A new decentralized finance (DeFi) platform named Sprout is preparing to enter the market with a bold mission: to demystify crypto yields and make high-performance investing accessible to everyone, not just crypto natives. One core contributor is Sprout’s Brand Experience Designer Yuanchao Zhang, who built the product design on a foundation of intuitive design, transparency, and a visual language that aims to bridge the gap between complex technology and user trust.
The platform is gearing up for a closed beta launch this month, with a collaboration announcement with Resolv, Fluent, and Solayer. Sprout has also been selected for Fluent’s Blended Builders Club accelerator, receiving ecosystem support and validation from the Fluent network, and has established strategic partnerships with Kodiak, Sixpence, Infrared Finance, and Berachain, with a forthcoming collaboration with Monad on the horizon. Together, these milestones mark Sprout’s growing recognition as a breakout startup leading DeFi into the mainstream consumer-app space.
Designing for finance is never easy; it’s a world that prioritizes trust, but simple, straightforward design works best. For Zhang, a multidisciplinary designer with experience spanning the Web3 world—where he designed numerous NFT collections and contributed to multiple ecosystem projects—and traditional consumer products through his work at EPAM Continuum, the challenge was clear. “In DeFi, most high-yield products still feel complex, exclusive, and unstable,” he said. “My vision for Sprout was to design a platform that simplifies crypto yields into something anyone can use – even your parents. The brand had to feel intelligent, yet approachable.”
For Zhang, that challenge came with an extra layer — bridging the gap between crypto-native users and everyday consumers. With roots in the Web3 world, where he designed numerous NFT collections, contributed to multiple ecosystem projects, and led the rebrand for Skatechain, Zhang brings a deep understanding of crypto culture. Combined with experience at innovation consultancy EPAM Continuum, he approaches Sprout as a designer fluent in both technology and human behavior.
This vision translates into a user experience designed to build confidence through clarity. Sprout’s brand identity deliberately eschews the dark, corporate aesthetic of traditional finance. Instead, it employs a fresh palette centered on “Sprout Green” to symbolize vitality and bright blue for clarity and trust. The logo itself uses motion to mimic a naturally emerging sprout, reflecting the platform’s core themes of intelligence and growth.
“The logo captures the relationship between intelligence and growth,” Zhang explained. “We also designed a series of graphic patterns that visualize concepts like auto-compounding and intelligent rebalancing. Together, they create a visual system that feels alive and self-evolving, reflecting how the product itself grows with its users.”
In an industry where trust is paramount, Sprout’s design philosophy prioritizes transparency. Zhang emphasizes that confidence is born from understanding. The platform’s onboarding process asks simple, relatable questions to build a customized risk profile for each user, then generates a personalized portfolio.
The platform promises bank-grade security for transactions, maximizing safety, 24/7 automated risk protection designed by industry experts, and the user’s choice of either self-custody or institution security through Fordefi, among other perks.
“Sprout clearly shows how funds are allocated across different DeFi strategies; users can see how each portion of their money works and grows over time,” said Zhang. “We avoid unnecessary complexity or flashy visuals because confidence comes from understanding. By making every decision visible and meaningful, Sprout helps people feel in control.”
Demonstrating its position at the forefront of technology, Sprout is also leveraging a suite of AI tools for content creation—a growing trend among U.S. tech startups. Zhang, drawing on his background in the film industry, has built a complete AI-driven production workflow.
“I divided our target audience into personas under the theme ‘Sprout is for everyone,’ each with a script based on real-life pain points,” he noted.
By using digital tools like Storyboard AI, Veo 3, Kling, and ElevenLabs, Zhang and his team is creating cinematic commercial content at a fraction of traditional costs, effectively communicating how Sprout can solve tangible financial problems, like helping a small shop owner put idle cash to work.
“Sprout will be integrating strategies across different chains as we always want the best yields for our users,” Zhang said. It means turning decentralized finance into a truly seamless everyday investing experience.
After a period of successful user testing on the Fluent testnet, Sprout is set to launch its closed beta this month, with an official launch planned for Q1 2026, pending further refinement based on user insights. As it prepares to launch its app, Sprout stands poised to offer a new, more human-centric path into the world of decentralized finance.
