Introduction

As 2023 ends, we at Transient Labs reflect on a year filled with creativity, innovation, and collaboration. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the artists and collectors joining us on our journey and contributing to a vibrant and dynamic community. Looking ahead to the new year, we are excited to share a summary of our key milestones and groundbreaking projects from 2023, celebrating the achievements that have shaped the digital art landscape and our platform. And remember, this is just the beginning – 2024 is when the real fun begins!

Key Innovations  

Stacks (February 2023): Stacks is a revolutionary platform tailored for creators, offering an all-in-one solution for managing edition drops. We help creators create custom mint sites, ERC-1155 and ERC-721 edition contracts, and advanced allowlist features. Stacks enables various edition drop styles, including timed open editions, supply-capped limited editions, exclusive allowlisted editions, and innovative mint mechanics such as Velocity and Marathon Mints. The platform has powered notable projects such as Jake Fried’s 'North Star', John Karborn’s 'The Seeker', Ayla El-Moussa’s ‘Nude Abstracts’, and Patrick Amadon's 'Doppelgänger', providing a customizable and branded experience for collectors and artists alike.

Doppelgänger Smart Contract (May 2023): The idea of the Doppelgänger contract was brought to life through Patrick Amadon's 'Doppelgänger' project. The NFT world has always had to balance accessibility and exclusivity. Doppelgänger addresses this crucial aspect by allowing multiple assets, such as images, videos, or music files, to be associated with a single token. This feature immensely enriches the collector's experience, offering a variety of ways to interact with the art. It also allows creators to get creative and find their own use cases for the technology. Doppelgänger is compatible with a wide range of file types, including JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, HTML, GLB, MP4, and MP3. This flexibility means a single NFT can contain diverse forms of content like an image, a 3D model, a video, and a GIF, allowing collectors to choose their preferred metadata, making each piece a customizable digital asset.

The Lab Alpha Program (June 2023): The Lab, our home for no-code innovation, was launched into its alpha program towards the end of June 2023. We launched the product knowing it wouldn’t be perfect, but we wanted immediate creator feedback. We started out with the ability to deploy our core creator contracts and mint tokens to those contracts. Since the launch, we have been upgrading and adding innovations to The Lab. More on this below.

Collector’s Choice Smart Contract (August 2023): The Collector’s Choice smart contract, launched in August 2023, is an iteration of the Doppelgänger concept, offering a unique, customizable experience for digital art collectors. A distinctive feature of this contract is the introduction of a deadline, after which a collector's chosen artwork becomes permanently locked in.

Ghost Week & TLCC (September/October 2023): We like to say that “innovation is no accident at Transient Labs”. We believe innovation is a system. One of these systems is Ghost Week - a week-long sprint focused on three key business opportunities. From September 18th to 22nd, Transient Labs and its key experts and partners went offline. There were no inbound requests or external meetings, just rigorous focus for a week, and it worked. At the end of the week, we came out with three new products unveiled in October during our first Transient Labs Creator Conference.  

LaunchPad (October 2023): Launchpad is a gateway to Transient Labs' ecosystem. It allows you to discover creative works using keywords or URLs and offers advanced tools to engage with Transient Labs Smart Contracts. It’s the future for all dynamic interactions within Transient Labs innovations.

T.R.A.C.E. (October 2023): We were excited to announce Transient Labs' first hardware product - T.R.A.C.E. (Tokenized Records for Artwork/Asset Certification and Evolution). The divide between physical and digital works is shrinking, and there are significant opportunities to innovate in that space. Certificates of authenticity (COAs) have evolved for digitally-native assets but remain stagnant in the physical world. T.R.A.C.E. is securing the authenticity of next-generation physical assets and artwork through verifiable records inscribed on the blockchain. The product is in early testing phases and will roll out in Q1 2024. 

