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

If You Can


 


 


Medium: Tear-off Flyers
Location: Walls and Through-ways OR Nooks and Crannies, Campus Wide

150 of each of these flyers were distributed across campus. They invited each viewer to tear off a tab as a sign of his/her accomplishment.  Here we tap in to everyone’s need for self-affirmation and the power of reward.

5 comments:

Brian Duddy said...

Cool idea... is it cheating if I moved a chair? >_>

DESIGN IS POWER said...

We don't think so. That's how it got there in the first place. And resourcefulness should be rewarded!

Christina said...

I was really excited to jump and grab one without assistance! :)

bex said...

yeah, i totally went with the chair technique

Marcus Tullius Tiro said...

I saw one in Simon Hall, and I was actually surprised to find out that it wasn't a recruiting gimmick for some consulting firm - happily surprised!

I'm a grad student here now, but this is exactly the type of stuff I used to do when I was in undergrad... moving the stall walls in people's bathrooms while they were asleep, etc. Keep up the good work!