Christine Gu

Product Designer

Contact

Contact

Christine Gu

Product Designer

Contact

Crypto

‘21-’23

Mini Monkey Mafia

Co-founded and designed a collection of 5,000 unique NFTs that sold out in 3 hours

Numoen

Context

It was the summer of 2021. Crypto was booming. NFTs were having their moment in the spotlight

A colleague hit me up with an idea to launch our own collection—and what started as a side project turned into a full-blown business. We sold out the entire collection in under 3 hours

I was the sole designer, creating every asset for 5,000+ unique digital monkeys on Ethereum, all designed from scratch in Figma

5,000 monkeys. 3 hours. Sold out.

$500,000

Net profits

25,000

Followers, combined across Discord & X (formerly Twitter)

Role

Cofounder

Timeline

June 2021 - March 2022

Crafting a narrative-focused brand

01

Genesis

The visuals drew people in—but the story made them stay. We focused on building a world buyers could step into and expand themselves. What began as a monkey collection evolved into a larger narrative with mafia families, rival wars, baby monkeys, and godfathers

Rarity

Based on the combination of traits, each monkey was assigned a number for its uniqueness

Design

Each of monkey was created from a unique combination of colors, facial features, outfits, and accessories

Expanding the empire

02

Our collection sold out within 3 hours, granting us financial capital to scale

Within hours of launch, we generated $500K+ in profit, and doubling that within days through secondary sales. The momentum unlocked bigger, bolder bets on the project

On the creative side, I pushed into experimental work and began partnering with other NFT collections and businesses to expand the brand

Extending the olive branch

03

15+ partnerships

As we partnered with other businesses, the collection evolved both in brand direction and product offerings. I led the integration of each collaborator—balancing their visual style with our narrative to keep the world cohesive and recognizable

What difference was made?

$500,000+ net profits

The collection sold out in under three hours, generating $500,000 in profit, with total revenue later doubling through secondary sales

15K on Discord, 10K on Twitter

A strong brand and narrative drove rapid customer growth. Within three months, our server grew to over 15,000 members on Discord and 10,000 followers on Twitter

Crypto

‘21-’23

Mini Monkey Mafia

Co-founded and designed a collection of 5,000 unique NFTs that sold out in 3 hours

Numoen

Context

It was the summer of 2021. Crypto was booming. NFTs were having their moment in the spotlight

A colleague hit me up with an idea to launch our own collection—and what started as a side project turned into a full-blown business. We sold out the entire collection in under 3 hours

I was the sole designer, creating every asset for 5,000+ unique digital monkeys on Ethereum, all designed from scratch in Figma

5,000 monkeys. 3 hours. Sold out.

$500,000

Net profits

25,000

Followers, combined across Discord & X (formerly Twitter)

Role

Cofounder

Timeline

June 2021 - March 2022

Crafting a narrative-focused brand

01

Genesis

The visuals drew people in—but the story made them stay. We focused on building a world buyers could step into and expand themselves. What began as a monkey collection evolved into a larger narrative with mafia families, rival wars, baby monkeys, and godfathers

Rarity

Based on the combination of traits, each monkey was assigned a number for its uniqueness

Design

Each of monkey was created from a unique combination of colors, facial features, outfits, and accessories

Expanding the empire

02

Our collection sold out within 3 hours, granting us financial capital to scale

Within hours of launch, we generated $500K+ in profit, and doubling that within days through secondary sales. The momentum unlocked bigger, bolder bets on the project

On the creative side, I pushed into experimental work and began partnering with other NFT collections and businesses to expand the brand

Extending the olive branch

03

15+ partnerships

As we partnered with other businesses, the collection evolved both in brand direction and product offerings. I led the integration of each collaborator—balancing their visual style with our narrative to keep the world cohesive and recognizable

What difference was made?

$500,000+ net profits

The collection sold out in under three hours, generating $500,000 in profit, with total revenue later doubling through secondary sales

15K on Discord, 10K on Twitter

A strong brand and narrative drove rapid customer growth. Within three months, our server grew to over 15,000 members on Discord and 10,000 followers on Twitter

Crypto

‘21-’23

Mini Monkey Mafia

Numoen

Context

It was the summer of 2021. Crypto was booming. NFTs were having their moment in the spotlight

A colleague hit me up with an idea to launch our own collection—and what started as a side project turned into a full-blown business. We sold out the entire collection in under 3 hours

I was the sole designer, creating every asset for 5,000+ unique digital monkeys on Ethereum, all designed from scratch in Figma

5,000 monkeys. 3 hours. Sold out.

$500,000

Net profits

25,000

Followers, combined across Discord & X (formerly Twitter)

Role

Cofounder

Timeline

June 2021 - March 2022

Crafting a narrative-focused brand

01

Genesis

The visuals drew people in—but the story made them stay. We focused on building a world buyers could step into and expand themselves. What began as a monkey collection evolved into a larger narrative with mafia families, rival wars, baby monkeys, and godfathers

Rarity

Based on the combination of traits, each monkey was assigned a number for its uniqueness

Design

Each of monkey was created from a unique combination of colors, facial features, outfits, and accessories

Expanding the empire

02

Our collection sold out within 3 hours, granting us financial capital to scale

Within hours of launch, we generated $500K+ in profit, and doubling that within days through secondary sales. The momentum unlocked bigger, bolder bets on the project

On the creative side, I pushed into experimental work and began partnering with other NFT collections and businesses to expand the brand

Extending the olive branch

03

15+ partnerships

As we partnered with other businesses, the collection evolved both in brand direction and product offerings. I led the integration of each collaborator—balancing their visual style with our narrative to keep the world cohesive and recognizable

What difference was made?

$500,000+ net profits

The collection sold out in under three hours, generating $500,000 in profit, with total revenue later doubling through secondary sales

15K on Discord, 10K on Twitter

A strong brand and narrative drove rapid customer growth. Within three months, our server grew to over 15,000 members on Discord and 10,000 followers on Twitter

2026

2026

Home

2026