# Joseph Alessio

![Joseph Alessio](/resources/cognition/portraits/joseph-alessio.webp)

![Joseph Alessio 2](/resources/cognition/portraits/joseph-alessio.webp)

Designer & Art Director  
Cognition  
Oakland, California, United States

## At Cognition

- Role: Brand Lead (Marketing)
- Joined: Feb 2026
- How they joined: Directly
- Before Cognition: Staff Designer, Uniswap Labs
- Overlapped before Cognition with other Cognition people at: Meta (https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/worked-together)

## Identity
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio
- X: @alessio_joseph
- Website: https://josephalessio.com/
- Domain: cognition.ai

## Notes
- On Cognition's tooling culture he wrote, verbatim: "i never thought i’d be a brand designer merging PRs and yet it’s now commonplace". (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2115128296476475595)
- He announced the product consolidation publicly, verbatim: "Windsurf is coming under the Devin umbrella!"; Windsurf (the Codeium IDE Cognition acquired in 2025) being folded into the Devin brand falls squarely in his brand-lead remit. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2061937201693458575)
- LinkedIn announcement, verbatim: "very excited to be joining Cognition as brand lead!" (132 reactions). (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josephalessio_very-excited-to-be-joining-cognition-as-brand-activity-7431789360523673600-tiTs)
- Current role is Brand Lead at Cognition. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)
- Listed as co-author (with Katie Cheng) of Cognition's FrontierCode 1.1 eval blog post, handling the design/visual side of the release. (https://cognition.com/blog/frontier-code-1.1)
- Credited a Cognition launch as "a team effort with the Josephs and @katiiecheng!", naming collaborators Joseph Zhang (@josephhhhz, brand designer, ex-Windsurf) and Katie Cheng. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2056478383874486630)
- Teased "new Devin site coming soon!" in May 2026. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2056487768264675832)
- Posted, verbatim: "i’m putting together a team" (166 likes). (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2053508755938300398)
- Verbatim: "another cool thing we've been cooking— @jhanikhil got Devin to run on the VT100 from 1978"; he art-directed the product shot using Flora AI styled after vintage computer product photography. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2049181518837211472)
- Announced a speaking slot, verbatim: "super excited to be speaking here tomorrow—almost completely sold out but if you’re in the area snag one of the last few workshop tickets for @kentcdodds!!" (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2116953462021955768)
- Design worldview: "i’m officially calling for the debeigeification of tech" (86 likes); he repeatedly criticises beige, high-contrast-serif "claudeslop" AI aesthetics. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2115571481296167174)
- Recounted Uniswap Labs events he designed: "24 team soccer tournament in Buenos Aires, a cafe popup in BA, uno tournament in Singapore, cafe popup in NYC", matching his Staff Designer, Events & Marketing role. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2055470220488171849)
- Uniswap Labs Staff Designer, Events & Marketing (Aug 2024 - Feb 2026); left the same month he joined Cognition. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)
- Carta Senior Visual Designer (2021-2024): built a brand identity for a separate product, then moved to the design systems team to overhaul Carta's product design system. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)
- Public headline says "Designer & Art Director". (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)
- Verbatim: "the cognition will continue until morale improves" (63 likes), a playful nod to Cognition's famously intense work culture. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2097375279941558500)
- Posted "GPT-5.5 🤝 Devin" on launch day. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2047744169243025903)
- Partner + Art Director at Stuuudio (from 2019) and Design at VectorDAO (from 2023), design collectives he still lists in his X bio. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph)
- 2018 Artist in Residence at Meta's Analog Research Lab, the in-house print/poster studio. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)
- Freelanced 2011-2018 in design, lettering, art installations and illustration for Airbnb, Google, Meta, Target, Disney, Patagonia, Honey, Intercom and the Detroit Lions. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)
- Frequently replies to developers recommending Devin ("have you tried Devin"), acting as an informal product evangelist on X. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2063337880999850086)
- Previous roles include Staff Designer at Uniswap Labs; Senior Visual Designer at Carta; Artist in Residence, Analog Research Lab at Meta; Freelance Design & Art Direction. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)
- Previous roles include Brand Lead at Cognition; Design at VectorDAO; Partner + Art Director at Stuuudio; Staff Designer at Uniswap Labs; Senior Visual Designer at Carta; Artist in Residence, Analog Research Lab at Meta; Freelance Design & Art Direction. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)
- Shared objects "lying around on desks at @cognition", a glimpse of the physical brand/merch work. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2067043611867595056)
- LinkedIn post, verbatim: "i often forget how much merch i have designed that i have not properly documented". (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josephalessio_i-often-forget-how-much-merch-i-have-designed-activity-7424202016136204288-ZGEL)
- Joked "my delts have moved to san francisco to join the growth team at a startup" (220 likes), a recurring humor style that drives his reach. (https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2077752927977193758)
- Location is Oakland, California, United States. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio)

## Experience
- Brand Lead at Cognition (Feb 2026 - Present)
- Design at VectorDAO (Jan 2023 - Present)
- Partner + Art Director at Stuuudio - San Francisco Bay Area (Jan 2019 - Present)
- Staff Designer at Uniswap Labs (Aug 2024 - Feb 2026): Events & Marketing
- Senior Visual Designer at Carta (Jan 2021 - Jan 2024): Developed a brand identity for a separate product, before moving to the design systems team to overhaul and chart a future vision for Carta's product design system.
- Artist in Residence, Analog Research Lab at Meta (Jan 2018 - Jan 2018)
- Freelance Design & Art Direction - San Francisco Bay Area (Jan 2011 - Jan 2018): Began my design career as a freelance, delivering design, lettering, art installations and illustration for clients across a broad range of industries, including clients such as Airbnb, Google, Meta, Target, Disney, Patagonia, Honey, Intercom and the Detroit Lions.
- Senior Visual Designer at Carta (Jan 2021 - Dec 2024): Developed a brand identity for a separate product, before moving to the design systems team to overhaul and chart a future vision for Carta's product design system.
- Artist in Residence, Analog Research Lab at Meta (Jan 2018 - Dec 2018)
- Freelance Design & Art Direction (Jan 2011 - Dec 2018): Began my design career as a freelance, delivering design, lettering, art installations and illustration for clients across a broad range of industries, including clients such as Airbnb, Google, Meta, Target, Disney, Patagonia, Honey, Intercom and the Detroit Lions.

## Sources
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph
- https://josephalessio.com/
- https://cognition.com/blog/frontier-code-1.1
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephalessio?miniProfileUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAAAO4Ds8B8UhR85zE9fIx7QwQrxa75yurpLI
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2115128296476475595
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2061937201693458575
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josephalessio_very-excited-to-be-joining-cognition-as-brand-activity-7431789360523673600-tiTs
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2107120586384404490
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2056478383874486630
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2056487768264675832
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2053508755938300398
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2049181518837211472
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2116953462021955768
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2115571481296167174
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2055470220488171849
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2097375279941558500
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2047744169243025903
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2063337880999850086
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2067043611867595056
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josephalessio_i-often-forget-how-much-merch-i-have-designed-activity-7424202016136204288-ZGEL
- https://x.com/alessio_joseph/status/2077752927977193758


Researched with Autumn (https://www.autumn.ai) from public sources. Updated 2026-11-04. Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people/joseph-alessio · Everyone at Cognition: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/cognition/people