Karine
Hsu

What led you into design?

My background isn't traditionally rooted in design. Growing up in Palo Alto, I was obsessed with how technology could change people’s lives. Seeing companies like Facebook and Apple around me, I knew early on that I wanted to be a founder. It was inspiring. So I studied Statistics and Computer Science in college, while also nurturing my curiosity about psychology and why people behave the way they do.

I love building companies - in fact, I started two startups in college, but my first venture-backed startup went through Y-Combinator, where I co-founded an e-commerce company in the fashion space with my now Slope co-founder. That’s where I self-taught myself marketing - everything from brand building, performance marketing, to design. It clicked for me that you could combine rigorous analytics with creative to build something really impactful. After we sold the company, I realized I loved building brands and wanted to help startups with marketing and design, which led me to the agency side.

Together, we developed a unique creative process that combines our expertise in building and scaling our own companies, marketing, and design. Our agency, Slope, partners with companies pre-launch to growth stages across industries like AI, fintech, web3/crypto, gaming, healthcare, and climate - helping them build brands and digital experiences that define their categories. For me, design became a way to channel my love for technology, and my drive to solve meaningful problems with creative.

What does a typical day look like?

I’m a big morning person. I wake up at 5:30am, have my breakfast + coffee while I write, scroll Linkedin or Twitter, let myself deep-dive into a random interest rabbit hole, and prepare for the day ahead. Then I’ll do a workout - currently, I love doing a Peloton or going on a run.

At Slope, we typically start the day with morning check-ins with the team. As a remote team, we like to have this daily standup to check-in on client projects, share things we’re excited about, or flag any blockers. I then spend the day in a mix of client calls, new business + partnership meetings, and internal 1:1s.

At night, I like to go for long walks in my neighborhood. I’m also a huge fan of Korean dramas and films, especially as I'm learning Korean! I often find myself rewatching my favorites or searching for new ones I haven’t seen yet. It’s the perfect way to unwind for the night.

What's your workstation setup?

Where do you go to get inspired?

I love finding cool trends/brands in Asia. In particular, I like discovering creatives in Korea and Japan on Instagram and when traveling, checking out niche design bookstores to find inspiration in typography and graphic design books. It's cool to compare US and Asia trends, especially as the internet makes the world feel more interconnected and globalized everyday.

I also love finding inspiration by going to industry trade shows - like Expo West for CPG or visiting grocery stores to see the wide variety of packaging and CPG product designs. In LA, Erewhon is the mecca health food store that always has fun marketing campaigns and new products to try. :)

What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design?

Maybe not a popular opinion, but the Apple Vision Pro! I think the Vision Pro is a very beautifully designed product experience - everything from a headset with no controllers, the immersive realism of the actual visuals. I first tried the product through an in-store demo at the Apple Store and it was incredible! Apple designed with a clear prioritization of the user experience.

Overall I'm very bullish on XR/spatial computing as a space, and am particularly interested to see how design will evolve with another dimension and how the app ecosystem will evolve. :)

What pieces of work are you most proud of?

We've had the privilege of working with some of the most innovative technology companies across many industries, helping teams build the next platforms, protocols, and brands. Here are a couple companies to highlight -

Story - The World’s IP Blockchain, onramping Programmable IP to power the next generation of AI, DeFi, and consumer applications.

Cinder - Enterprise product for Trust & Safety Teams. Automate and scale moderation, manage cases and investigations, and supercharge effective AI.

Atlas - Layer 2 blockchain designed to provide high-performance De-Fi applications with the performance of Solana at Ethereum scale.

Liquid 2 - Liquid 2 is building the most valuable ecosystem at seed. Founded in 2016 by Joe Montana, Liquid 2 has helped over 800 companies grow from idea to success. Today, these companies represent over $100B of combined enterprise value.

Scout Health - Scout is a platform providing accurate and affordable health tests at home. The Scout Hub device allows for quick and accurate health data, making at home health testing easier than ever.

Claryo - Claryo is revolutionizing warehouse operations using Spatial Generative AI. Started by repeat founders in AI + robotics, Claryo enables warehouses to create photo-realistic and spatially accurate virtual renders of their facilities that better inform their inventories, space usage, and workflows.

What design challenges do you face at your company?

I’ve found that often when working in the context of brands and design for technology companies, there’s a tendency for companies to visually orient their brand to look similar to the most recent tech unicorn in their space. We call this “mimetic branding”.

Currently, we often hear similar inspiration references - companies want to have a dark-mode brand like Linear, have gradients like Stripe, or have illustrations like Notion.

We like to encourage our clients to think from first principles - what brand values and foundation they want to strategically build from, what brand they want to build that makes them different and "ownable", and then work from there to define the visuals and aesthetics.

What music do you listen to while designing?

Any advice for ambitious designers?

Stay curious, find inspiration outside of the usual places, and don’t be afraid to experiment with AI :)

Anything you want to promote or plug?

Follow me on Linkedin or Twitter for my stream of consciousness / brand inspiration.

Or better yet - check out our agency Slope and follow us on Twitter or Instagram!

We love working with new innovative companies, so please email me if you'd like to work together!