API Marketplace UX Design
Designing clarity across technical and business ecosystems.
Project Scope
UX research and design audit of Standard Bank’s API Marketplace, focusing on improving usability, information architecture, and navigation for both technical (developers) and non-technical (business) users, while supporting the bank’s ambition to scale the platform across Africa.
Outcome
Clear, user-tested design recommendations and prototype improvements that clarified API product categorisation, simplified user journeys, and made the marketplace more intuitive and accessible, strengthening its role as a continent-wide developer and innovation hub.
Role
Lead UX Researcher and Strategist
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The Challenge
The core challenge was designing an API marketplace that could serve highly technical developer needs while remaining intelligible and accessible to product managers, partners, and business users across multiple African markets. The existing experience assumed a high level of prior technical knowledge, creating friction in discovery, onboarding, and adoption, and limiting the platform’s ability to function as a true enabler of open banking, ecosystem participation, and innovation at scale.
The Approach
I led a research-driven, ecosystem-first design process that translated developer needs and business objectives into a clear, modular marketplace experience.
User & Stakeholder Research
I analysed the needs of developers, product teams, and non-technical business users to understand how different audiences discover, evaluate, and adopt APIs.
Ecosystem-First Structuring
I designed the marketplace around real use cases and integration journeys, positioning APIs as building blocks within a broader digital and financial ecosystem rather than isolated technical products.
Clarity-Driven UX Design
I translated complex technical functionality into clear navigation, progressive disclosure, and intuitive flows that reduce cognitive load and improve onboarding.
Standardised API Presentation
I defined consistent patterns for documentation, sandbox access, authentication, and error handling to build trust and speed up developer adoption.
Scalable Design System
I created a modular UX framework that can grow with new APIs, partners, and markets without fragmenting the user experience.
Designed a single, structured entry point where APIs could be discovered, compared, and accessed with clear value propositions.
Defined a modular framework that allows APIs to be onboarded, packaged, and scaled without redesigning the core system.
Shaped flows, documentation patterns, and onboarding journeys to reduce friction for developers while remaining accessible to business users.
Embedded standards for versioning, security, and usage visibility to support enterprise-grade adoption and regulatory alignment.
Structured flexible pricing and access models to support experimentation, partnerships, and long-term platform sustainability.
The Evidence
Naming Conventions
Key findings highlighted user difficulties in understanding API products, the mismatch between user expectations and the marketplace’s offerings, and the challenges faced in navigating through the platform. It also included specific feedback on the interface, with suggestions for improvement.
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Individual vs Product
Users noted that some titles and descriptions were not clear enough. There should be a clear distinction between how API products and individual APIs are named. I recommended the following:
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Revise descriptions to distinguish between “Most Popular APIs” and “Most Popular API Solutions”, addressing user confusion
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Ensure that the naming conventions and descriptions of APIs are immediately understandable
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Differentiate titles between API products and individual APIs, allowing users to easily recognize and differentiate between the two categories at a glance.
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Information Display
Based on the feedback from both technical and non-technical users, I advised redesigning the API Marketplace layout to ensure immediate visibility and clarity of API product and solution information. This approach aims to enhance user comprehension and ease of navigation by presenting essential details prominently and intuitively.
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The Impact
Core User Groups Mapped
3
APIs Re-structured
+20
Scalable UX Framework
1
Friction Reduced
-10%
Personal Reflection
Designing for Clarity
Working on this project reinforced the importance of designing for clarity in highly technical environments. It was a reminder that accessibility is not about simplifying the work, but about respecting the user’s time, context, and intent. Designing the API Marketplace required balancing precision with approachability and showed how thoughtful UX can unlock participation, innovation, and trust at scale.
It also reinforced the value of early and continuous engagement across teams and stakeholders. By involving developers, product owners, and business stakeholders from the outset, the work was grounded in real constraints rather than assumptions.
