In January of 2022, the hit single “Pushing P” was unleashed into the world.
The masterpiece from Georgia rappers Gunna, Future, and Young Thug went viral, and the ambiguity surrounding the mysterious 🅿️ made it the perfect meme for social media.
For weeks, no one could escape the 🅿️ emoji. What did it mean? Positivity? Pancakes?
The Founders of Volumetric, a design lab delivering a wide array of creative and marketing assets, worked with Gunna and his team to push 🅿️ even further.
Together, they created an augmented reality (AR) filter for Instagram, and “How 🅿️ Are You?” came to life.
Squibs and Max Kulchinsky are the Founders of Volumetric, a creative company disrupting the digital landscape.
Squibs serves as the primary creative force behind the company, while Max focuses on the strategy and vision.
“Me and Max have known each other close to five years, and we met through music,” said Squibs.
In a previous life, Squibs was a full-time music producer. He worked with various rap artists, in addition to putting out his own work.
Max had a similar background. “I was managing some artists and I worked with various record labels and music publishers, and that’s how Squibs and I connected,” Max said.
The two met in New York for the first time in 2019.
“He was wearing a walking boot,” Squibs recalled.
“I broke my toe,” Max said.
The fact that Max was fairly immobile allowed them to have a deeper conversation upon meeting.
“We kind of were forced to just sit there and have good conversation for about two hours,” said Squibs.
They kept in touch throughout the pandemic, and once NFTs kicked off a digital art renaissance, their talents and interests brought them closer together.
Squibs and Max collaborated with musician Hadji Gaviota to commemorate his 2020 debut album, “Purgatory.”
They created an animated 3D video, which included a remix of one of the tracks, and released it as an NFT on Bitski.com. The 20 editions sold out within minutes.
Soon after, they partnered with musician 645AR, who commissioned them to create two artworks depicting the rapper as a renaissance artist.
The team was also contracted to create an AR filter of the Empire State Building. In addition, Volumetric worked with Death Row Records to create Instagram and Snapchat filters.
“They wanted us to make a bandana that was identical to the one that Tupac wears in ‘Above the Rim,’ the movie,” said Squibs.
Squibs dedicated a tremendous amount of time and consideration into designing the 3D model of the bandana. As an artist and a musician, he wanted to pay the proper respect to such an iconic image from the major motion picture.
Digital trends in the Web3 economy evolve quickly.
As popular as “Pushin 🅿️” was earlier in the year, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone using the emoji today.
But according to Squibs and Max, the pace at which the digital space moves is what gives Volumetric a competitive edge.
“I would say our advantage is that we’re a really lean team,” says Max. “So we’re able to do things really quickly, much faster than a larger shop would.”
The duo have been delivering creative solutions to their clients for almost two years, but now they're opening Volumetric's doors and expanding their book of business.
“Max and I are essentially our own target audience,” Squibs says. “We are aware of what people want to see.”
The formula for success in Web3 is constantly changing, and it won’t slow down anytime soon. Companies and brands entering the space need digital natives to guide them through this uncharted territory.
Follow Volumetric on Twitter, Instagram, and visit its official website here.
