All Crypto Currency - Animation

Hey guys, here is a mockup that we animated for our cryptocurrency web app design project - ACE.
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When we started the ACE project we couldn't dream how complex it will be. Only for our first phase of the process - research, we spent two times more than for our average project.
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We had to do a lot of competition research and go more deeply through needs of our user personas.
Besides crypto experts, the main users of the ACE are people that just entered the world of cryptocurrency.
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What we have found out through this project is that it is necessary to spend whatever time it takes to the research phase properly because it is the base of the project and key to success.
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How does your research phase look like? How much do you devote your time to research as a phase in the process of design?