BitcoinDesign
Plan Presidio Bitcoin Design Week
This is a bit of a placeholder issue for an event that may or may not happen, in some form or another. There has been some loose conversation around a design week at Presidio Bitcoin, a new co-working space in San Francisco. All we have is a loose idea at the moment. Let's figure out if this is something we want to make happen.
Design week sounds pretty fancy. Makes me personally think of a broader city-wide event, like Riga Bitcoin Week. No matter what it is called in the end, a practical format might be that of a retreat. Interested people get together, maybe some share a rental apartment. The co-working space could be a bit of a home base for planned talks and collaborative sessions around relevant topics. Maybe we organize or join a meetup and maybe there are some external group events. Something like that.
Timing-wise, maybe sometime in fall?
As I wrote, it's all up in the air. What do you think?
A bit of information about the space:
Our space is 4500 square feet. Mainly one big open area with 24 work stations, 4 small conference rooms, and 2 bigger conference rooms that can fit ~8 people. There is a flexible events are in the main room. We have a big drop down projector and speakers, can fit 50-75 people for an event. We don't have a big board style meeting room, but can probably block off the events area during the day
I think it would be great to include/invite Silicon Valley designers. Let's leverage the location of PB. 2 goals:
- Recruit them to participate in open source
- Learn from them how the open source community can benefit their products/companies/workflow
Another interesting idea might be to do a fun design challenge e.g what could you create if you had 30 minutes to plan and 4 hours to design?
Idea taken from Jason Lengstorf Youtube series - https://youtu.be/wPL13VR88iY?si=c3iQyX98fx6kZGiL
In the spirit of making the most of the location, I think there’s an opportunity to merge the Designation II (#625) with this design week. If we can time it so that the final week, judging / prizes, aligns with this it could encourage more local Silicon Valley designers to participate.
I’m not sure how common designations or design-focused hackathons are in SF, but over here they’re pretty rare. If we promote it well online and also get someone in SF to help spread the word, we could bring more eyes to bitcoin design learn from others like Moneyball pointed out.
Count me in to recruit and rally Silicon Valley designers for this. I suspect @danielnordh still has plenty of connections here as well.
I think there’s an opportunity to merge the Designation II
In the call yesterday, the idea that the Designathon is intended as online and global was something people responded to. So my general preference would be to keep that direction. But no reason why we can't also organize something with a format that works best for a local meetup (Designathon 3 or what not).
I think there’s an opportunity to merge the Designation II
In the call yesterday, the idea that the Designathon is intended as online and global was something people responded to. So my general preference would be to keep that direction. But no reason why we can't also organize something with a format that works best for a local meetup (Designathon 3 or what not).
Feel like organizing 2 designations would be a lot of work. I think my idea works if we keep the designation online / global but during the last week of it we have the awards / closing ceremony in person (and also live streamed) as part of this event, but if we feel like this would attach the designation too much to an person event that is location dependent, and this would take away from it's more online / global nature then I understand why we might want to rethink this.
Keen on seeing this happen and grateful to you both for being supportive
In terms of date suggestions in fall 2025. Shooting over some date suggestions which would work in my current planning:
- 15th - 21st September
- 29th September - 4th November
Ideas: Love the ideas that are suggested above will throw some more in: At the heart of the ideas would love to see an ethos of workshops/sprints that create a path of continuity in the relationships with the people who attend. This could mean a workshop where 2/3rds happens at the event itself and the 1/3rd is online to continue the collaboration and relationships built.
Workshop idea: This format is borrowed is borrowed from Chaincode labs. Its format is inviting people to share their (part 1) specialized knowledge and then moving to (part 2) commit to collaboration on improving that area together.
We received advice that this workshop framework was very focussed on driving end results and allows for the unique specialitites of everyone in the room to shine, then at the same time allowing consensus to be reached as to which topics projects are created out of.
Format
- Rapid knowledge share Aim is to identify the knowledge in the room and see who is passionate about which topics.
- Deep dive sessions These are sessions focussed on the topics which were uncovered from part 1.
- Collaboration session The workshop ends of with people committing to collaborate on areas which they feel drawn to.
Pre-work Pre-work: There is some pre-work involved to understand all the people who are invited. A question they are asked is: What do you care about? Notes are taken data buckets of interest areas for those who are attending is analyzed.
This data is then used to shape the topics used during knowledge sharing sessions and the deep dive sessions. Which results in a dynamic of a few topics being discussed in tandom.
Format
- Its a 3 day format with 2 full days and one half a day.
- It can also be mixed up with fun activities in the city to encourage relationship building.
- Max participants 40-70
I think there’s an opportunity to merge the Designation II
In the call yesterday, the idea that the Designathon is intended as online and global was something people responded to. So my general preference would be to keep that direction. But no reason why we can't also organize something with a format that works best for a local meetup (Designathon 3 or what not).
Feel like organizing 2 designations would be a lot of work. I think my idea works if we keep the designation online / global but during the last week of it we have the awards / closing ceremony in person (and also live streamed) as part of this event, but if we feel like this would attach the designation too much to an person event that is location dependent, and this would take away from it's more online / global nature then I understand why we might want to rethink this.
