projects
notes
designer
engineer
and sometimes
rice farmer
engineer
and sometimes
rice farmer
designing for
human
existence
on digital consumption
summer 2023
design team:
kenta kondo - design lead
rhianna davies - communication design
lei takase - business design
jan rod - chan original tobacco model
process:
design fiction
futuring
critical design
output:
26 high fidelity artifacts from the future
“i jump off from tiktok, then go to instagram reels, and then to youtube shorts, and then i’m back on tiktok. and by the time i’m done with that, it’s 3 am and i feel hollow” - highschool student in yoyogi park.
the advantages of freemium social media allows us to be evermore connected with the world. but let’s be real.
the youth are addicted.
addicted to likes, screens, and uncontrollably our dopamine.
the great california
it goes something like...
more dopamine = more views
more views = more screen time
more screen time = more ads
more ads = more revenue
more revenue = more dopamine
we are so connected, yet why do we feel so disconnected with our own reality? to tackle this issue, the design team explored the following:
what if we mined for seratonin, not dopamine?
we imagined two purchases from two individuals in a future convinience store.
*******************************************************************************
a trip to the convinience store: teenager
every tuesday, a disheveled teenage boy comes out of his dark one room apartment to pick up bottles of seratonic, caloriemate, and tobacco.
as he leaves the house, his pupils shrinks before he can squint as he is reminded of the sensation of the scortching sun on his dry pale face. at the cash register, he debates wether to continue his subscription to clarity prime for another month. he sees an elated office lady with a eerie smile looking at the coupon on a recipt at the other cash register. “i guess both my mental and digitial health score at this year’s physical checkup was a lot better than last years...” he thought as he ambivalently purchased another years worth of adblocker.
as he left the convinence store, he took a deep breathe and decided to roll up a tobacco slowly near the entrance. in the distance he saw a parttime worker awkwardly inching closer to check out his eyes and soon came to a sudden stop. soon after, the entrace door opened and the lady from before accidentally bumped into the teenager making him drop his handcrafted masterpiece. the two stared at each other silently for an uncomfortable 30 seconds. then, she noticed the tobacco on the floor and gave the teenager a look of disapproval. she turned around while shaking her head and, to her surprise, the parttime worker was right in front of her. with a moment of temporary shock she recevies a pack of tissue from the parttime worker’s hands tissue and left the scene. as the lady’s face grew smaller in the distance, the teenager observed the same elated, yet eerie, face he saw on her a minute ago and shook his head with a look of dissaproval. he picked up his tobacco, sighed and opened up a bottle of seratonic. with three big gulps, he finished the drink and headed home for his next shift starting in 10 minutes. “i hope today isn’t another 3 am kareoke session with the fans. its like 3 days in a row. i mean, i guess i do have to practice for the concert on friday...” he complained as he lit his tobacco.
******************************************************************************
a trip to the convinience store: office lady
every month, a hardworking lady picks up perscription drugs at the convinence store on her way home from the office. determined to sleep early tonight for an early exec meeting for tomorrow morning, she walked past the climbing gym, yoga studio, and rooftop gardens that her doctor recommended to join last month. “sleep is my number one priority today,” she told herself as she entered the convinience store.
after purchasing her perscription she anxiously checked the bottom of the receipt with a nervous rush of blood. she was eccstatic to see a kitataku concert poster on the bottom of the receipt. she carefully folded her receipt not to fold his beautiful face. as she stared at her receipt with her head down and exited the store, she bumped into a teenage boy. she noticed a sharp crease on kitatku’s face and before she could cry at the top of her lungs, she remembered the 30 second breathing excercise she learned from her doctor at her last appointment. she stared at a distant point to clear her mind. right afterwards, she looked down and shook her head disappointed at herself for being triggered by just a mere crease. as she turned around to head home she was shocked to suddenly see a part-time worker close in on her. she was offered a pack of tissues with a kittaku kareoke night ad flyer neatly packed in. elated, she grabed the tissue and hurried home.
still determined to sleep early tonight for tomorrows early executive meeting, she clenched her fist crumbling the tissue as well the add. she was horrified knowing she crumbled kitataku but she reminded herself that she must prepare for tomorrow’s meeting. as she walked a few blocks further, she swiftly turned into a dark alleyway. carefully checking her surroundings, she opened the door to a meta cafe. as the door closes she showed a slight dissapointed grin.
at 3:00 am she takes an emergency dopamine supressant and a sertonin booster she picked up earlier today. at the entrance counter, she recevies another stamp on her kittaku cafe point card. “one more to be entered into the meet + greet with kitataku” she thought confidently. “if tomorrow’s meeting miraculously goes well, let’s treat ourselves with friday’s concert” she said to herself as she hurried home to shower and get ready for the 8 am exec meeting.
********************************************************************************
what is wellness?
>design fiction
>future of
digital consumption
>attention economy
>dopamine addiction