Spillr – Decentralized Anonymous Q&A Platform

I worked on the frontend implementation of Spillr, a decentralized anonymous Q&A platform built on the Internet Computer (ICP) ecosystem.

This project was developed during ICP Hackathon Indonesia 2025, where our team built a functional MVP in 72 hours and achieved 2nd place in the Internet Identity category.

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Context & Scope

Spillr was designed to explore how anonymous Q&A interactions could be supported in a decentralized environment. From a frontend perspective, the challenge was to design an interface that feels familiar and easy to use, while operating on top of blockchain-based identity and data storage.

The scope focused on delivering a usable MVP, not just a proof-of-concept.

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UX Principles Applied

Aesthetic and Minimalist Design (Nielsen’s Heuristic #8) Blockchain infrastructure should be invisible to the user. Smart contracts, ICP identity, and decentralized storage are all working under the hood — but the interface shows a familiar Q&A flow: post a question, get answers, stay anonymous. Every technical detail that wasn’t necessary for a user to do their task was hidden.

Match Between System and Real World (Nielsen’s Heuristic #2) The interaction model was designed to match patterns users already know from social Q&A platforms — not to introduce a “Web3 experience.” Anonymity, question threads, and reply flows follow conventions users recognize, with blockchain complexity abstracted behind familiar UI.

Trust through Anonymity Cues For an anonymous platform, users need to feel genuinely anonymous — not just be told they are. UI decisions reinforced this: no visible identity markers, no pressure to reveal information, and transparent loading states from decentralized operations that set expectations around latency without creating anxiety.

Error Prevention and Latency Awareness (Nielsen’s Heuristic #5) Decentralized operations are inherently slower than centralized ones. Loading and error states were consistently handled to distinguish between “still processing” and “something went wrong,” preventing users from double-submitting or abandoning valid interactions due to unexpected delays.

MVP Scoping as UX In a 72-hour window, the UX decision was to deliver fewer features that work clearly rather than more features that confuse. Every cut was intentional — focusing the experience on the core anonymous Q&A loop that the platform exists to enable.

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Frontend Responsibilities

UI Implementation
Implemented the frontend using React and Tailwind CSS, focusing on a clean, mobile-first interface that supports anonymous posting and commenting flows.

Component Architecture
Built reusable UI components to support rapid iteration during the hackathon, allowing the team to adjust flows and layouts quickly as requirements evolved.

Responsive Design
Ensured the interface worked reliably across different screen sizes, prioritizing usability under time constraints.

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Blockchain Integration Awareness

Frontend–Blockchain Coordination
Worked closely with backend developers implementing smart contract logic in Motoko, aligning frontend interactions with blockchain-backed identity and data constraints.

The frontend was designed to:

• reflect anonymous interaction states clearly
• handle loading and error states from decentralized operations
• avoid exposing blockchain complexity to end users

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Hackathon Constraints & Collaboration

72-hour Development Window
The entire product was built within a strict 72-hour timeframe, requiring fast decision-making, prioritization, and trade-offs between completeness and usability.

Cross-functional Teamwork
Collaborated with a five-person team covering frontend, blockchain backend, and system architecture, coordinating changes and integration under tight deadlines.

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Key Takeaways

• Rapid frontend delivery under extreme time constraints
• First hands-on experience with Internet Computer ecosystem
• Designing user-friendly UI on top of decentralized systems
• Effective collaboration in a cross-functional hackathon team
• Building a functional MVP that earned competitive recognition

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GitHub Repository: 🔗 View Code