2025-06-12 –, Main Stage - Cinema 10
Decentralized storage promises data permanence, censorship resistance, and trustless access—but poor UX is holding it back. While protocols like IPFS, Arweave, and Filecoin provide the technical backbone for decentralized file storage, users and developers struggle with complex retrieval, unclear incentives, and unreliable access.
Unlike Google, AWS S3, and Dropbox, which became ubiquitous through seamless search, structured data retrieval, and frictionless integrations, decentralized storage still presents high friction and usability challenges. Without better UX, decentralization remains an underutilized alternative rather than a foundational shift.
This talk explores how better UX and design can address key challenges, making decentralized storage not just an option, but the preferred choice.
Key Takeaways:
Why better developer UX in APIs, file explorers, and retrieval interfaces makes it easier to integrate decentralized storage into applications.
The Web2 Playbook: What we can learn from AWS, Dropbox, and Google Drive UX—and how to apply those lessons to decentralized storage.
Why It’s Interesting for Developers:
Good UX prevents data loss—designing better storage interfaces, feedback mechanisms, and APIs reduces friction and improves access.
Reliability depends on usability—protocol-level innovations fail if users and developers don’t understand how to interact with them effectively.
Practical takeaways: Developers will walk away with actionable strategies to improve decentralized file retrieval, uptime visibility, and incentive-driven storage models.
Diogo is an engineer and designer specializing in Web3 UX and product design. Currently, he is the Head of Design at ChainSafe, where he focuses on improving developer and user experiences across decentralized technologies. Previously, he was Head of Design at Talisman Wallet, helping shape one of the most user-friendly wallets in the Polkadot ecosystem. With a background in engineering and design, Diogo bridges the gap between technical infrastructure and intuitive interfaces, driving innovation in blockchain usability.