I strongly feel this could shift the designathon's narrative to be more in person, although this is a really lovely idea, maybe it would work more for another initiative we come up with. I think it also doesn't have to be exactly like the designathon persay, we could do something wayyy smaller, By giving an open hand on the first day, then designs are submitted on the closing day, Nothing big, but fun......
Another interesting idea might be to do a fun design challenge e.g what could you create if you had 30 minutes to plan and 4 hours to design?
Idea taken from Jason Lengstorf Youtube series - https://youtu.be/wPL13VR88iY?si=c3iQyX98fx6kZGiL
I just watched this video and it's an amazing idea if we can pull it off. However, it has the limitation of being a physical event. so I'm thinking of ways to incorporate stuff like this online. One idea is to have a recorded video call using Jitsi or meet where interested participants do something similar. They have a time limit for ideation and one for designing.
It can be done as a side attraction for the designation to kick off or made to be the format of the event, I dunno just thinking out loud here. However, the idea makes sense if we can fine tune and incorporate it.
Hashed-out the other idea mentioned above a bit more.....
Bitcoin UX meets Development Workshop The workshop idea is focussed on collaboration between designers and developers. This is done in a 5 step process starting with knowledge sharing and then finally moving to commitment and an implementation sprint. One of the end goals is to also produce case studies in the Bitcoin Design Guide. 5 days in total
Days 1 - 2 Stage 1: Knowledge Exchange Opening presentations on current challenges/topics in Bitcoin UX (these are just a brain dump of ideas....)
- Channel Reserve UX
- BOLT 12
- Inheritance
- eCash
- Fees
- Introduction to Bitcoin Design Guide as a resource
- Lightning talks from participating wallet developers
Stage 2: Afternoon Session: Problem Space
- Break-out sessions for each focus area
- Map out the current implementation challenges
- Together identify opportunities for improvement
- Note down the key insights
Stage 3: Commitment
- Participants self-organize into groups based on their interests
- Teams are balanced, ideally there is a good mix of both UX designers and developers
- Together decide on specific problems to tackle (also touched on in stage 2)
Stage 4: Scope it
- What would be the minimum viable improvement?
- Do we have the resources here in this room to make this improvement?
Days 3 - 5 Stage 5: Implementation Sprint We have focused work sessions (same groups collaborating who committed in stage 3) The focussed work sessions are there to focus on design and implementation. Designers working next to devs in a fun relaxed environment.
Two-Weeks After
- Teams continue refining from dev/design perspective
- We can continue the collaborate with devs with Bitcoin Design Community Calls
- Implementation support (leave feedback from UX perspective on repo)
- Document as case studies in the Bitcoin Design Guide
Started a separate issue for an ecash design contest #759. Maybe this is something that could be part of the designathon?
In terms of date suggestions in fall 2025. Shooting over some date suggestions which would work in my current planning:
15th - 21st September 29th September - 4th November
@mouxdesign for the second option, did you mean to include all of October?
Around the first week of November works well for me.
@GBKS I made a mistake there. The dates for September would be:
15th - 21st September 29th September - 5th October
3 - 9 November doesn't work for me unfortunately but the second week works!
I will be at Bitcoin ++ Berlin for the first week of October, so that last week of September would work best for me.
29th September - 5th October won't work as the Spiral team will be in Berlin.
Also note you need to check with me on Presidio Bitcoin availability, but 15th-21st should work. We also need to review the format and plans to make sure Presidio Bitcoin can optimally accommodate. What's the next step for sketching out goals and format for this event?
29th September - 5th October won't work as the Spiral team will be in Berlin.
Also note you need to check with me on Presidio Bitcoin availability, but 15th-21st should work. We also need to review the format and plans to make sure Presidio Bitcoin can optimally accommodate. What's the next step for sketching out goals and format for this event?
Thank you for providing the dates on which Presidio is available, this is very helpful in nailing down a date.
We will all be meeting next week for an event planning call as there are a bunch of events in the planning works in/around the Bitcoin Design Community. We will kick-start a goals and format document late next week and likely by the end of March we should have a rough outline put together. Which we would like to share openly with everyone here.
One of the things you mentioned were rallying in Silicon Valley UX Designers to attend to leverage the location. Are there any other ideas that come to mind in terms of goals?
It would be amazing to identify an application and team that would want to join and do a design sprint to improve their application with use of the BDG.
Created a planning document which we can drop in ideas or suggestions. Feel free to hop in! We'll also share this in the Bitcoin Design Community Conferences channel and discuss it on the next events planning call next week. Planning Doc Presidio Design Week
Event planning doc has been updated with:
- Capacity: The capacity of the location during the week + during the weekend (as confirmed by Presidio)
- Marketing ideas: A list of marketing ideas which are being discussed atm
- Resources: Resources available at the location
I added a Designing for Cashu workshop idea. I'll see if I can think of some more fun ones.
Rolling in with a quick update. Had a chat with Mat and the ideas are flowing!
- Vision: There is a new vision idea for the Designathon (Main doc updated)
- Marketing Copy doc: To reel in all the right people
- Workshops and daily planning doc
Feel free to hop in an make some comments, lets move this one forward and give it the time and planning it needs to be a huge success!
