Repositioning Base Account
Role – design lead, base ACCOUNT
Company – Coinbase
ship date – july 2025
In summer 2024, Coinbase launched a new smart contract wallet, secured with passkeys instead of the traditional 12-word seed phrase. Alongside it came a developer SDK that allowed apps to integrate sign-on and payments with just a few lines of code.
When I joined the team in January 2025, adoption wasn’t where it needed to be. Apps integrating the SDK were struggling to retain quality users. Many who signed up through the below onboarding flow churned after one use.
onboarding designs – jan 2025
Through collaboration with research, I developed a hypothesis: users didn’t realize they were creating a universal account they could use across multiple apps. The design didn’t follow familiar single sign-on (SSO) patterns like Google or Apple, and the product’s positioning as a “wallet” created additional confusion for non-crypto-native users.
During this time we were in the process of moving all the Coinbase Wallet products into the Base product family. I took this opportunity to pitch a repositioning: when Base’s rebrand is announced, introduce the smart wallet as an onchain SSO product named ‘Base Account’. Through user journeys, I demonstrated how this shift would clarify the value for both end–users and developers building with the SDK.
product positioning decision matrix
The pitch aligned product, marketing, and leadership. I led the UI redesign for sign-in and account management, oversaw the Base branding rollout, and ensured the new product positioning carried through the experience. In July 2025, we launched Base Account live in Los Angeles at A New Day One.
redesigned sso screen – app specific
dedicated account management tool
redesigned app sign-in
Want to know more?
I’ve kept things high-level here. Happy to share the full case study upon request
Get in touch
designed and built with 🤍 by Alexandra fitzroy
Repositioning Base Account
Role – design lead, base ACCOUNT
Company – Coinbase
ship date – july 2025
In summer 2024, Coinbase launched a new smart contract wallet, secured with passkeys instead of the traditional 12-word seed phrase. Alongside it came a developer SDK that allowed apps to integrate sign-on and payments with just a few lines of code.
When I joined the team in January 2025, adoption wasn’t where it needed to be. Apps integrating the SDK were struggling to retain quality users. Many who signed up through the below onboarding flow churned after one use.
onboarding designs – jan 2025
Through collaboration with research, I developed a hypothesis: users didn’t realize they were creating a universal account they could use across multiple apps. The design didn’t follow familiar single sign-on (SSO) patterns like Google or Apple, and the product’s positioning as a “wallet” created additional confusion for non-crypto-native users.
During this time we were in the process of moving all the Coinbase Wallet products into the Base product family. I took this opportunity to pitch a repositioning: when Base’s rebrand is announced, introduce the smart wallet as an onchain SSO product named ‘Base Account’. Through user journeys, I demonstrated how this shift would clarify the value for both end–users and developers building with the SDK.
product positioning decision matrix
The pitch aligned product, marketing, and leadership. I led the UI redesign for sign-in and account management, oversaw the Base branding rollout, and ensured the new product positioning carried through the experience. In July 2025, we launched Base Account live in Los Angeles at A New Day One.
redesigned sso screen – app specific
dedicated account management tool
redesigned app sign-in
As Base grew beyond an internal experiment, we knew we needed to rebrand.
Want to know more?
I’ve kept things high-level here. Happy to share the full case study upon request
Get in touch
designed and built with 🤍 by Alexandra fitzroy
Repositioning Base Account
Role – design lead, base ACCOUNT
Company – Coinbase
ship date – july 2025
In summer 2024, Coinbase launched a new smart contract wallet, secured with passkeys instead of the traditional 12-word seed phrase. Alongside it came a developer SDK that allowed apps to integrate sign-on and payments with just a few lines of code.
When I joined the team in January 2025, adoption wasn’t where it needed to be. Apps integrating the SDK were struggling to retain quality users. Many who signed up through the below onboarding flow churned after one use.
onboarding designs – jan 2025
Through collaboration with research, I developed a hypothesis: users didn’t realize they were creating a universal account they could use across multiple apps. The design didn’t follow familiar single sign-on (SSO) patterns like Google or Apple, and the product’s positioning as a “wallet” created additional confusion for non-crypto-native users.
During this time we were in the process of moving all the Coinbase Wallet products into the Base product family. I took this opportunity to pitch a repositioning: when Base’s rebrand is announced, introduce the smart wallet as an onchain SSO product named ‘Base Account’. Through user journeys, I demonstrated how this shift would clarify the value for both end–users and developers building with the SDK.
product positioning decision matrix
The pitch aligned product, marketing, and leadership. I led the UI redesign for sign-in and account management, oversaw the Base branding rollout, and ensured the new product positioning carried through the experience. In July 2025, we launched Base Account live in Los Angeles at A New Day One.
redesigned sso screen – app specific
dedicated account management tool
redesigned app sign-in
As Base grew beyond an internal experiment, we knew we needed to rebrand.
Want to know more?
I’ve kept things high-level here. Happy to share the full case study upon request
Get in touch
designed and built with 🤍 by Alexandra fitzroy