized finance.

• Identify challenges in self-education and the resources they rely on.

• Assess how new users adapt, react, and handle mistakes or errors, including their risk tolerance and confidence levels.

• Learn what specific terms cause confusion and whether these terms prevent people from engaging with crypto.

• Evaluate how well users can define crypto jargon using their knowledge of traditional finance.

Key Findings

The study uncovered several insights that highlight the importance of thoughtful content design:

1. Widespread confusion with jargon: All participants struggled to define at least half of the crypto terms provided. While they were willing to learn, most stated they would need to understand 70-80% of crypto concepts before investing, illustrating a high knowledge threshold for engagement.

2. Knowledge gaps in critical terms:

   • Many participants were unfamiliar with terms like “gas fees” and misinterpreted “fiat” as a car brand.

   • Most didn’t understand what “dapp” stood for, with some mistaking it for slang like “fist bump” rather than “decentralized application.”

   • While users could intuitively connect ideas like “bridge” or “swap” to actions like connecting or trading, they struggled to explain their meanings in a crypto context.

3. Confidence vs. understanding: Confidence played a major role in motivating users to invest, even if their understanding of the terms wasn’t accurate. When given more information or clues (e.g., “gas plus transaction fee”), participants were able to guess more accurately, which reinforced their sense of confidence.

4. Desire for education within the product: Participants expressed a strong desire to be better educated within the product itself. They wanted contextual explanations for complex terms, feeling overwhelmed by jargon and unclear about how much they needed to know to get started.
   

Why Content Design Matters

This study demonstrated that content design is essential to onboarding newcomers to crypto. We can’t always change the fundamental terms, but we can make them more approachable and explain them better. By doing so, we can lower the knowledge barrier and help people feel more confident and informed when entering the space.

Opportunities for Improvement

• Empathetic design: Designing with empathy is key to making crypto accessible to everyone. Newcomers should feel supported at every step, no matter their level of expertise. Simplifying language and providing helpful, digestible content can reduce anxiety and build user confidence.

• Redefining terminology: Some terms, like “fiat” or “gas fees,” are consistently misunderstood. There’s an opportunity to replace or redefine these terms with language that’s more intuitive, while preserving technical accuracy.

• Positioning MetaMask as a trusted resource: Crypto lacks a clear source of truth. MetaMask has the opportunity to position itself as a trusted guide by providing clear, educational content that empowers users.

• Continued research: As MetaMask expands into new products and features (such as delegatable wallets and staking products), it’s crucial that the Content Design team remains part of the product discussions from the beginning. Our role is to simplify complex concepts and help shape the future of blockchain to be more user-friendly.
  

Conclusion

Content design is more than just writing—it’s about democratizing a product so it is accessible to people from all walks of life. This study reinforced the importance of clear, empathetic language in overcoming the barriers that jargon and complexity create. By continuing to focus on user education and simplifying language, we have the power to bring more people into the web3 space confidently and safely.