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Socialcommercialism

Client: Self promotion
Media: Theory
Project start: Sept. 2002
Status: The project has been exhibited at several galleries and art museums and was top-nominated in the prestigious international INDEX-2005 design-competition.

Socialcommercialism is a research project that investigates how design could make it possible to involve ethical, ecological and social issues in today's capitalistic society.

The name of the project, Socialcommercialism, suggest a new ideology, that combine what today seems to be antagonists; social engagement and commercial output. To test this thesis we have formulated four different concepts, where commercial strategies, social issues and design are used to illustrate what the output of this thinking could be. It also refers to "Socialdemokratin" once playing a major part in the forming of the Swedish welfare project, but which today lacks ideas and ideology that are relevant in a complex globalized world.

The concepts derived from our project, Socialcommercialism, were made out of a quite personal starting-point; how we as a designer or architect can relate to personal, ethical and social values in relation to commercial demands. The project did not initially aimed for inventing new objects or solutions for improving life for many, but rather to find a strategy and way of thinking for us to continue to engage in social projects as design professionals. It has also been our ambition to influence the present debate on design.

So even though the project was made out of a quite personal starting-point, the issues we have investigated are of a global concern. We focused on solving problems not so often addressed by designers, but where as the object or system play a decisive role in the lives of many. Our aim was as well to use the idea of storytelling as a part of starting dialog around the issues. One of the starting criteria for us was to engage in problems that we had a daily experience of. This to have a direct contact with the people and scenarios that we were addressing. Another starting point was to step out of the bound of the object or building. We saw, and still see one of the most important roles for designers and architects is to visualise complexities and layout proposal for different scenarios and possibilities of society and industry. That means that we as designers can start investigating new areas such as service and strategy of a more immaterial character. We focused on items that could be mass-produced to enable our concepts to have an overall mass effect in our global society. The different concepts have different focus in styling, process and form. Some are more based in form giving and aesthetics others in process and experiment.
Because the project itself consists of four different concepts the best way of understanding the project is to read the flash files.

Lantgas (Ruralgas): A way to speed up and ease the global transition form gasoline to biogas. This decreasing global heating, illnesses from pollution and bringing a more stable global politics. And thus benefit us all.
A strategy of how Shell could change their infected brand by selling biogas in a new way. When the branding cost for Shell is so high, why don't they put their money were their mouth is? It ought to cheaper. We designed new gas stations and a concept for service and
recreation.

Aluminiumetik (The ethics of aluminium): Helping homeless and poor collecting recyclable cans and giving them a higher income. Improving the recycling rates in public areas. Helping the collectors with finding the cans and making the can-collecting cleaner, decreasing material waste and decreasing western energy use and pollution.
A plastic bag, sponsored by soda producers, for public bins, making it more convenient for poor to collect empty cans. A dual strategy of ecology and aid.

Logotypdemokrati (Logodemocracy): Increasing voter participation among young people. Helping the European project to become relevant to teens by an everyday presence and by helping them with navigation to important public information.
A brand, called Public, for taking care of young peoples engagement in politics when the election turnout keeps falling. A combination of branding and the old fashion librarian to help young people find public information that is relevant in their lives and commitments.

Pysselomsorg (Care crafting): Creating a bridge between lonely elders in elderly care and a younger generation. Creating a production effective and beautiful way to share caring and affection via redesign of alarm bracelets used in hospitals.
Alarm wristband for elderly made out of Hama Beads by young. We were using existing technology with a new aesthetics and production that bridges generations and enables emotional bounds and love.