Climate Action Data Trust
Simplifying complex carbon data through a unified platform
The Climate Action Data Trust (CAD Trust) is a decentralized, open-data platform aiming to unify global carbon registry data and strengthen transparency in carbon markets.
I was brought on as Lead UX Designer, working closely with the CAD Trust team to take the product from zero to launch.
We had eight weeks to turn complexity into clarity, and showcase the platform’s potential for seed funding and cross-registry adoption.
My Role
Over eight weeks, I worked closely with CAD Trust’s product owners, policy analysts, and our in-house engineers, supported by a junior designer on my team.
I led user interviews speaking to a range of users, shaped the MVP scope, designed the interface across web and mobile, and built a clickable prototype with Figma that we tested and refined over multiple iterations.
The prototype was showcased at Innovate4Climate 2023, where it received strong feedback. CAD Trust secured funding soon after, and I stayed on through the next phase—working sprint by sprint with developers to bring the platform to life.
The Process
Discovery & Research
We kicked off the project with user interviews to understand how different people interact with carbon data in practice. I spoke to traders, analysts, and registry managers to get a sense of their workflows, tools, and pain points.
Two things became clear early on: first, most users were stitching together data manually just to spot basic trends across registries. Second, not everyone was interested in the same kind of access. Carbon traders, for example, were focused on supply, demand, and pricing—needs that relied on live market data we couldn’t support at this stage.
To bring clarity to these diverging needs, I created a segmentation matrix that helped us focus the MVP. We narrowed in on one key group: individual users—such as market analysts and government carbon managers—who needed a fast, visual way to scan project data and compare across registries. This matrix became a key alignment tool, helping the team zero in on what the product should (and shouldn’t) do in its first release.
User segmentation matrix used to guide MVP focus
Early UI Exploration
After our first round of interviews, I jumped into exploring homepage directions. The initial concepts followed standard registry layouts—table-heavy, familiar, and functional, but not distinctive. I also tried a clean, search-first layout like Google or ChatGPT-esque, with a minimal interface focused on user input.
But the strongest direction came from user insight: people wanted to quickly spot high-level patterns. I designed a hybrid layout that combined functional search with a dashboard of aggregated metrics. It offered immediate value while still allowing deeper exploration.
Explored multiple homepage concepts to test different mental models
Designing the Core Experience
After aligning on our target users, I focused on translating their workflows into the structure of the homepage and core features. Many users approached carbon data from two angles—either by looking at project-level summaries or zooming in on individual units—so I built the search engine to support both views. I also added a keyword input for users who preferred to start with a broad search.
Search engine designs
For the dashboard, I designed two main widgets. The first was a dotted world map showing active projects by region, giving users a quick global snapshot. The visual direction was inspired by a graphic on CAD Trust’s marketing site, which captured the platform’s reach in a simple, striking way. The second widget displayed a timeline of credits issued and retired, helping users spot trends in supply and demand.
World map widget showing global project coverage and reduction data
Timeline widget showing credits issued and retired over time
We tested a couple of other feature ideas. I designed a comparison view that let users line up projects side by side, and a watchlist feature so they could save and organize key projects after creating an account—both made it into the MVP. Email alerts, however, were dropped after users shared they preferred real-time updates over scheduled summaries.
Reflections
Start with a shared language
One of the first things I struggled with was the sheer amount of jargon—projects, units, registries, methodologies—all overlapping but slightly different. I built a simple content taxonomy to map things out, and it became something the whole team relied on. It gave us a shared reference point and made decisions around scope and structure much easier.
Taxonomy diagram breaking down the data hierarchy
Designing for mobile constraints in a data-heavy product
The homepage was built around a data-heavy dashboard, so we couldn’t bring everything to mobile as-is. We removed the world map and let users filter by region instead, adjusted how filters were displayed, and made the table responsive for smaller screens. Rather than mirroring every component, we focused on making sure the overall experience still worked smoothly on mobile.
Selected mobile screens
Recognition & Impact
GAEA Awards Finalist
Shortlisted in the Business Action category at the inaugural GAEA Awards by the World Economic Forum
Innovate4Climate Presentation
Presented at Innovate4Climate 2023 in Bilbao, Spain, a leading global conference with over 1,500 participants from 132 countries
Featured in The Straits Times
Featured in The Straits Times, Singapore’s leading news publication, for covering 85% of global carbon credit market data
Words from the Client
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"I had the absolute pleasure of working with Inez on a complex and significant project, the design of a User Interface for a new data platform. Her remarkable blend of technical skill, creativity, and proactive approach sets her apart in the field of user interface design. I wholeheartedly recommend Inez for any front-end design role. Any team would be lucky to have such a dedicated, creative, and talented professional leading their design efforts."
Luka Biernaki, Communications & Marketing Director, CAD Trust