Expanding on the initial concepts
Testing the waters
Based on the brainstorming session last week, I was able to come up with three initial concepts for the thesis project. Among them, I was able to test out my concept for NFT with my peers, strangers, and coworkers to test the waters.
Talk to Strangers
I, unfortunately, wasn’t able to reach out to complete strangers but instead, I was able to reach out to some of my friends who are unfamiliar with NFT to minimize any bias. These were the takeaways:
- The mass adoption of NFT is only as valid as the availability of the technology (AR glasses) that enables it.
- My friends were optimistic about the potential of NFT as a suitable platform for new (virtual) fashion brands to emerge.
- The trifecta of NFT <> AR <> Cryptocurrency (ETH) is crucial.
- “Limited edition” virtual NFT items that also come with a physical counterpart could be THE new revenue structure for many companies.
- People interested in cryptocurrencies will be more likely to get into NFT (investment method).
Hang Out with Your Area of Interest (Initial Research)
Thankfully, one of my coworkers, Adi, is a fan of NFT and a creator who actively shares his motion graphic works and sound arts on NFT platforms. I hoped on a Zoom call with him to ask him about how he got into NFT, what he finds interesting, the potentials of the NFT as an industry, and some of the more popular platforms he would recommend for newbies to check out.
And here are some takeaways from our conversation:
- Literally, anything can be made into NFT
- Adi’s go-to tools are After Effects and C4D
- Environmental concerns (mining Ethereum requires lots of computing power) associated with NFT are pretty dire.
Thoughts on concept delivery
A thesis project can take many forms — it can be an object, a framework, an event, and of course, apps. Just off of the top of my head, I think of the advantages of designing a system as a method of delivery is scalability and reproducibility. People who come across my project can replicate it at their own convenience, and the project perhaps can transcend the constraints of location and time. Each time you adopt or try out a system, there will be room for interpretation and new experiences depending on who, what, where, when, and why. On the other hand, I can see how a system-based approach can suffer from intangibility, making it difficult for some people to fully decode the concept and even come across as subjective.
As to designing a “thing” as a deliverable — I think the benefit lies in the objectiveness. There is less room left up to the viewer’s interpretation thus less confusion and subjectivity involved.
Considering these factors, I believe my NFT idea will be most successful if it were to take the form of a thing that can offer a concrete and straightforward idea of what it will look like in the near future.