ERC-7160 Smart contract (November 2023): ERC-7160 is a new advancement in NFT (Non-Fungible Token) technology, offering creators more versatility than ever. With this new standard, co-authored by Transient Labs co-founder Marco Peyfuss, a single NFT can link to multiple images, videos, or audio files, turning it into a multi-faceted digital gallery. This allows creators to showcase various aspects or versions of their artwork within one NFT, offering a dynamic and evolving experience. Moreover, creators can update their NFTs with new content, making the art continually engaging and current. For collectors, it means a more personalized experience, as they can choose which version of the artwork to display. Overall, ERC-7160 empowers creators to make their digital artworks more interactive, customizable, and appealing, enhancing their creative potential and value while giving collectors new experiences and opportunities.

Story Inscriptions & Synergy (2023): Story Inscriptions are a powerful feature allowing artists and collectors to permanently record human provenance (stories, exhibitions, etc) on the blockchain, enhancing the provenance and narrative of their NFTs. Embedded in every creator contract by Transient Labs, this feature enables artists to update their work's provenance. It allows collectors to add personal reflections directly onto the NFT, ensuring these narratives are immutable and censorship-resistant. These inscriptions can be viewed on LaunchPad and Etherscan!

Flagship Projects for 2023

Patrick Amadon’s “Doppelgänger” (May 2023): Patrick Amadon's 'Doppelganger' project, in collaboration with Transient Labs, introduces a transformative smart contract in the NFT realm, focusing on durability and customization. This project tackles the artist’s challenge of balancing accessibility with exclusivity in digital art. It achieves this by linking multiple images to a single NFT, giving collectors a richer, more diverse ownership experience. This innovative approach allows for an array of images to be attached to one NFT, with collectors having the freedom to select which image is displayed, enhancing personalization and interaction.

Ripcache’s “Public/Private” (May 2023): Ripcache's "Public/Private" project is a thought-provoking NFT art exploration combining technology and identity to challenge concepts of data privacy. It features a physical 2x2ft screen print on metal and its digital twin on the Ethereum blockchain, both mirroring each other in a thematic exploration of surveillance. One of the key aspects of "Public/Private" is the choice it presents to collectors: preserve the physical art or alter/damage it to access the digital version. This decision turns the collector into an active participant in the artwork's narrative and emphasizes the theme of lastingness versus ephemerality. The project employs an innovative smart contract method that fragments the artwork into raw bytes on-chain, enhancing performance and expanding the possibilities of on-chain art. 

Bryan Brinkman’s & Dave Krugman’s “Ripples” (June 2023): StormDrain is a unique auction mechanic developed in collaboration with Dave Krugman as part of the “Drip Drop” collection. It allows holders of a collection to bid on art with art. Bryan Brinkman created “Ripples”, a 1/1 animation inspired by the Drip Drops; the only way to bid on the piece is with “Drip Drop” NFTs. At the end of the auction, losing bids are distributed back, and the winner receives “Ripples”. In exchange, Bryan Brinkman received “Drip Drops.” 

0xdgb’s “The Cameras” (August 2023): 0xdgb's 'The Cameras' project, a distinctive art collection that has already made its mark in the digital art space, offers an innovative approach to profile picture (PFP) art. Developed on the 'Collector's Choice' smart contract, it echoes the versatility of Patrick Amadon’s Doppelgänger contract, allowing each NFT to point to multiple artworks. Collectors had the opportunity to use the 'ChangeURI' function to select their preferred artwork from an array, with a deadline ultimately locking in their choice. Initially, collectors minted placeholder artwork, followed by the reveal of the 'Colour Series' and subsequent series, culminating in a diverse range of 126 camera options. This project structure allowed for a dynamic interaction between collectors and art, where each choice influenced the rarity and uniqueness of the pieces owned. 

Tender.art’s “Reflections” (October 2023): Tender Art and Artmatrco collaborated to present 'Reflections', a unique exhibition showcasing the portrait series by nine AI artists. The exhibition, curated by Adam Berninger, explored the themes of identity, emotion, cultural influence, and alternate realities. The website experience was powered by Transient Labs, enabling the digital auctioning of each artwork as a digital token. The exhibition was held between October 30 to November 2. Artmatrco's robotic technology transformed AI designs into physical masterpieces, merging digital and tangible art. This coincided with the launch of our new auction house smart contract, which underpinned all auctions.

