Case Study: Guardian Validator

Introduction

Guardian Validator is dedicated to supporting the decentralization of the Solana blockchain. They provide a high-performance, ethical, and safe staking service. Guardian Validator utilizes top-end hardware and datacenters with backups to ensure maximum uptime and the highest possible Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for their users. They aim to distribute a significant portion of their block rewards back to the community through various means.

Core Offerings:

1. Validator Services:
   • Offers competitive staking rewards with zero fees on staking and JITO MEV staking rewards.
   • Distributes a portion of block rewards and priority fees to gS (Liquid Staking Token) holders and NFT holders.
   • Uses block rewards to support the Solana ecosystem and reward NFT holders.
2. NFTs:
   • Provides exclusive access to a community of 2200 members, comprising builders, developers, expert traders, and creatives.
   • Each Guardian NFT holder receives rewards distributed directly into their wallets in the form of gS (LST).
3. Liquid Staking (gS):
   • Represents a tokenized stake account delegated to Guardian Validator.
   • The underlying stake and the amount of SOL each gS represents increases after each epoch.
   • 51% of block rewards and priority fees are airdropped to gS holders.

Principles:

• Ethical: Prioritizes ethical decisions for the benefit of Solana and its users.
• Performant: Focuses on optimal performance and efficacy without compromising on cost.
• Safe: Commits to best practices for safety and security in all domains.

Community and Ecosystem Support:

• Allocates 5% of block rewards to support the Solana ecosystem.
• Profits from ecosystem support are distributed to Guardian NFT holders.
• Engages in various initiatives like liquidity provision, DAO voting, protocol lending, and acquisition of critical native ecosystem tokens to enhance the Solana ecosystem’s growth and stability.

Guardian Validator’s mission is to maximize rewards for their community while maintaining a strong ethical stance and commitment to the decentralization and security of the Solana blockchain.

The Brief

Objective: Develop a sleek, single-page landing website to showcase Guardian Validator’s web3 business, guiding users through an engaging and informative experience.

Background: Guardian Validator aims to secure the network in a decentralized, ethical manner that benefits users and the ecosystem. The website needs to reflect their high-tech, artistic vibe while emphasizing ethical practices and generous reward systems.

Requirements:

1. User Experience:
   • Create a narrative flow that explains the business as users scroll or click on anchors.
   • Keep users engaged with movement and visually appealing elements.
   • Use graphical representations to convey information clearly.
   • Highlight the ethical practices and generous reward systems.
2. Design Philosophy:
   • Convey a high-tech vibe mixed with artistic elements.
   • Integrate greys and greens in the color scheme.
   • Ensure the design is sleek and modern.
3. Functionality:
   • Direct users to the mint page.
   • Provide a clear and concise roadmap.
   • Include links to social media profiles.

Sections:

1. Guardian Validator: Introduction and overview of the business.
2. Focus: Details on securing the network ethically and giving back to users and the ecosystem.
   • Top-tier hardware and datacenter with backups.
   • Ethical approach and practices.
3. Guardian NFTs: Information on reward structures and mint fee usage.
4. Supercharged MEV: Explanation of liquid staking and the permission-less audited stake pool.
   • Details on block reward sharing and protection points.
5. Rewards and Use Cases: Overview of rewards and practical applications.
6. Roadmap: A clear and concise roadmap for the business.
7. Social Links: Links to Guardian Validator’s social media profiles.

Copy and Creative Input: The client will provide the copy but welcomes creative input. The color scheme will primarily feature greys and greens.

The design

Josh Sowter designed the prototypes in Figma, showcasing a high degree of interactivity and presented to the client and to the developer, Simon Barnett, using narrated explainer video walkthroughs.

Josh created the prototypes in such a way as to provide very smooth handover for development by incorporating CSS principles, especially CSS flexbox, fonts, sizing and spacing.

The design included several new techniques for us, which was a welcome challenge, including gradient borders and vertical dot style navigation.

Development

We used Bricks Builder to build the website. Bricks is the industry-leading tool for developers, offering a high level of flexibility, accuracy, and efficiency. Bricks is a theme, but it starts with a blank canvas and powerful toolbox. As such we were able to custom-build advanced front-end features without using any plugins whatsoever, keeping the website extremely lean and efficient.

As with the Voetspore website, to achieve fluid responsiveness we used our system of CSS variables to specify all numerical values such as font sizes, gaps, and spacing. The system not only saved a lot of time during building which was used to refine other aspects of the site, it also meant that everything scaled fluidly as the device size changed, effectively catering the website to an infinite number of devices: wide-screen desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Take a look!