designing for your community is almost never the same as designing culture i often think about how pudgy merch works well when most other merch just feels like you’re wearing an ad for a project nobody outside crypto cares about pudgys did not make merch for holders to signal to other holders. they made products that function outside the context of crypto entirely the plushies are genuinely well-designed toys. the clip-ons work as actual accessories - and through this, the brand translates without an explanation pudgys reworked the thesis of making products for people already familiar with the tech. they made products for people who have never heard of NFTs and don't need to the penguins carry the brand, with the blockchain that is just the underlying tech designing for culture comes out on top, always