All Seeing Seneca’s “Perils of Sese” (November 2023): Renowned Artist All Seeing Seneca (best known for her work on the Bored Ape Yacht Club) partnered with Transient Labs for a new digital art project, 'Perils of Sēsē'. The project comprises 2,880 non-linear story pages, blending traditional animation with digital elements and evolving states of the artwork. Seneca's artistry weaves in elements from her personal cell animation collection, creating an immersive narrative where each piece is part of a larger interconnected universe. 'Perils of Sēsē' uses the ERC-7160 Token Standard, which enhances the collector's experience with multiple metadata options, offering a personalized experience. This project marks a significant milestone in digital art, fostering a community-driven ecosystem where storytelling and audience interaction converge.

Showcases & Exhibitions

CoSign at The Edge on SuperRare at the Oculus in NYC (March 2023) 

ClownVamp’s Chester Charles (June 2023)

Transient Visions I (July 2023)

Transient Visions II (August 2023)

Tidal Showcase by Transient Labs as launch partner on JOYN (August 2023)

Beef Brothkos by DieWithTheMostLikes at Glitch Marfa, Texas (September 2023)

Ninfa Exhibition, “Together” in Milan, Italy (September 2023)

Outliers Exhibition with PROOF at The Foundry (October 2023)

Transient Visions III (October 2023)

MET AMS Event Showcase (October 2023)

Senary x Mr.Richi Solo Exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland (October 2023)

Senary x The Edge by Transient Labs Showcase in Geneva, Switzerland (October 2023)

The Hug x Transient Labs Innovation Laboratory Showcase at the Oculus in NYC (November 2023)

JIVA Moment on our Foundation World (November 2023)

JIVA Moment showcase at Artcrush Gallery in Ghent, Belgium (November 2023)

Transient Labs x MakersPlace T.R.A.C.E. Exhibition at The Sagamore Hotel in Miami, Florida (December 2023) 

Coldie Takeover at RHaus in Miami (December 2023)

All Seeing Seneca Takeover at RHaus in Miami (December 2023)

Alterego Showcase at RHaus in Miami (December 2023)

Partnership Programming

PROOF x Transient Labs Outliers Program (March-October 2023)

PROOF and Transient Labs joined forces to enable digital artists to push the boundaries of digital artistry. This project was groundbreaking in terms of introducing new innovations and featuring top artists in the space, such as Patrick Amadon, Ayla El Moussa, 0xdgb, Xer0x, Terrell Jones, Alienqueen, Ryan Koopmans, and many others. 

The Hug x Transient Labs Innovation Laboratory (July-November 2023)

The Hug had partnered with Transient Labs for six weeks of live and recorded workshops from July 10 to August 20. Creators were onboarded to The Lab to launch their own smart contract and create the first dynamic NFT. They had opportunities to connect and get creative with a cohort of fellow creators. Additionally, they received 360° technical, strategic, and marketing support during the program. After the program ended, their projects were showcased at The Oculus in November.

MakersPlace x Transient Labs T.R.A.C.E. Exhibition at The Sagamore Hotel in Miami (December 2023)

In 2023, we at Transient Labs, in collaboration with MakersPlace, proudly bridged the divide between traditional and digital art with a unique exhibition during Art Week Miami. Hosted at The Sagamore Hotel South Beach from December 5-10, our exhibition featured an exceptional blend of digital and physical artworks from internationally celebrated artists including WhIsBe, Patrick Amadon, Jack Kaido, Botto, Mikael B, Andrea Crespi, Hafftka, PIA, Dave Pollot, ADHD, Parin Heidari, Kyle Dunn, Jake Andrew, and Gina Choy, presented by Accelerate Art. All the artworks leveraged our T.R.A.C.E technology for artwork authentication; these pieces were showcased & sold on MakersPlace, allowing collectors to acquire NFTs that unlock the physical art, seamlessly merging the digital and physical!

