YOU ARE HERE BY DESIGN

St. Louis, MO, United States
1) DESIGNERS CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. ex: We got you to come to our website. 2) IN OUR WORLD, EITHER THE DESIGNER OR THE DESIGNED FOR IS HUMAN. ex: You are human and so are we. 3) DESIGNERS CAN WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY IF THEY UNDERSTAND HUMAN NATURE. ex: We know people are wary of having their flies open in public. 4) DESIGN AT ITS SIMPLEST IS AN ACT OF MANIPULATION OF HUMANS, WHAT THEY WANT, AND HOW THAT DRIVES THEIR CHOICES.

Based on these assumptions, we conceived Design Is Power, an exploration of human nature. Through a series of ‘experiments’ (using the Washington University community as our test population) that incite reaction and action, we are exposing several human tendencies. Ultimately, we want our viewers to question their impulses and realize their roles in a designed world. And as student designers, we hope to explore the range of human responses we can call upon in our work.

So where do you come in?
Your participation in each designed moment completes its message, and we seek to activate the dialogue between designer and viewer. Whether you are a participant or just a curious observer, we encourage you to share your thoughts by commenting.

22 November 2009

Finding Fishies






Medium: Performance
Locations: Men’s and Women’s bathrooms, Danforth University Center

We planted goldfish in all of the toilets in the readily used bathrooms of the DUC. Above each toilet is an arrow that ensures that no one can miss the presence of the fish. The subject is forced to choose between his own needs and the fish's: does he reach into the toilet water to rescue the fish from its uncertain fate or simply leave?
Note: No goldfish were harmed during this project. Each was safely secured in a plastic bag and then later returned to its loving owner.

2 comments:

Will said...

What happened to them???

DESIGN IS POWER said...

Rest assured, Will, they are all in good hands. One Bon Appetit staff member volunteered to take two and the rest are swimming happily in a bowl on my mantle.