Designing a verifiable credential wallet for ASU
Case Studies > ASU Pocket
About The Project
Strategy Ideation User Research Design Prototypes Design System
Arizona State University was building one of the first mobile digital wallets designed specifically for Learning and Employment Records (LERs). The vision was ambitious: give learners lifelong ownership of verifiable learning and employment records while supporting emerging standards in the LER ecosystem
ASU adopted the open-source Learner Credential Wallet from DCC as the technical underpinning, but while the wallet technology was powerful, the product faced a familiar challenge: digital wallets and verifiable credentials are concepts that make no sense to students, workers, or employers.
The success of the platform depended on whether everyday people could understand how to receive, manage, and share credentials with confidence. That's where we came in.
Target Audience
160,000
ASU students
3
Arizona workforce pilots
Design a digital credential wallet that people understand and can use for lifelong learning and workforce mobility.
Design Challenge
Pocket had to support entirely new mental models and help users understand:
- the purpose of the wallet and how to get started
- receiving, accepting and storing credentials
- sharing one or more credentials
- understanding value, use, trust and verification
We knew most users would not understand concepts like verifiable credentials or decentralized identity, so the challenge was in reducing that barrier and creating an easy user experience to help drive adoption.
Our Approach
Pocket had to support entirely new mental models and help users understand:
- the purpose of the wallet and how to get started
- receiving, accepting and storing credentials
- sharing one or more credentials
- understanding value, use, trust and verification
We knew most users would not understand concepts like verifiable credentials or decentralized identity, so the challenge was in reducing that barrier and creating an easy user experience to help drive adoption.
Branding
Pocket needed to support multiple pilots with different brand goals. Our design system allowed ASU to simply drag and drop the entire app into a new section and select the brand identity in one click.
Client
The US Chamber of Commerce T3 Innovation Network whose mission is to accelerate the use of digital tools to make the job market fairer and more inclusive.
What We Did
Led design and requirements refinement, collaborated with technical partners to align on decentralized storage, wallet integration, and credential rendering strategies.
Outcomes
A working POC with wallet-attached storage and a custom UI for linking verifiable credentials supported by a decentralized data model and resume rendering framework.
Delivery Time
12 weeks
Outcomes
Pocket needed to support multiple pilots with different brand goals. Our design system allowed ASU to simply drag and drop the entire app into a new section and select the brand identity in one click.
Learner Pilot
- 160,000 students, staff, and faculty invited to participate
- 3-month pilot
- Digital credentials issued from various issuing platforms
Note: 2 additional pilots were conducted with community colleges
Ace Hardware Pilot
- 17 employees participated
- 3-month pilot
- Digital credentials issued for 8 skill areas (BBQ Expert, Hardware Hero, Tool Champ, Electrical Expert, Plumbing Pro, Lawn & Garden Enthusiast, Outdoor Equipment Powerhouse)
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Time to Proof
Reduces time-to-proof by enabling users to link verifiable credentials (VCs) directly to resume content, replacing vague claims with validated evidence.
Increased Trust
Increases trust by anchoring self-asserted skills and experiences to endorsements, digital signatures, and credential metadata - proving resumes are human, not AI.
Equitable
Empowers underserved job seekers, including career-switchers and those without traditional degrees, to represent their skills with credibility and control.
Data Sovereignty/Portabilty
Enables portable, user-owned resumes that live beyond a single job platform—supporting decentralized storage and selective sharing for data sovereignty.