The Lab 

Since its inception in June 2023, The Lab has undergone a massive transformation, continuously evolving to serve our community of creators better. Our initial phase, the Alpha program, set the stage for a collaborative environment where we partnered with artists to refine our offerings, swiftly addressing feedback and bugs. 

At launch, we focused on bringing our smart contract infrastructure and expertise to life in a platform that made our tools accessible to any creator. That served as a solid foundation to build upon.  Since its inception, we have seen massive demand for the product and platform, and we have chosen to be selective and strategic as we onboard new users. We have a waiting list of over 2500 people and 600 active users on the platform today. We see strong product utilization of those users, with more than 50% having deployed contracts and 30% having minted tokens on the platform. Q1 should be a big quarter for user growth as we plan to batch-onboard the waiting list creators. And the product should be exciting for them as we’ve continued to improve. Below is a short summary of some of the improvements we have made.

Key Developments and Features:

• Draft Tokens & Management: Draft Tokens have been introduced to auto-save progress and preserve work, making the creation process more intuitive. Additionally, new management capabilities allow creators to delete or batch-delete unwanted draft tokens, enhancing control and workflow efficiency.

• Token Duplication: To improve user experience, a new feature has been introduced for duplicating existing tokens, simplifying the creation process of multiple similar tokens. We have seen creators respond positively to this interaction compared to competing platforms.

• Batch Minting: A significant update enabling creators to mint hundreds of NFTs for about the cost of minting one NFT, thereby greatly improving efficiency and accessibility.

• Indexing Contracts to SuperRare & Foundation: Through a partnership with SuperRare and Foundation, creators can now directly index their contracts within The Lab, improving visibility and accessibility.

  

• User Experience Enhancements: Based on alpha feedback, various user experience improvements have been implemented, including square token thumbnails and multi-select functionality. This also includes targeting specific performance issues, particularly optimizing contract overview pages.

Upcoming Features:

- Specialty Smart Contracts (ERC7160 & Doppelgänger)

- Self-Service Stacks Mint Pages

The journey of The Lab thus far reflects our commitment to innovation and responsiveness to our creator community's needs. As we look forward to introducing Doppelgänger and ERC-7160 deployments, we remain dedicated to pushing digital creation's boundaries and offering our users an unmatched experience.

LaunchPad

In 2023, we proudly announced the launch of LaunchPad, a revolutionary gateway into the Transient Labs digital art ecosystem. This platform simplifies and enhances art enthusiasts' discovery and engagement experience. 

LaunchPad is engineered to make the exploration of digital art intuitive and educational. Its user-friendly interface allows art lovers to search for new artworks effortlessly, browse through URLs, and enjoy a seamless discovery process. The platform dynamically showcases recent mints and includes comprehensive educational features, ensuring creators & collectors can easily learn more about different artworks and smart contract functionalities.

A standout feature of LaunchPad is its direct interaction with Transient Labs Smart Contracts. This integration transforms the digital art experience, offering users an interactive way to engage with features like Story Inscriptions. It eliminates the need for external tools like Etherscan for contract interactions, providing a native platform to read and write story inscriptions, complete with a real-time gas cost estimator.

We constantly improve user experiences by introducing new smart contracts and features on LaunchPad, which is the testing ground for these innovations. Our upcoming additions will include integrating Doppelganger & 7160 contracts into The Lab and developing a front-end decentralized application (dApp) for Collectors. This will make it easier for them to switch between artworks on their tokens. 

Join us in our exciting journey as we develop LaunchPad. LaunchPad is set to revolutionize how we interact with digital art, with more updates and features coming soon.

Marketplace Support

We made significant progress earning marketplace support as most leading platforms have integrated Transient Labs tech.  These relationships are an exciting part of our growth trajectory and have provided significant value thus far.

