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Josh Whitehead
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Spin (Ford Mobility)

Spin

First product designer at the micromobility company. Built the design function from zero and led it through partnerships with Apple and Google, then an acquisition.

Role
Senior Product Designer → Head of Design
Years
2019 – 2022
Scope
Product, Brand, Design system, Partnerships
Status
Acquired
Three phones showing the Spin rider app: the map, scanning a scooter's QR code, and an active ride
1 → team
first designer to Head of Design
WWDC 2020
App Clips with Apple, featured at the iOS 14 launch
Google Maps
find, rent, and reserve from the map
Acquired
merged into Bird

  1. 01

    The situation

    Spin was scaling shared scooters across cities faster than its design could keep up — no design system, no design team, and a product and brand that didn't match the operation running underneath them.

    A rider in a helmet with an orange Spin scooter on a city sidewalk
    Designed for the sidewalk, not the deck.

  2. 02

    Build the function from zero

    I joined as the first product designer and built the design org from the ground up, growing into Head of Design. The first job was a shared design system so the rider app and the brand could scale across markets without re-deciding everything per city.

    A tablet showing the Spin fleet and a vehicle display reading 05 mph
    The fleet, the hardware display, the system.

  3. 03

    Make the first ride effortless

    Login and unlock in two taps. The map, the scan, the ride: the three screens most riders ever see, designed for the sidewalk, not the deck.

    A phone showing the Spin map and Ride button, held in a tangle of orange cord
    One button: Ride.

  4. 04

    Ship with Apple and Google

    I partnered directly with Apple to ship an App Clips experience, featured at WWDC 2020 alongside the iOS 14 launch, and designed the Google Maps integration that let riders find, rent, and reserve a vehicle straight from the map.

    Spin App Clip code on black: hold phone here to ride
    App Clips with Apple — featured at WWDC 2020.

  5. 05

    A brand that lived on streets

    Photography in the brand color, city illustrations for market launches, a safety quiz you could actually play. The brand had to work on a scooter at thirty feet and on a phone at thirty centimeters.

    Two riders on orange Spin scooters down a palm-lined street
    A brand that lived on streets.

  6. 06

    What happened

    I went from solo designer to Head of Design leading the team. The Apple and Google partnerships put Spin in front of millions of new riders. Spin was acquired and merged into Bird.

Everything else from the work

Two phones: logging in with a phone number, and scanning a QR code to start a ride
Login and unlock in two taps.
A rider in an orange coat fastening her helmet beside a Spin scooter at golden hour
Brand photography, in the brand color.
An orange and black Spin scooter on a red field
The vehicle.
Three phones showing the Spin Safety Quiz: Good vs Bad Scooter
Ride Smart — safety, made playable.
Three phones: the side menu, a profile, and a wallet with Apple Pay
Menu, profile, wallet.
A MacBook suspended by orange cords showing the Spin next-generation vehicle page
spin.app — the marketing site.
Two phones on blue: add a payment method, and a precise-location prompt
Payment and permissions, without the friction.
Illustrated city skyline with a Spin rider
City illustrations for market launches.

Tools

Figma, ProtoPie

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