In this episode of the Studio Twentyone Show, Sahil walks through the hills of San Francisco with Joshua Philippe, Head of Design at Fold. Joshua shares his remarkable journey from aspiring oil painter to leading design at major Bitcoin companies like BitMEX, Strike, and now Fold. They discuss his unconventional path through poverty, agency life, the wild days at BitMEX, and how he's orchestrating complete rebuilds of both Strike and Fold's brands and products.🔍 What you'll learn in this episode:Joshua's journey from art school dropout to head of design at major Bitcoin companiesHow financial crisis and government seizure led him to Bitcoin sovereigntyThe wild stories from BitMEX's money-printing heyday in Hong KongBuilding design systems and leading rebrands at Strike and FoldThe art of "orchestrating" cross-functional teams as a design leaderWhy networking with VCs and business people beats networking with designersHow to rebuild entire products and brands from the ground upThe importance of taste development and exposure to great work🔗 Subscribe for more content on Bitcoin and product design from the Studio Twentyone Show!Connect with Joshua:Twitter: https://x.com/shualippa LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaphilippe/Connect with Me:Twitter: https://x.com/SahilC0Nostr:
[email protected]/sahilBackground image credits: Jason Marder https://jtrain.studio/ Timestamps00:00 Introduction to the Studio Twentyone Show01:00 Joshua's pivot from law to studio art02:13 Early design struggles and Craigslist jobs07:16 Agency life and brand strategy fundamentals09:15 Eight Inc experience on Apple and Tiffany projects11:18 Eames host-guest design philosophy13:04 Government bank seizure and Bitcoin discovery16:02 Transition from agency to crypto/tech18:35 Learning React Native as a designer25:26 Moving from BitMEX to Strike27:21 Stepping into head of design role29:31 Working with superior talent and team orchestration32:09 Strike's turnaround and design efficiency35:08 Joining Fold and complete product rebuild39:52 Organizing 200+ scattered Figma files41:37 Brand summit and strategic foundation work43:06 Agency selection for Fold rebrand45:35 Information architecture and product strategy47:53 Brand as competitive differentiator48:10 Networking advice for designers50:30 Taste development and exposure to great work53:22 Advice on patience with rebrands