Design x Blockchain | Design Directors
“We’ve built the highways, but not the signage…”
It was a full house at Part Two of the Design x Blockchain series.
Hosted by RawHaus, the Design x Blockchain series comprised of three events over the course of May. Each event focused around the technicalities and fundamental differences in designing for blockchain. By bringing together experienced creatives already working in the space with those who are curious, our goal was to educate and bring more designers into the space. As RawHaus co-founder Amy Jung says, “BUIDL”!
To help us close NYC Blockchain Week, betaworks opened its newly minted Studio space in the Meatpacking District to designers and blockchain enthusiasts alike — proof that the two need not be mutually exclusive! The crowd was filled with a mix of West Coast & East Coast designers, engineers, and investors.
A big draw for the crowd were guest speakers Sarah Baker Mills, Product Design Director at ConsenSys, and Connie Yang, Director of Design at Coinbase, who sit at the unique intersection of these two disparate fields. We were lucky to hear valuable insights about their work and how they navigate the challenge of meeting critical design needs at two preeminent blockchain companies.
You can access a recording of their presentations and discussion here. For those seeking the Cliff’s Notes version, a few takeaways below:
So, what is it actually like to work at a large decentralized company?
The underlying premise of blockchain is to maintain the integrity of a distributed network, so no single entity can gain full ownership or control. Companies like ConSensys aim to replicate that core belief by eliminating the org chart. That’s right — no hierarchy, no set reporting structure, no ‘central’ headquarters (the graffiti-covered building in East Williamsburg is the closest you’ll get to that).
Instead of traditional charts, teams operate within “circles” — similar to the holacracy espoused by Tony Hsieh at Zappos. As Sarah explained, circles are assigned by tasks and roles, not unlike a department. However, each circle has the authority to self-organize internally to best achieve its goals. They don’t necessarily report “up” to executive management.
The Product Design circle at ConsenSys partners with each spoke to hire product designers for their team. These spokes represent individual ventures, platforms, applications, that are spawned from the ConsenSys incubation hub. Each product designer is then empowered to make decisions and perform all the usual product design activities for that spoke (see venn diagram below).
“The challenge is finding a balance between preserving the autonomy of the product designer at each spoke, while also integrating them into a wider product design circle that can advocate for consistent design practices across all of the spokes,” said Sarah.
Another challenge is navigating a remote-first culture. Sarah is based out of North Carolina but the majority of her team members work with their spokes in offices around the world. This can make decision-making particularly challenging. The trick, she says, is creating tools so that all 40 product designers feel like they are in the same room. One of these is an internal project work system called Invision that allows product designers to engage with what others on the team are working on.
While a remote-first culture has its challenges and Sarah jokingly admits that she has little “authority” in the traditional sense over her team, she believes a decentralized approach at ConsenSys allows small teams to get farther, faster. Ultimately, it’s about empowering designers to experiment, iterate, and deliver.
“There are a lot of talkers, a lot of think pieces, not a lot of doing…it’s a minefield of rabbit holes to fall down in this space, so we place a high premium on execution”
— Sarah Baker-Mills, Product Design Director, ConsenSys
At Coinbase, one of the largest digital currency exchanges in the world, careful measures are taken to cultivate the brand around the values of trust and legitimacy. While the company still has all the “trappings of a tech startup”, according to a recent Washington Post profile, its culture has gravitated towards one of cautious compliance. People’s wallets are not places to “move fast and break things”.
Connie’s interest in crypto stems from a curiosity around the issue of scaling trust. When she first started learning about the space, she says she inherently trusted Coinbase more than other exchanges. Why? In part because it had gained some traction, but a big reassurance was that a good friend (who she trusted) worked there. A friend couldn’t possibly steal her money, right? She was half-joking, but it’s a sentiment that we can all relate to. Familiarity and trust breed legitimacy.
So, Connie’s central question: How do you scale trust in an arena riddled with scams and uncertainty?
It’s been almost a year since she left Facebook to tackle this challenge at Coinbase. And the task is as exhilarating as it is urgent.
Why do we need more designers in the space?
The biggest problem in blockchain is user experience.
Connie compared today’s blockchain ecosystem to England’s highways in the 1950s. At the time, the top speed of a car had increased from 35 mph to 75 mph over 20 years, but the signage for speed limits had stayed the same.
Technology was advancing faster than the pace at which safety signs could go up — sound familiar?
Fast forward to today’s crypto environment and similar “signage” problems arise. The most common question now: how do you even get a bitcoin? Well, it starts with mapping your identity to a “location”. Location can take many forms from a physical street address, to a phone number, to email, to voila — today’s digital wallet, aka a string of very long numbers.
Simplifying the wallet identity is just one example of a issue that design can help solve — so you don’t accidentally send your money to the wrong person.
Other critical design questions:
There are broader ethical questions as well. Connie and Sarah debated the use of frictional gateway stops, essentially cautionary pop-ups that warn users of the consequences of proceeding with certain actions.
Connie says at Coinbase they try to provide choices or recommended options to prevent mistakes from happening. “We give people an option to click away and learn more, while trying to keep the experience mainstream…people choose to use Coinbase because there is trust and they expect to be lead through the experience.”
Sarah was more conflicted. “When the premise of blockchain is to remove intermediaries and hand power back to the people, how true are we being to the principle of decentralization if we abstract away participation in the system or manage private keys for people?”
Guideposts and cautionary signs are necessary, but at what point does it become a method of stripping away power from the user? It’s a slippery slope, which is why education is key.
This is all helpful information but how does a blockchain neophyte get started?
Two words: use it.
“You have to start using this stuff to see what an abomination the user experience is,” said Sarah. She rattled off a list of beginner steps which are included in her epic Medium post:
If you’re new to the space, don’t just read articles. Actually participating is the best way to learn fast. Install Metamask, buy a Cryptokitty. Buy a digital currency on Coinbase and then spend it on Overstock (or Craigslist!)
*Pro tip: read Sarah’s article, required reading for Blockchain Design 101 — even if she says you shouldn’t just read articles ;)
Connie broke it down in an even simpler terms, “Ask a friend to send you $5 worth of crypto.” This task alone will surface a number of usability hurdles and open a dialogue that reveals what a long way there is to go. She believes that with more designers talking to engineers, there will be more space for ideation and a more streamlined blockchain experience for broader adoption.
And if that still hasn’t convinced you, consider the weight of what’s at stake.
We have an opportunity to rebuild financial systems. Everyone should be part of that. — Connie Yang
The current financial system is skewed towards those with a lot of information, but the reality is that information is not accessible to everyone. Both Connie and Sarah made impassioned pleas to the crowd which included a diverse set of designers at all experience levels, men, women, and minorities — to bring their skills and perspectives to the blockchain world.
Women, take special note: of all the people who are investing in cryptocurrency, a measly 5% are women. So get involved. Not only is now the time when fortunes are made, but this is also the time when we create real equity and inclusivity. In the same way the internet revolutionized communication, blockchain will revolutionize trust. And in order to create a more egalitarian world, more people must understand these concepts so they can then build and contribute. Now is the time when we can all step in, build products for people like us, and create a broader access point.
Here we have an opportunity to rethink our entire system of exchanging value. Let’s build the signs.
Thanks to our partner CryptoNYC and Betaworks Studios for helping us host a successful event!
