Quin

Role: UX Design, UX Research

Duration: 8 weeks

Tools: Figma

Platform: Mobile IOS App & Responsive Web

A Blockchain-Backed Photo Verification Platform for Journalistic Integrity

Misinformation spreads faster than facts—especially when weaponized through images. QUIN is a cross-platform system that empowers journalists to source authentic, tamper-proof visuals at speed.

I led the user research and UX design for this project, done on a team of two designers during the Master’s program at California College of the Arts.

Multiple screenshots of a mobile app called QUIN, showing a photo-sharing platform with images of protest marches, user profiles, and photo requests against a purple background.

The Problem

The Crisis in Visual Credibility: In the race to break news, journalists often rely on user-generated content. But current verification methods, such as reverse image searches, metadata inspection, are slow, manual, and prone to failure.

Discovery & Research

To understand this global challenge, we interviewed journalists and media professionals.

Key Insights:

  1. Speed vs. Trust Trade-off: Verification slows reporting

  2. No Source Trail: Images spread without provenance

  3. Lack of Standardization: Verification varies wildly across outlets

  4. Reader Fatigue: Low public trust in what they see

World map with purple labels indicating media roles in different countries: Editor-in-chief of the San Francisco Chronicle in the US, Photographer at SF Examiner, Freelance Journalist, Journalist at Mashable, Blockchain Expert, Reporter and Shift Editor at Al-Arabia, Copy Editor of Hindustan Times, Editor at Oxfam.
A detailed flowchart titled 'Journey Map of a News Story' illustrating the process from story origin through research, verification, review, publishing, and sharing, with steps, checks, and different media involved.

The Opportunity

How might we…

  • Create tamper-proof visual evidence that’s immediately verifiable?

  • Enable real-time capture and validation by trusted sources on the ground?

  • Build a transparent, scalable system that integrates into journalism workflows?

The Solution

A secure cross-platform system to capture, verify, and source authentic images with speed and integrity.

Mobile App: Capture & Authenticate

Camera-first UX: Users capture photos directly in-app

Metadata Lock: Time, GPS, and device info automatically captured

Blockchain Integration: Photo + metadata recorded instantly, creating a digital fingerprint

Contributor Tools: Tag location, topic, or events to aid discovery

User Types: Citizen journalists, field photographers, freelancers

Design Principle: Verification by default, not afterthought.

Flowchart showcasing the user interface and navigation flow for a mobile app named QUIN, including onboarding, home screen, search, browsing, buying, requests, camera functions, and confirmation steps, with screenshots of each step.

Web Portal: Discover & Source

Browse By Need: Filter by hashtag, location, or incident

Image Requests: Newsrooms can post geo-tagged content requests

Download Packages: Images come bundled with verified metadata + audit trail

User Types: Editors, newsroom leads, investigative journalists.

Computer monitor displaying social media website with trending news stories and images of protests and weather.
Protest scene with people holding signs and banners, including '#WomensMarch' and 'Trust Women', during a march or demonstration.
Flowchart titled 'QUIN - PRODUCT SERVICE ECOLOGY' illustrating the process of photography and blockchain data management. It includes sections for photographer and journalist photo details, metadata, peer-to-peer transmission, blockchain verification, and block creation. Visual elements feature icons of photographs, blocks, and arrows connecting the steps, with purple and gray color schemes.

Validation & Iteration

From Concept Generation to Early Testing

We created 3 vision posters to test conceptual framing (trust-first, speed-first, citizen-first). These helped align with journalists’ values and mental models.

We tested early flows with journalists, validating tasks like image tagging, uploading, and sourcing content.

Hand-drawn informational poster about a VR news booth, with illustrations of a journalist in a virtual environment, a news booth setup, and a journalist writing after experiencing VR. It includes sections on key points, benefits, and the process of journalist experiences in VR.
A handwritten diagram with labeled sections about concept 3: value proposition. The diagram shows a system connecting sensors, wire systems, cloud, service platform, and user, with arrows indicating data flow. Additional notes reference key benefits, characteristics, and a system process.
Poster titled "The Whole Truth" with blue and black text discussing transparency, truth, and evidence-based journalism. It lists key features, benefits, and methods of combating fake news, with a drawing of a laptop screen showing a news website and notes about verification.
Screenshots of a mobile app interface focused on photograph sharing, search, and trending topics related to anti-mob violence. The screens include icons for searching and taking photos, user posts with location and hashtags, and options to find or take photos.
Screenshot of the Quin app interface, showing the logo and tagline, photo finding and taking options, camera screen, and a photo upload prompt with editing options.

Impact & Feedback

System Outcomes

  • End-to-end flow from real-time capture → verification → newsroom usage

  • Balanced credibility and speed for global news cycles

  • Closed the loop between field contributors and publishers

“This gives us speed without sacrificing trust. It could change how we source breaking visuals.” — Editor

Learnings & Next Steps

Learnings

  • UX decisions must align with trust models: Users need to feel verification without doing more work.

  • Scalability requires nuance: Local contributors need global validation frameworks.

Next Steps

  • DSLR compatibility for high-fidelity field work

  • Subscription tier for newsrooms to expedite licensing

  • Content moderation layer to flag manipulated content