Creative Brief

Incorrect passphrase
Creative Brief — Month One

Carte&Starweave

Max Mao / Super Devi 12 Weeks · Month 1 Priced
I · The Premise

The product is live, but the visual ecosystem surrounding it has not yet caught up to its ambition. The goal is twofold: resolve immediate design and user experience frictions across the product lifecycle, and execute a comprehensive brand build that establishes Carte's visual positioning as a premier platform, elevating it beyond any single IP it hosts.

Track A · Now
Conversion

Time-bound, drop-tied content. OpenSea redemption clarity, reward reveals, recipe urgency, drop key visuals.

Measured: minting · redemption · time-sensitive engagement
Track B · Always
Brand Hum

Slow build. Onboarding context, card meaning fragments, faction identity, premium positioning.

Measured: returning audience · sentiment · community depth
II · Active Disconnects

Live diagnostic. The product is built; these are the places collectors lose the thread between minting and meaning.

01

The OpenSea Bridge

Collectors mint on OpenSea but don't know what happens next. The second-mint flow is confusing even with context. Amplification window open now.

Severity · Critical
02

The End Reward

Collectors grind toward recipes with no sense of what they're working for. Fix: mystery-box sequence, escalating teasers into a reveal arc.

Severity · High
03

The Burn / Merge Mechanic

Recipes become the central loop soon. Top whale already nearly owns the Stone Set. New recipes need ritual visual language — ceremonial, not transactional.

Severity · High
04

Carte vs. its IP

Long-term: Carte is a platform, not just The Fool's Journey. Right now they read as one thing. The platform needs to differentiate from any single IP it hosts — a slow build through evergreen Content C, not a sudden rebrand.

Severity · Medium
III · Visual Direction

Three brand layers, each with a different visual strategy. Starweave shows up through the work. Carte stays quiet up front, identity built through evergreen content over time. Existing Carte style sheets may be referenced but probably not adopted — locking a system feels premature for now.

Carte The platform · long-term play
Hosts diverse IPs. Intentionally quiet at the surface — the IPs are the show. Identity builds through evergreen Content C work over time. Eventually protean: an adaptive system that flexes per IP. Reference: MIT Media Lab, Casa da Música, Whitney Museum.
Carte Branding · Long-Term
Starweave Studio The artist label
Artist-led, ritual, depth, weight. Identity emerges through the cadence work, not a brand film. Month 1 moodboard locks the visual direction.
Active · Month 1
The Fool's Journey The current IP
Ancient relic plus cosmic mystery. Stone tablets, weathered and old. Foil edges, ink wash, ritual geometry, particle drifts. Dark fantasy celestialpunk.
Primary Focus
IV · The Production System

Each bucket has a quality bar set up front. Volume work stays loose. Premium work stays slow.

A

High Volume

Mixed supporting content with intent.
Quality Bar 70%
Cadence 10 / 2 wks

Every piece reinforces the same idea: collectors are gathering relics, not digital tokens. Each one carries a caption — lore, teaser, education, or meme. Pretty visuals alone don't ship.

Entertainment for Reach · 5
  • Dead card moments · collector-pain humor
  • Stylized shit posts · branded memes
  • Trend translation · cultural moments → Fool's Journey
  • Pull reaction · collector content reposts
  • Whale tribute · top-collector callout
Lore for Depth · 8
  • Card of the Day · daily anchor feature
  • Card spotlight · rotation, foil catch, parallax
  • Animated posters · cards as relic artifacts
  • Card meaning fragments · symbolic, tarot-aligned
  • Chase callouts · most-wanted cards this week
  • Faction shoutout · Wands / Cups / Swords / Pentacles
  • Tribute Token announcement · 1-of-10 program reveal
  • Leaderboard snapshot · top collector standings
Education for Understanding · 5
  • Pack opening loop · 3-card reveal moment
  • Recipe hints · which cards combine
  • Static educational · rarity ladder, "what's a recipe"
  • Swipe carousel · multi-panel explainers
  • Stat reveal · X burned, Y minted, leaderboard
B

Campaign Anchors

Multi-pillar pieces. Higher caliber. More info.
Quality Bar 80%
Capacity 4 / month

The best work overlaps multiple pillars — meme, narrative, info — in one piece. Under 15 sec. That overlap is gold.

