Oscar Lozano

Design Leadership

Oscar Lozano

Design Leadership

Oscar Lozano

Design Leadership

Work

Avara

Bean: A decentralised social network where creators own what they create

Role

Product Designer

Year

2022

Bean is a decentralised, blockchain-based social media platform designed to give creators full ownership of their digital content. By leveraging blockchain, Bean allows creators to securely manage, monetise, and prove ownership of their work, bypassing traditional intermediaries. Creators can set terms for content access, engage directly with audiences, and earn through options like token-based tipping and NFT sales.

01

The vision

Bean was initiated within Avara (formerly Aave) to create a decentralised social media platform focused on creator ownership and control. The initial brief aimed to build an on-chain experience similar to Twitter, with a focus on user content ownership and direct monetisation options. By giving creators full control over their content and revenue models, Bean set out to redefine social media as a user-owned, creator-centric platform.

02

Key features

Here are some of the key features we aimed to implement:

Creator Ownership and Control

  • Content Ownership: Each post is tokenised on-chain, giving creators complete ownership of their work, including the ability to manage, sell, or license it directly.

  • Monetisation Options: Creators can set individual post prices, enabling users to purchase content for their collections. For free posts, an optional tipping feature lets supporters contribute.

Collection-Based Engagement

  • Tokenised Content Collections: Users can buy or collect posts, building personalised collections of content they value. This model promotes high-quality content creation and supports creator earnings.

Subscription Model for Exclusive Content

  • Paid Subscriptions: Creators can offer exclusive content to subscribers, creating a steady income stream. Subscribers gain access to special posts, early releases, and behind-the-scenes content.

Token-Gated Content and Community Access

  • Exclusive Content Access: Creators can gate select posts, granting access only to users who hold specific tokens or NFTs, rewarding early supporters and loyal collectors.

  • Private Community Spaces: Token-holders can access exclusive spaces like livestreams, group chats, or video calls.

These were some of the key features we were looking to implement to set Bean apart:

  1. Creator Ownership and Control

    • Content Ownership: Every post is tokenised on-chain, giving creators full ownership over their work, including the ability to manage, sell, or license it directly.

    • Monetisation Options: Creators can set prices for individual posts, allowing users to purchase content directly for their collections. Alternatively, free posts include an optional tipping feature for supporters to contribute.

  2. Collection-Based Engagement

    • Tokenised Content Collections: Users can buy or collect posts, building personal collections of content they value. This model encourages high-quality content creation while supporting creator revenue.

  3. Subscription Model for Exclusive Content

    • Paid Subscriptions: Creators can offer exclusive content to subscribers, generating a steady income stream. Users can subscribe for access to special posts, early releases, and behind-the-scenes content.

  4. Token-Gated Content and Community Access

    • Exclusive Content Access: Creators can gate certain posts, allowing access only to users who own specific tokens or NFTs, rewarding, for example, early supporters and loyal collectors.

    • Private Community Spaces: Token-holders gain access to exclusive spaces like forums, group chats, or video calls.

✦ Key Insight ✦

Creators increasingly seek direct control over their work, audience engagement, and revenue generation without relying on traditional platforms that limit ownership and monetisation options. Traditional social media platforms dictate content distribution and revenue models, often prioritising ad-based income at the cost of creators' autonomy and earnings.

✦ Key Insight ✦

Creators increasingly seek direct control over their work, audience engagement, and revenue generation without relying on traditional platforms that limit ownership and monetisation options. Traditional social media platforms dictate content distribution and revenue models, often prioritising ad-based income at the cost of creators' autonomy and earnings.

✦ Key Insight ✦

Creators increasingly seek direct control over their work, audience engagement, and revenue generation without relying on traditional platforms that limit ownership and monetisation options. Traditional social media platforms dictate content distribution and revenue models, often prioritising ad-based income at the cost of creators' autonomy and earnings.

03

The concept

Bean, unfortunately, remained an unreleased project, never reaching the public. Partway through development, Avara underwent significant restructuring, cutting a third of its staff. The design team, myself included, was particularly impacted by these layoffs, halting the progress we’d made and disbanding a group that had been closely involved in shaping Bean’s vision.

Due to this sudden transition, I lost access to most of the design assets and documentation associated with the project. While I was able to retrieve a portion of the work, the majority of our concepts, prototypes, and design iterations were lost in the handover. The experience was both a professional and personal disappointment, as our team had been highly invested in realising a truly creator-centric, decentralised platform. Although Bean never launched, the insights and skills developed during the project remain influential in my approach to future work.

Below is a small glimpse of what Bean could have… bean.

Bean, unfortunately, remained an unreleased project, never reaching the public. Partway through development, Avara underwent significant restructuring, cutting a third of its staff. The design team, myself included, was particularly impacted by these layoffs, halting the progress we’d made and disbanding a group that had been closely involved in shaping Bean’s vision.
Due to this sudden transition, I lost access to most of the design assets and documentation associated with the project. While I was able to retrieve a portion of the work, the majority of our concepts, prototypes, and design iterations were lost in the handover. The experience was both a professional and personal disappointment, as our team had been highly invested in realising a truly creator-centric, decentralised platform. Although Bean never launched, the insights and skills developed during the project remain influential in my approach to future work.
Below is a small glimpse of what Bean could have… bean.
Bean, unfortunately, remained an unreleased project, never reaching the public. Partway through development, Avara underwent significant restructuring, cutting a third of its staff. The design team, myself included, was impacted by these layoffs, halting the progress we’d made and disbanding a group that had been closely involved in shaping Bean’s vision.
Due to this sudden transition, I lost access to most of the design assets and documentation associated with the project. While I was able to retrieve a portion of the work, the majority of our concepts, prototypes, and design iterations were lost in the handover. The experience was both a professional and personal disappointment, but although Bean never launched, the insights and skills developed during the project remain influential in my approach to future work.
Below is a small glimpse of what Bean could have… bean.

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Oscar Lozano

©2025

Oscar Lozano

©2025

Oscar Lozano

©2025