Foundation, a leading NFT art platform largely known for its Web3 native tool and ecosystem Worlds, has just announced its latest update, Moments. This new tool, or rather an extension that takes the capabilities of Worlds to the next level, allows world builders to showcase specific themes, creators, live events and more within their existing worlds.
To better understand Moments, its inspirations and aspirations, and how it can benefit artists, curators and collectors alike, we spoke directly with the CEO and co-founder of the Foundation, Kayvon Tehranian.
Empowering creation
“Worlds represents the unique superpower of the Foundation,” Tehranian said, emphasizing that “no one has embedded curation into their protocol as a basic concern.”
He explained that the platform has determined that creative work sells best in a curated context and that through Worlds, the Foundation community is empowered to build those contexts rooted in strong on-chain technology.
“Worlds Unlocks Decentralized Curation.”
Kayvon Tehranian
“Foundation is not a monolithic, curatorial context with a unique voice, even though that is how we started out in the first place,” says Kayvon, adding, “We are moving towards a vision of decentralized curation.” He outlined that this approach ultimately allows the platform to support a wide range of voices while benefiting from a shared infrastructure.
He added, “It allows Foundation to be a comprehensive platform in Web3 while still maintaining community, context, and governance as key pillars of the experience.”
Lifespan for artists
With the continued expansion of Worlds through updates such as Moments, Foundation has demonstrated that this ecosystem is designed to provide longevity for artists, curators and collectors alike.
However, Tehranian pointed to the underlying value of on-chain design, explaining that “worlds are designed to be portable, proprietary, Web3-native objects,” adding, “We wouldn’t want curators and world-builders to simply trust – that is not the case.” a web3-native approach to product design.”
Instead, he said, “We are designing Worlds as an on-chain protocol. Anyone can build on top of it. Your world is yours, and if we were to cease to exist, everything of value in it would be chained and completely in your control.
In short, he said, “Yes, we are committed to Worlds. You can expect Worlds to become even more powerful over time,” and at the same time, the Foundation is “committed to ensuring that Worlds is a protocol that poses no platform risk to those building on top of it.”
Breakdown and Benefits
Taking a closer look at Worlds’ latest enhancement, Moments, three key aspects stand out: the ability to schedule, promote, and track achievements.
Scheduling aspects allow world builders to curate a moment within their Dashboard by selecting items
their inventory and setting a specific date and time for their disclosure.
In addition, Moments offers useful promotion and performance tracking capabilities. Once a Moment is created, it becomes an independent event that can be shared and added to calendars. In terms of performance tracking, world builders can track a Moment’s sales and total page views in real time.
Tehranian explained that these aspects mainly benefit artists by drawing more attention to releases and thereby getting more attention for their work. He added: “Artists thrive in Moments. The spotlight is on them and everyone is paying attention!”
As far as collectors are concerned, Moments acts as a signal that cuts through the clutter and noise often found in Web3, whether that be a deluge of notifications from X, Discord, Telegram, etc. or the sheer volume of constant releases.
“Moments are enlightening. They create focus in the middle of the noise,” Tehranian said, adding: “They are scheduled at a specific time, they are displayed on a single page and you can add them to your calendar – these are the ingredients that make it easy for collectors to look out.”
It’s in the DNA
In terms of design, Foundation has shown itself to be very particular when it comes to the way it shapes the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI), with Tehranian expressing an aspect encoded in the platform’s DNA.
As to why this is so, he said, “You have to go back to our founding. The space was grim. It is designed for hardcore technologists, those who deal with the technology at a basic level. The user interface was almost an obstacle in itself.”
He added that at the time it was better to simply use smart contracts directly and that the idea of creators and artists wanting to use “crypto” was an alien concept. “This was the context in which Foundation came into existence,” he explained, adding, “Our founding – and subsequent emergence – marked the emergence of a new, cultural era in Web3, one that vastly expanded those interested in the technology, and for what. goal.”
Tehranian explained that this did not happen by chance and that design was a key factor in it all, something he touched on in an early 2021 blog post titled Crypto Wants to Be Seen.
Through its approach to design, Foundation has made the idea of Web3 art more accessible, inviting and appealing, especially to artists. “As we’ve grown the business, we’ve stuck to design. we coded it in our DNA,” said Tehranian.
Forever Projects
In addition to Moments, Foundation has unveiled another initiative, Forever Projects, which speaks to its origins and acts as a testament to the Worlds ecosystem and design-driven approach.
While an official rollout and more details around Forever Projects are expected on Thursday, August 31, the Foundation gave us some insight into what the initiative entails.
Primarily, Forever Projects will function as a highly curated, internal world, run by a dedicated team, designed to enable the Foundation to engage with the wider community as a world builder, on an equal footing with other curators in its ecosystem . While those new to the platform may not know it, when it launched in 2021, Foundation started with just 50 hand-picked artists, with curation playing a major role in its early success.
As the space and platform grew, so did its positioning: from a tightly curated roster of artists to tens of thousands of artists in less than a year, heralding the development of Worlds to leverage decentralized community curation.
To understand the return of self-creation at this particular moment, we spoke with Jaysa Alvarez, Chief of Staff of the Foundation. She shared, “We’ve always cared about art and curation, just as we’ve always cared about creating strong technology.”
“Our intent with Forever Projects is to make unequivocal our commitment to this cultural work.”
Jaysa Alvarez
She further explained: “We are at an interesting time in history where technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate and interest in Crypto/Web3 has cooled. However, the fact that the speculators are gone doesn’t mean there aren’t ideas in our space worth exploring. In any case, it gives us the chance to connect directly with a subculture of people who share the same passion for these ideas as we do, and do so in a way that resonates much more.”
While details about Forever Projects are still somewhat sparse, the initiative’s dedicated X Page revealed some of the design inspirations behind it, including names like Issey Miyake and Andy Warhol, which we asked Alvarez about.
“That mood board represents a confluence of transformative ideas and attitudes,” she said, explaining, “Issey Miyake is iconic for his technology-driven design and innovative use of materials, with his collections inhabiting the space between art, clothing, architecture and technology. ”, while “Andy Warhol’s concepts revolutionized the way we think about contemporary art and its role in our society.”
She exclaimed, “Through Forever we want to highlight art and ideas that push boundaries and challenge conventional understanding,” adding, “We wholeheartedly believe that the values and beliefs on the fringe will usher in the values and beliefs of the next generation , and therefore will find inspiration. in people and art who have embraced this forward-thinking mentality, even if it was countercultural.”
For more information about Forever Projects, keep an eye on the Foundation’s official channels. Upcoming updates will reportedly take a closer look at the first curated show Between heaven and earthas well as details on participating artists.