  • Drop key visuals · cinematic announcement piece for new drops
  • Master Edition reveals · season-finale impact pieces
  • Tribute Token reveals · 1-of-10 personalized card unveils
  • Hero card draws · single-card cinematic spotlight
  • Burn / merge destruction · the ritual sequence
  • Mechanics explainers · recipe slot-fill, mystery merge
  • UI animations · in-app flows, transitions
  • Reward reveal hero · cinematic completion payoff
C

Evergreen

Permanent. Pinned. Embedded. Forever.
Quality Bar 90%
Production 3–4 wks

Carte's long-term differentiation. Each piece solves a specific disconnect or anchors the platform's voice. Reference: Anthropic / Manus AI release videos.

  • "What is Carte" · platform manifesto
  • Master Edition reveal · the 12-week season finale
  • Wallet & onboarding · first-time collector journey
  • Recipe → reward flow · the multi-step chain explained
  • Burn ritual · the destruction ceremony for recipes
  • The Buyback · Carte’s curatorial thesis as a film
V · The Work-Back

Sequential within tracks, parallel across them. Week 5 Reflection locks Months 2 and 3 against real data.

Week
Phase
Cadence
Foundation
Content C
Strategy
01
Sprint 1 · Capture
OpenSea countdown · mystery teasers
Moodboard kickoff
Module 1 concepting
Idea archive · first brief
02
Sprint 1 · Cont.
First Content B anchors ship
Moodboard expands
Sequence boards
Trend translation
03
Sprint 2 · System
Reward reveal · drop visual
Moodboard condenses
Module 1 production
Drop brief
04
Sprint 2 · Cont.
Destruction video (burn)
Style direction locks
Module 1 delivers
Reflection notes
05
Reflection
No new production
Templates locked
Module 2 concepting
Month 2 plan
06–09
Mid-Term
Templated cadence accelerates
Templates mature
Module 2 production
Ongoing ideation
10–12
Long-Term
TBD pending review
TBD
Module 2/3 delivery
TBD
VI · Month 1 · What Ships

Defaults reflect the recommended package. Two pre-engagement gifts ($3,000 value) are already in. Adjust quantities to see how the total moves.

Pre-Engagement · Included
OpenSea Bridge walkthrough ★ Gift
10–15 sec motion explainer · solves Disconnect 1 · ships this week
Included
$2,000 Free
Starweave moodboard ★ Gift
Initial visual direction for Starweave + The Fool's Journey · Month 1
Included
$1,000 Free
Production
Content A bulk pack ★ Default
10 mixed pieces · 4 weeks · $4,300 per pack
1
$4,300
Content B anchor pieces ★ Default
Under 15 sec · ~1 week each · $2,000 – $2,500 per piece · max 4 / month
2
$4,000 – $5,000
Content C evergreen module ★ Default
3–4 weeks · scripting included · $4,000+ per module · scope locks at concept review
1
$4,000+
Foundational · Optional
Starweave Style System
AI-readable brand guidelines + AE / PS motion library (decorative elements, backgrounds) + experimental GenAI workflow inside Weavy
$3,000
Carte Style System & Moodboard
Initial visual direction for Carte's protean platform identity (Month 1 moodboard) + style system components for long-term differentiation
$4,000
Ongoing · Required
Strategy & ideation retainer Required
Idea archive · trend translation · drop briefs · status reports · engagement prompts & polls · BTS / human-angle ideation · ad-hoc consultation
Locked in
$1,500
Total · Month 1
$13,800 – $14,800+