Game7 - Head of Design
UI/UX Design, Design Leadership, Team Scaling, Product Strategy
Project Overview
Game7 was one of Web3's largest gaming DAOs with massive ambition but a 4-person design team that couldn't scale. They needed a design leader who could build the function from scratch, ship products across a complex ecosystem, and establish operations that would outlast any individual project. The challenge: grow from scrappy startup to professional operation while maintaining velocity, quality, and the ability to compete with traditional gaming studios.
Duration
2 Years
Stack
Figma, Adobe CC, Ethereum, Blender, Miro, Discord, Jira
Services
Design Leadership, Team Scaling, Design Operations, Product Strategy, 3D Production, Marketing Creative
Game7 was a matrixed organization operating across product development, marketing, operations, engineering, and partnerships. As Head of Design, served as functional manager for all design personnel while collaborating with product owners and operational managers to scope needs, assess performance, and ship products. Reported directly to the CEO for high-priority initiatives, ensuring design had strategic influence beyond execution.
Scaled the design org from 4 to 20+ specialized roles across UI/UX, product design, user research, 3D artists, and brand designers. Built the team to handle Game7's complexity: wallet tools and token swaps that grew MAUs from 4K to 200K, L3 developer infrastructure (chain explorers, bridges, staking widgets, Dev Hub) that tripled developer engagement, a $100K AAA avatar overhaul with 14 hero characters, marketing creative generating 10M+ impressions, and design support for acquired companies (Summon, Moonstream, Market Wars) and partners (HyperPlay).
Beyond team building, established the design culture and operations that enabled scale. Created the PLAYER 1ST framework—design principles inspired by Pixar, Netflix, and Disney workshops. "Player comes first, Story is King, Test Boundaries" became our core tenants. Introduced 360 reviews, formalized weekly design reviews (Thursday FigJam sessions open to the entire org), tailored skill development plans, and reward/recognition systems. Promoted 4-5 designers into leadership roles, built the UX research function from scratch (150+ interviews), and implemented AI-accelerated workflows that increased delivery speed 25%. Also stayed hands-on as a senior product designer, spending significant time in Figma shipping work alongside the team.
The result was one of the most talented design rosters on the planet—a team of exceptional designers, researchers, 3D artists, and creatives who could compete with any AAA studio. We shipped an incredible amount of work across products, marketing, and gaming. It's impossible to showcase everything we accomplished in two years, but below is a highlight reel of the major initiatives that defined Game7's design function.
Established the PLAYER 1ST framework through collaborative workshops drawing from Pixar, Netflix, and Disney—"Player comes first, Story is King, Test Boundaries" became our design philosophy. Built a culture of continuous growth through 360 reviews, weekly Thursday design reviews (open FigJam sessions where anyone could observe and provide feedback), and skill development plans that promoted 4-5 designers into leadership roles.
Formalized design operations including hiring processes, tool stack standards, and a centralized Figma repository that replaced isolated Photoshop files. Led as functional manager across Game7's matrixed organization, collaborating with product owners and operational managers while reporting directly to the CEO for high-priority initiatives.
Co-led product planning with PM and engineering to launch wallet tools, token swaps, and developer portals that grew MAUs from 4K to 200K and tripled developer engagement. Built the UX research function from scratch, conducting 150+ interviews that informed roadmap priorities and product strategy. Implemented design systems across 10+ products and designed white-labeled B2B SaaS portals for clients like zkSync using modular theming architecture. Provided design leadership across acquired companies (Summon, Moonstream), partner products (HyperPlay), and new ventures (Market Wars), ensuring quality and ecosystem cohesion throughout rapid expansion.
Directed GTM creative across cinematic trailers, social campaigns, and two podcast shows—garnering 10M+ impressions while leading 3D workflows for avatars and modular UI. Championed AI-driven prototyping and testing workflows that increased team delivery speed 25% through tool adoption and coaching designers to use AI as craft amplification. Maintained hands-on product design work throughout tenure, spending significant time in Figma as a senior designer. This kept leadership grounded in execution reality, built team credibility, and ensured strategic decisions came from someone who understood design constraints firsthand.
