Chiko & Roko: NFT collectibles built from scratch
A full product design journey — from blank canvas to a living NFT platform used by nearly 100,000 collectors every day.
The project
Smeshariki is one of Russia's biggest cartoon franchises. Someone had the idea to turn their characters into NFT collectibles — let artists remix them, let fans collect and trade them, view them in AR. The first drop was at Expo 2020 in Dubai. We were there from day one.
Approach
14 months with the founding team. We started with research and basic flows, then just kept going — KYC, onboarding, auctions, AR. Every time the product grew, we went back and made sure the earlier parts still held.
The work
Collecting, trading, auctions, KYC, AR — 500+ screens total. The interesting problems were the ones where the experience had to feel effortless but the logic underneath was genuinely complex.
Design decisions
The product kept growing, and our job was to make sure it didn't show. Flexible systems, consistent logic — so that screen 500 felt like it belonged next to screen 1.
Outcome
From 800 copies per drop to 50,000. Half a million collectors, 100+ contributing artists.
Let's talk.
Reach out if you're building something and want a senior pair of eyes on it. I read everything that comes in.