ARTISANAL EXCELLENCE.

THE CHALLENGE

Artisans engaged in traditional Indian crafts are struggling to survive!

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.

With the furious pace of technological development, the future of the art and craft sector is unpredictable.

  • Poor awareness of the crafts and their cultural value amongst the people.
  • Limited investment in artisan skill development, infrastructure, and product design
  • Poor workmanship and product quality
  • Lack of access to markets for sales
  • Subsidised rates of handicraft and local artworks

But can this open up new possibilities for creative interventions in this sector?

78%


Of India’s handmade and craft-based MSMEs (HCMs) struggle to access working capital for their daily operations

$3.40


Is the average income for an artisan a day

98%


Of artisan businesses are not regulated by the respective country’s federal government

OVERVIEW

What are NFTs? (NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS)

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.

Why do NFTs make sense for artisans?

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.

Can NFTs be used to create a new source of income and livelihood for the artisans?

CLIENT BRIEF

EkiBeki Association

'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.

This project is in collaboration with the EkiBeki association.

PROBLEM STATEMENT & AIM

How can I create an experience that enables the artisans to connect with their customer base through their art and create a strong community that can generate huge economics which can in turn sustain the artisans while keeping the customers satisfied?

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.

TIMELINE & DESIGN PROCESS

01

Research & Analysis (4 weeks)

  • Conduct secondary research on the focus area and collect insights and questions to validate with the target audience during primary research. After conducting general research, go in-depth with the findings, insights collected and try to draw conclusions, make connections, come up with a problem statement and identify need gaps for further ideation.

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02

Ideation (3 weeks)

  • After research and analysis start brainstorming and ideating on how to solve the problem statement and approach the need gaps you have uncovered by coming up with a design solution.

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03

Prototyping & Testing (4 weeks)

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.

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KEY LINES  OF  INQUIRY

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?

RESEARCH

What is the blockchain?

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.

How are NFTs related to the blockchain?

'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.

What are smart contracts?

'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.

Functional vs Non Functional NFTs

What does utility mean to you?

  • A Functional NFT assigns a use to the digital asset outside of owning just a piece of art.
  • A Functional NFT can be one in which you receive a physical piece of art that matches the NFT you purchased; it could be special access to an event, exclusive in-person memberships, or future use in the digital world.
  • Non-Functional NFTs are just pieces of art with no utility.

Ekibeki's NFT collection

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.

STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS

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.

IDEATION

Market analysis, benchmarking & inspiration

To have a better understanding on how NFT projects ran I looked into these NFT projects for inspiration

  • These NFT projects were leading the market as they have a strong community as well as the utilities offered which allowed the holders a source of passive income and asset value creation.
  • BAYC, VeeFriends, Crypto Punks, and Girlies all offer an incentive to attract potential buyers.
  • These include Active community engagement, Access to the metaverse, Events, Gamification, Roadmap, Future Utilities, value-driven approach, Community collaborations, and focus on tradability.

NFT UTILITIES

UTILITY DEMARCATION

This project is divided into 4 utility groups, each group of NFTs would have a fixed set of utilities.

01

Common

  • Admission to Ekibeki’s NFT exhibition
  • Access to physical art pieces
  • Discounts on future purchases from EkiBeki
  • Access to EkiBeki’s artisan and NFT community

02

Uncommon

  • Admission to Ekibeki’s NFT exhibition
  • Access to physical art pieces
  • Discounts on future purchases from EkiBeki
  • Access to EkiBeki’s artisan and NFT community
  • Access to workshops and artisan conferences

03

Rare

  • Admission to Ekibeki’s NFT exhibition
  • Access to physical art pieces
  • Discounts on future purchases from EkiBeki
  • Access to EkiBeki’s artisan and NFT community
  • Access to workshops and artisan conferences
  • Meet and greet with the artisans
  • Personalised artisan experiences

04

Exotic

  • Admission to Ekibeki’s NFT exhibition
  • Access to physical art pieces
  • Discounts on future purchases from EkiBeki
  • Access to EkiBeki’s artisan and NFT community
  • Access to workshops and artisan conferences
  • Meet and greet with the artisans
  • Personalised artisan experiences
  • Signed customised work from the artist
  • One-on-one sessions with the artisan

LOW FIDELITY MOCKUPS

STYLE  GUIDE

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.

#78353A

Rust, mustard, black, and beige is all part of the traditional Indian colour pallet.

#D6A742

Certain hues of the colour paired with other earth tones and organic accents provide a traditional environment.

#E3DED3

These colours are used in almost all Indian handicrafts and art as they can be naturally produced.

UI WALKTHROUGH

01

Landing page

02

Roadmap

03

Specs

04

Team

05

FAQs

06

About

07

Artisans

08

Ethics & responsibilities

09

NFT utilities

10

List of utilities

11

Utility demarcation

12

Smart contracts

13

Library

14

NFT cards

PROTOTYPING

I designed and prototyped the whole platform on Adobe XD.

View prototype

REFLECTION

  • Art enables humans to showcase their creativity and individuality, this drove the rise of artisans and artists, but the rapid commercialisation of the industry has left the artisans fighting for remuneration and earning even lesser respect and recognition.
  • The commercialisation and mass production of handicrafts has reduced their novelty, which in turn has reduced client and artisan interaction and communication, forcing artisans to change industries to earn a living as their work is being undervalued and under appreciated leading to dying art forms.
  • Through the course of my journey I have realised how NFTs can help change this, creators and artists now have the opportunity to connect with their audience and create a community that supports their work, therefore, creating a self-sustaining system that can create huge economics and value for the stakeholders involved through storytelling community building and value created through novelty.
  • Creators no longer have to lose profits to middlemen and now have the chance to be appreciated for their work. I, therefore, feel that the art and crafts sector can hugely benefit from this innovation and NFTs could be here to stay.

LET'S GET IN TOUCH

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