Many move to other occupations or migrate to cities where they lack dignity and are detachedfrom their families and society. On the other hand, consumers are denied the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of these traditional crafts.
Of India’s handmade and craft-based MSMEs (HCMs) struggle to access working capital for their daily operations
Is the average income for an artisan a day
Of artisan businesses are not regulated by the respective country’s federal government
NFTs, are blockchain-based tokens, each representing a unique asset like a piece of art, digitalcontent, or media. An NFT can be thought of as an irrevocable digital certificate of ownership and authenticity for a given asset, whether digital or physical.
For artists, being able to sell artwork in digital form directly to a global audience of buyerswithout using an auction house or gallery allows them to keep a significantly larger portion of the profits they make from sales.
Royalties can also be programmed into digital artwork so that the creator receives a percentage of sale profits each time their artwork is sold to a new owner.
NFTs are the ultimate form of ownership.
'EkiBeki' is a hybrid social enterprise that works to preserve the rich craft heritage of India and promote traditional arts and crafts in contemporary forms. Their products are handcraftedby talented artisans living in small remote villages of India and are made from eco-friendly materials, perfect for helping create a sustainable future.
They aim to revive the folk arts and crafts of India, help generate sustainable livelihoods for artisans, and help the artisans grow the community craft clusters in their natural habitat.
To design a platform to showcase EkiBeki's upcoming NFT project. The goal is to raise awareness for the artisans and document their journey.
The platform will enable the NFT holders to engage with the creators' content and act as a space where the artisans get the chance to create economics using their creative freedom to interact with their customers, and handicraft enthusiasts and engage in community building.
Once you select a solution start creating mock ups and sketch out basic wireframes then establish the information architecture of the solution. After that come up with a list of key scenarios that the solution will solve and begin prototyping.
Once you create your prototype start user testing to get feedback and after the testing implement changes to your design and create a final deliverable.
What are NFTs & smart contracts how can the artisans use them?
How can we educate the artisans on NFT technology so that they can use this to their advantage?
How can artisans benefit from NFTs & share their stories?
What existing utilities can EkiBeki provide to NFT holders?
The blockchain is a network of computers and servers that validate and create a secure decentralised system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system.
It is a technology that creates a transparent ledger that documents providence, actual digital ownership, and the actual history of a digital asset as it navigates through the world in this digital age.
'NFTs are tokens that live on the Blockchain.'
The process of verifying, the ownership of both physical and digital assets is an integral component of most businesses and systems.
Traditionally, the ownership and authenticity of these assets have been facilitated, by paper-based or centralised digital systems, which are often inefficient, present friction in the transfer of assets, and leave room for fraud.
With NFTs, people can undisputedly own anything, and because your ownership is stored on the Blockchain, it is impossible to steal.
'You can get creative with these contracts!'
A smart contract is a self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller directly written into lines of code. The code and the agreements contained exist across a distributed, decentralised blockchain network. The code controls the execution, and transactions are trackable and irreversible.
Smart contracts help create functional NFTs.
What does utility mean to you?
Non-functional NFTs
The Eki Beki organization launched its first-ever NFT collection on the WazirX platform in December 2021, with a total of 5 artworks minted or put up for sale. These pieces included styles inspired by traditional art forms curated into digital artworks.
They partnered with Creative Dignity, a volunteer-led movement working on the relief, rehabilitation, and rejuvenation within the craft sector, to get artisans practicing age-old heritage arts and crafts to be a part of this exciting new medium and create NFTs.
It is among the first few initiatives of its kind that helps traditional artisans reap the benefits of new technologies.
To further increase my understanding on the subject I conducted separate interviews with the main stakeholders (EkiBeki, Artisans & Wazir X) by creating personalised questionnaires for them.
To have a better understanding on how NFT projects ran I looked into these NFT projects for inspiration
This project is divided into 4 utility groups, each group of NFTs would have a fixed set of utilities.
After creating the mock-ups, I decided to have a carefully set style guide that would enhance the user's experience based on curated research on the field.
Rust, mustard, black, and beige is all part of the traditional Indian colour pallet.
Certain hues of the colour paired with other earth tones and organic accents provide a traditional environment.
These colours are used in almost all Indian handicrafts and art as they can be naturally produced.
Like what you see or have any inquiries?
