I make interactive art, companies, and delightfully weird events.
I’m currently building Moonlight, a platform for virtual Tarot.
I previously co-created Dialup—a voice-based social network that connects friends serendipitously in phone calls.
I once hid links to a short game called Cofounder Quest on floppy disks around the city to help me find engineers to collaborate with.
I founded Maskalike—the viral service that prints your own face realistically on your mask.
I also created Branded Fruit—the first company to print logos on avocados and clementines.
I organize surreal experiences, like LineCon—the conference that takes place while waiting in lines, the Hold Music Awards, and Oracle Open World—a divination summit.
I host funerals for expired domain names.
My hand has been featured on AliBaba.
Press LINKS
Artist's ‘Distance Tarot' Midnight Pop-Up Offers Answers in a Time of Questions, NBC
An Artist’s Satire Nearly Starts A Local Civil War, Forbes
My social anxiety was rekindled by lockdown. Can phoning strangers help?, The Guardian
Sorry Costco shoppers, the enchanted battle axe is sold out, Business Insider
All I want for Christmas are these kitschy VC Trading Cards, Tech Crunch
The hot new conference swag favored by Lyft, WordPress, and Twitter, Fast Company
App phones people so you can pretend to be their boss, BoingBoing
An Entrepreneur Juggles Six Companies and One Worker: Herself, New York Times
Inside the 'fwd: fwd: lucky pitch deck' that's reached over 500 investors, Protocol
Oh, You Forgot To Buy Your Drone a $189 Sweater for Christmas?, VICE
SF artist offers up anti-homeless street rocks for free on Craigslist, SF Chronicle
A directory of my projects.
My work often blends playfulness and practicality. Some are surrealist ideas I take very seriously. Some are actual companies. Some are not companies.
I've sold products to:
Salesforce, Mozilla, NASA, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Nickelodeon, Viacom, Toys R Us, Naked Juice, Reebok, United States Gypsum, Amazon Web Services, Twitter, Lyft, and more.
I’m hiring.
Here are current open roles at a few of my companies. Don’t see anything that quite fits, but want to be involved? I’m happy to hear from you!
Full-Stack Engineer (Bay Area)
Moonlight
Architect and build sleek interactive, live tarot sessions connected to a marketplace
Assembly Line Member
Various Projects
physical tasks, visual coordination
PHYSICAL
From custom avocados to drone sweaters to cloud storage — I make products you've probably seen followed by "lol", "whoa!", or "actually, that's useful".
DIGITAL
I create Internet jokes, databases, and tools — like a dead URL graveyard, a tour company for demolished buildings, and a phone network for self-employed people.
EVENTS
I organize surreal conferences like LineCon, Oracle OpenWorld (for oracles), outdoor games, dating experiences with drones, pranks, ARGs and more.
ARTWORK
I’m a visual artist too! I make theater sets, sculptures, miniatures, oil paintings, illustrations, diagrams, and graphics for digital experiences.
Tweet at me @djbaskin.
To learn about new projects, art, and jokes you can subscribe to my mailing list or support me on Patreon.
Speaking engagements
If a Tree Falls In Latent Space, Who Owns the Tree?
Creative Tech Week, New York, May 11, 2019
Secret San Francisco: An Underground Arts Lightning Talk
The Secret Alley, Immersive Design Week, February 20, 2019
Immersive Design Fireside Chat
The Laundry, San Francisco, CA February 11, 2019
WedX: Ideas Worth Marrying
A joke for a wedding speech! Portland, OR, November 10, 2018
Always be Pranking: Joey Skaggs vs. the Media
Odd Salon, San Francisco, CA, June 19th, 2018
Arts + Tech Panel
Sentry Scouts, San Francisco, CA May 30th, 2018
Should Drones Be Wearing Sweaters?
Maker Faire Bay Area, May 19, 2018
North Brother Island: a Journey Through New York City’s Forbidden Island
Odd Salon, San Francisco, CA, April 17, 2018