Here is my full project proposal. It’s a bit long but hopefully your interested enough to read some it so you’ll know what the heck I’m talking about.
Topic Description:
Shopping has become an immense part of North American culture but few people
are aware that their everyday purchases are contributing to massive environmental
and social problems both locally and globally. There is an absence of information
and guidance in today’s marketplace for consumers about ethical products
and choices, and an abundance of marketing towards convenience and throwaway
products. Can communication design play a role in shifting our culture’s thinking
about current consumption practices? By examining consumerism’s place
as today’s dominant institution I intend to create an awareness of how to make
informed purchases while shopping.
Design Intent:
The idea that shopping is a cultural practice that begins at an early age is an important
consideration when looking at the problem of consumption. North Americans
are not going to completely discontinue their current shopping practices
or retreat entirely from the capitalist world; therefore a focus must be placed on
shifting consumers’ views and providing information that can create options for
shoppers. There is a need for more alternatives and information on how to access
these alternatives. There is a need to assess why consumerism has risen to its current
level of pervasiveness; why shopping has become such an important aspect
of our existence. It is important to ask what needs are fulfilled in buying unnecessary
material objects and what can be done from a design point of view to make
shopping more pro-active.
Design Objectives:
This project will communicate better practices for consumers and propose how
individual people can contribute to solving global issues through their everyday
purchases. This project will be a means to analyse the current views of consumers,
current trends in consumerism, product design, advertising and marketing, and
to research contemporary values in comparison to the values of the past and in
other cultures. This will create a better understanding of how consumerism developed
into its current state. Through this research this project will evolve towards
promoting sustainable products and creating awareness of social and environmental
issues related to the market place.
Audience/ Users:
The target audience for this project is Canadians aged 20 to 50, primarily Maritimers
and small town people who are household shoppers, mothers, fathers, wives,
and husbands; people who are currently uninformed about most of their purchases.
The target audience is middle class to upper middle class consumers who shop
regularly for both necessities (groceries, house hold products) and for leisure. The
target audience spends their extra income on items such as clothes, electronics
and other material objects and has high credit card debit.
Design Criteria:
My project will meet several goals and objectives including:
• to establish a new way of looking at products and to invite people to rethink
the reasons why they shop excessively.
• to draw attention to the role of individuals within the consumption problem.
• to examine how people spend their money and promote a focus on
experiences, relationships and community involvement instead of material
objects.
• to create more awareness about current social and environmental issues and
waste control, technology waste and conservation.
• to establish a new guide for shopping and promote sustainable products.
• to draw attention to the role shopping plays in individual happiness and to
assess related problems such as debt.
Design Development Phases:
I will be using several design processes for this project including various forms
of research, experiments and ideations. I will be using the internet as a tool to
communicate with people about their current shopping and consumption practices
and to set up a feedback loop. I will be creating an internet blog (online
journal) where I will be posting ideas, thoughts and process for the project and
asking for responses from the target audience. I will also be conducting research
and attempting to answer questions through documenting my own experiences
as a consumer and experimenting with refraining from making purchases for a
period of time. I will be examining my individual purchases and my waste as well
as creating profiles of people within my target audience to get a better perspective
on their life style. I will be using different sources of information for my research
and while looking at North American culture I will also be looking at different
cultures and their consumption practices. I will be exploring the best forms of
implementing my project in the areas of print materials, web based media and
exhibition design.
Research Summary:
I have done extensive research and reading on the topics of shopping, consumerism,
marketing and branding, corporations, choice making and activism. I have
read about the history of shopping and credit and viewed several documentaries
on the topic of corporations. Currently I am reading the “Rebel Sell” by Joseph
Heath and Andrew Potter, about culture jamming and “No Logo” by Naomi Klein.
I have yet to read materials from the simplicity movement and the situationists
for other perspectives. I also will be reading “Made to Break” by Giles Slade about
technology waste and product obsolescence. I intend to interview people from my
target audience and talk to subject experts as well as people who know nothing
about the subject.
Timeline:
09/14 — 09/28: research, reading, ideation, brainstorming, experiments, documenting
processes.
09/28 — 11/02: form explorations and analysis, initial design concepts and solutions,
testing of initial designs.
11/02 — 12/07: final design solutions, production and refinement.
12/13 — 11: final design presentation.
Conclusion:
Our society is a place of unlimited wants, unlimited products and unlimited consumption.
However, the earth is a limited resource and there is a strong need for a turn
around in our culture’s views of spending and buying. In order to continue our existence
in the world we need to refocus ourselves into a society more concerned with conservation than consumption and more aware of our individual contributions to our world. This project will address the role of a designer in achieving these goals and how through communication design we can create a more sustainable future.