SuperRare supports ERC721TL (June 2023)

Ninfa supports ERC721TL and ERC1155TL (August 2023)

MakersPlace supports ERC721TL (August 2023)

Exchange.art supports ERC721TL (September 2023)

Foundation supports ERC721TL (September 2023)

Joyn supports ERC721TL contracts (October 2023)

NiftyGateway supports ERC721TL (November 2023)

Opensea supports ERC721TL and ERC1155TL (2023)

Stacks Projects

2023 was full of exciting partnerships with artists.  Below are some of the highlights from our releases this year:

Jake Fried: “North Star”

The Game Cellar: “Totality Begins”

Richi’s: “Venus de Crypto: Defender of the Metaverse”

Hayden Clay: “Suburbs”

Gossamer: “TigerBob 1st Anniversary Exhibition”

John Karborn: “The Seeker”

Mark Wilson: “Beef Brothkos”

Mariana Makwaia: "Play Pretend"

HeartYou: "HY Poems"

0xdgb: "The Cameras"

Efdots: "Elements"

Here & NOW

Rich Caldwell: “Fun House”

Bob Lucas: “Station3 Patron Pass”

Clownvamp "Chester Charles OE"

Snoop Dogg: “Passport” 

CoinDesk Most Influential

Timboslice: "Luma Tide"

John Karborn: "The Rise and Fall"

0009: "Dual Immersion"

Sushen “Soosh”: Soulless

Ayla El Moussa: “Nude Abstracts”

Declan: "Her Empire"

C3: The Trilogy"

Shavonne Wong - The Ties that Bond (Duality of Self + Weight of the World)

Time Magazine x Deepak Book

Jeremy Cowart’s: “Auras”

1/1s Projects

Killian Moore & Gelo Arch’s “Remembrance” 

Ripcache: “Public/Private”

SebastianVibes: “En Route 69”

Dominik G’s: “Ereignishorizont”

Zareen Fava’s: “Tell a Vision!”

Ambr0sia: “when the clouds part”

Alex Kittoe & Violet Object’s: “On the Other Side”

Juice Bruns: “Hands out the window // Catching a second wind”

Gawswolf: “ToonWrld”

Hardley Davidson: “The Detective”

Ayla el Moussa: "Natural Forms"

Rebecca Rose: “The Whole Town Is Waiting”

Jeremey Booth: "Ride out"

DegenPains: “Searching for Myself”

Diego Mac: “Choreographic Time Capsule”

Hasan Goktepe: “The Isle of Life”

Dragic Markovic: “Slightly Confused Mornings”

Ryan Koopmans: "Enchanted Hour"

Nevin Johnson: “Dreamstate”

ThreePanelCrimes: “Art Heist” Shatter

Rebecca Rose: “It's Mine, Mine All Mine”

Beverly Kills: "Tec 9"

Matt Scobel: “Fuji”

Ariya Arkhavan’s: “Dreamland”

Jan Baumgartner’s: “Blinded by Shadow”

Ren AI: “The Sixth Estate”

Handiedan: “Heptade in Blue”

0xdgb: "Azure Surveillance"

Jay Toups: “When [if] I grow up”

Charles AI: "Lux Et Umbra"

Ryan Koopman x Tjo: “Blissful Happy Fool”

GMUNK: “First Breath”

Robert LeBlanc: “CD01”

Clownvamp: "Chester Charles SR"

Custom Projects

Aaron Huey: "First Film"

AllSeeingSeneca’s “Perils of Sese”

Alterego

Dave Krugman: “ROLLS”

RD’s “24 Hours of Art”

Patrick Amadon’s “Doppelganger”

E30D by Glitch Gallery

Tender.art: “Reflections”

Conclusion

As we say goodbye to an amazing year, we would like to extend our warmest wishes to all of you for a Happy New Year! May 2024 be filled with positivity, innovation, and continued success in all our creative pursuits. Here’s to a future where we keep pushing the boundaries of digital art together!!