Chapter 3: Life in Web3

Amy Jung
Amy Jung
Sep 6, 2018 · 5 min read

Preface (Chapter Zero)

If you told 16 year old me, sitting in fashion class at a small high school in Torrance, California, that she would one day be leading Design Operations at one of the largest blockchain companies in the world, a laugh wouldn’t even begin to describe the confusion I would’ve felt.

Fast forward many many years, I write this on my way to Berlin after spending a week back home in LA, followed by a week in Yosemite with amazing designers at Epicurrence. The nature-filled activities were the perfect time to recalibrate and reflect. The stories we shared with strangers-turned-friends, particularly about the personas we put on for strangers drove me to put my usual private personal boundaries aside to share a bit more about my journey.

One of my favorite nights at Epicurrence with Kerem Suer. Photo by the very talented Edgar Chaparro
You develop great friendships on a 3hour hike, including that sweet #vanlife ride belonging to Nick Dunlap

How did I end up here? (Chapter One)

I often get asked about my background. I originally studied Fashion Design at Parsons. What I loved most was the technical challenge of turning a concept into a 2D representation (hello flat patterns & fabric) then back into a 3D model. But alas, I was incredibly bothered by the frivolous nature of the industry and wanted to figure out a way to create better production systems. (Fun fact, my thesis was on producing products with an emotional attachment to prolong product life cycles)

After endless days of feeling insecure about processing differently than other students, I later learned I was a systems thinker. I had a hard time trying to understand how my unique way of thinking would fit into typical “work titles”, so I said yes to every role and followed people who understood me. Luckily, I found incredible “bosses”/mentors (shout out to Christian Rogers & Angelia Müller) who embraced their unique, individual experiences to drive their successes.

Chapter Two was ROUGH, to say the least.

I was introduced to the wild wild west start-up world through accelerators, which fed my endless curiosity into emerging tech. The fast-paced learning was demanding, but rewarding. Then I worked way too long with a toxic executive who changed the entire dynamic of the culture. Without getting too detailed, I left, ended up consulting for two years…and it sucked. A mental health startup I worked on fell through, it was lonely, I was constantly stressed running biz dev, and the infinite loop of depression and physical sickness built up.

Things started to turn around when I started to seek community. I wanted to be surrounded by people who gave a shit about their work quality, who fought for their beliefs and wanted to have some damn fun.

I knew one thing: I wanted to catalyze the growth of designers and I was going to figure out a way to do it.

Enter: Raw Haus. Gabi and I started Raw Haus because we wanted to provide a platform for creatives to share opportunities and talk openly about navigating the murky emerging creative field. The community started growing better than we imagined. Partners and members were constantly asking us for more.

Greatest thing that came out of chapter two: our Raw Haus family

To be honest, Gabi and I had a hard time keeping up. In order for us to be sustainable, we needed a business model. But we never intended to build a business and we didn’t really want to do it. So we tried to balance our own career growth with Raw Haus growth and we burnt out.

During this time, I began to seek that joy I got from Chapter One, so I’d read, talk to smart folks, and attend nerdy (my version of fun) technical events. That’s how I got into blockchain.

I was trying to do the typical “balance it all” of multiple contract work, running a community and volunteering, when life hit me like a ton of bricks. Why don’t I just use the same energy to focus full time on what I was truly passionate about? So I reached out to the same network I spent the past two years building and told them I was ready. Let’s #BUIDL.

My initial reach out

WWW: Wonderful World of Web3 (Chapter 3)

To bring it full circle, the past couple of weeks have made me realize how lucky and excited I am for the next chapter of my life. I spent a few weeks #BUIDLing, exploring my interests in the space, and talking to some extraordinary folks (thanks Lane for all your wonderful intros) to make sure the team, the product, the role, all felt right.

That being said, I’m thrilled to be joining the Product Design team at ConsenSys, leading Design Operations. Sarah, Nguyet, Jonny, Laura, and the rest of the team are incredible design drivers of the space and I feel extremely fortunate to be working with them.


Quick Sidenote: What is Design Operations?

DesignOps is responsible for optimizing the product design process in order for Design to reach its full potential. The DesignOps team helps forecast work, manage resources, drive project flows, develop tools and programs, support team culture, and facilitate initiatives that allow designers to focus on what they do best: design.

One paradox about DesignOps is that the better you are at the role, the fewer people notice because the processes become easier and they get to focus on their own growth. It’s such a beautiful balance.


Someone asked me why I do this.

As Web3 begins to grow and projects scale, there is an increased call for designers to help with overall development through user experience and design. But we need to build a better Designer Experience to move through all the technical jargon to allow designers to succeed. As BUIDLers of the decentralized world, we have an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a culture where design is as essential as engineering. Isn’t this exciting?! No? Okay, well I’m excited.

Embracing Fear with Accountablity

I’ve got big plans, but I admit I’m a bit terrified. I know I’ll fail. Not once, not twice, but probably only 5 of the 30 initiatives will go through. ConsenSys is an ambitious hyper-growth company (800+ employees in one year) with a flat organization structure (Check out Teal Organizations 🤯), so throw familiar out the door.

Part of embracing fear is publicly stating my goals, so here they are:

  • Refine our on-boarding experience for designers
  • Streamline protocols and documentation to get from problem to solution quicker
  • Increase visibility amongst designers about projects/problems they are currently working through
  • Develop & increase learning opportunities for designers (talks, speaking opportunities, internal educational programs, mentorship, etc)
  • Elevate ConsenSys Product Design amongst the greater design community
  • Form global DesignOps team & initiatives

So if you check back and don’t see me doing any of these, please holler.

Thanks for listening.

Amy Jung

Written by

Amy Jung

Tech + Design + Strategy. Formerly Design Ops @ConsenSys, Co-grower of raw-haus.co & www.sharedrealities.co

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