Left a few comments and added an idea for a workshop or short demo of Figma Dev Mode MCP Server. I haven't yet had the chance to play with it but I will this weekend.
Updating this issue with the latest updates. This is being moved forward consistently over the last week weeks by Christoph, Mat and myself.
- The programming: We have gotten the programming in fairly good shape and have gotten buy in from some of the people that we are organizing it with
- Mood board: Put together a mood board which we discussed and used for inspiration
Next Steps:
- Website: Christoph has done an an amazing job of nailing the design. See Figma file here.
- Application form: We are now working on the application form
- Outreach and marketing: Once the website and form are wrapped up we will begin the marketing and awareness around the event to ensure it's visibility
Updating this issue with the latest updates. This is being moved forward consistently over the last week weeks by Christoph, Mat and myself.
- The programming: We have gotten the programming in fairly good shape and have gotten buy in from some of the people that we are organizing it with
- Mood board: Put together a mood board which we discussed and used for inspiration
Next Steps:
- Website: Christoph has done an an amazing job of nailing the design. See Figma file here.
- Application form: We are now working on the application form
- Outreach and marketing: Once the website and form are wrapped up we will begin the marketing and awareness around the event to ensure it's visibility
The programming is structured really well @mouxdesign, being that it's mostly a closed event, are the designers being invited bitcoin enthusiast?
It happened. And what a week it was. The review blog post is now live, with lots of photos and videos. Take a look.
I think it might be good to have a retro session to take notes on what went well, what didn't, etc, for future events.
A survey was sent out to the participants of Bitcoin Design Week. Providing a summary here below of survey which was both quantitative as well as qualitative:
Bitcoin Design Week - Participant survey
Bitcoin Design Week ran from September 15-19, 2025, at Presidio Bitcoin. It was co-organized by Presidio Bitcoin and the Bitcoin Design Community, bringing together both bitcoin and Silicon Valley designers. The week had five different sessions covering topics like user-centered design, future payments, vibe coding, and how Silicon Valley might work with bitcoin.
How it went
We got feedback from five people who attended. Here's what they said:
- Impact on understanding bitcoin design challenges: 4.0 out of 5 (most people gave it a 4, one person gave it a 5)
- Would recommend to colleagues: 4.4 out of 5 (three people said definitely, two said probably)
- Was the time worth it: 4.6 out of 5 (four people said absolutely, one said yes)
Friday's session on Redesigning Silicon Valley with Bitcoin was the most popular (among those who completed the survey), four out of five people came to that one. Monday's session on The People We Build For and Tuesday's session on Designing Future Payments each had three people. The two-day workshops on Thursday and Friday were especially popular with designers and developers who wanted to really dig in.
Role of those who responded: Two developers/engineers, one designer, one investor/business person, and one person who does design, development, and product management.
What people loved
The biggest thing? Meeting people. All five people said networking and connecting with others was super valuable. Everyone plans to stay in touch with the people they met.
People also really appreciated:
- The actual content and insights from sessions (3 people)
- Learning practical ways to approach design problems (3 people)
- Seeing new ways bitcoin could be used (3 people)
- Getting technical ideas they could actually use (2 people)
One designer said it changed how they think about bitcoin events: "Almost all bitcoin events I've ever attended have been technically focused or ideological, this was the first bitcoin-design event I've been part of, and it was game-changing." They called the two-day workshop "exceptionally well organized, thoughtfully crafted, and very generous" for how it handled inspiration, group work, and exploring different design approaches.
What happens next
The week got people thinking about next steps. Everyone plans to connect with the people they met and share what they learned with their teams. People also said they'll:
- Come to more bitcoin design events (4 people)
- Explore new bitcoin product ideas (4 people)
- Try new design approaches in their current work (2 people)
What could be better
Two people said wouldn't change anything, but others had some ideas:
-
More time to actually network: Even though everyone loved the networking, two people wanted more of it. They suggested having lunch breaks where people aren't working, adding ice-breaker sessions, and giving people more time to just talk before diving into workshops. One person mentioned wanting to catch up with someone they knew but only having 15 minutes before the next session started.
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Shorter workshop cycles: Instead of one long session, someone suggested doing two or three smaller one-hour design sessions. That way, people could learn from each round and apply it to the next one.
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Getting everyone on the same page: Some people wanted more technical depth, while others wanted more beginner-friendly content. One person said the week felt pretty Lightning Network focused and wished they'd known to study up on it beforehand. Maybe sending out some reading materials ahead of time would help.
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Other things mentioned: One person suggested showing an example of a really successful bitcoin product before the deep dive sessions, having a closing session where everyone shares what they learned, more non-alcoholic drinks, and healthier snack options.
The takeaway
Bitcoin Design Week did what it set out to do: bring design thinking to bitcoin's unique challenges. People appreciated tackling hard problems like branding, onboarding, self-custody, and privacy.
Everyone wants to stay connected, and people said they'll definitely come back, signs that we created a valuable event. As one person put it: "I will absolutely be attending future sessions at Presidio Bitcoin."