Green consumerism refers to recycling, purchasing and using eco-friendly products that minimise damage to the environment.
This is an activity for kids and my design idea is to encourage parents and their children to use the product package to produce handmade puppets. This is a good way for parents to teach their children how to make toys for themselves.
I advocate green consumption and love life.
Only 35% of consumers who make a shopping list purchase only the items on their list.
When consumers go shopping for groceries a vast majority of them make a list but very few stick to purchasing what they originally intended to buy. There are so many tempting deals and sales in stores to attract consumers and encourage impulsive buying.
This collection of unique shopping lists, sourced from local supermarkets, are evidence of those original shopping plans. Each list was a key point of reference in the consumer’s shopping, until the lists became targets of supermarkets deals discarded records of consumerism.
Firstly, I decided to look at the high demand for cosmetically perfect food. The aim was to create a piece that was mainly image based so ultimately the photos had to speak for themselves.
However, I then started to look at how to save money and the difference between branded food and cheap (‘ugly’) food. I finally came up with the ‘Spot the Difference’ theme to show people that there are ways to spend less money and that there is no difference between branded products and cheaper/homemade products, apart from the price.
After seeing this exhibition piece, I want people to think more carefully about not only what and how much they waste but consider their different options to save and get more for their money within their lifestyle.
Many objects become unfashionable and outmoded, and this exhibit highlights an idea of a planned redundancy.
The museum of obsolescence shows items that are no longer used, some still in working order, some obsolete; not needed, they are left behind.
This work looks at the relationship between money, the identity we create for ourselves and what we are willing to do to create an identity for ourselves.
Overall the work seeks to convey the idea that “although we believe we are choosing our own identities, the only identity consumerism creates for us is based on money and what we are willing to do for it!”.
The consumerist culture has our society controlled like puppets, preoccupied like babes with hanging mobiles, telling us what to do, think and what our identity should be.
We live in a society where we are sometimes continually bombarded with signage.
We can choose to either follow signage instructions or not. Signs which are more difficult to ignore are road signs; not only are they designed for our benefit, but we must obey them by law.
I have chosen to convey consumer messages using the graphic system of the road sign.
250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen work in developing countries.
61% in Asia, 32% in Africa and 7% in Latin America. Many of these children are forced to work. Many of these children are denied an education and a normal childhood; some are confined and beaten; some are denied the right to leave the workplace and go home to their families; Some are even abducted and forced to work.
I am interested in the idea that whilst we believe that we know the price of all material goods, there are still things in life that contain a value beyond a conventional price tag.
The project aims to show how some of our own values have been given over to consumerism. People often continue to shop simply because they want to escape the realities of daily life.
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing”.
Oscar Wilde
A modern smartphone contains far more computing power than NASA had access to when they sent the first men to the moon, yet we use them as mindless distractions or to share photos of our lunch.
As a lifelong technology enthusiast I enjoy exploring the relationship between humanity and technology, and by taking a critical look at how our lives are being impacted by the latest gadgets and innovations, my work invites the viewer to think about how they use technology and question its value and uses in modern life.
A receipt can be many things; A proof of purchase, a way of keeping a record or even an object of memory.
We often keep receipts and find them buried within our pockets and bags, memories of purchases we can’t quite remember making.
And our purchases are not only a way of life but they can distinguish and define who we are as an individual and can often tell a story of sortsA timeline through our lives and from the day we are born until the day we die, someone will be buying something for us. Ensuring our survival.
Credit cards are being used more than ever before.
They allow us to pay for items without actually having the money and many people reach the maximum spending limit on their credit cards and some struggle to meet the minimum monthly payment leading to consumer debt.
I am creating a campaign to try and persuade consumers to use cash instead of using credit cards. My idea is a paper transaction machine that displays on screen the outstanding credit card debt, and when people push their card into it, they will be informed why using cash is a better option.
Money is spent each year on fragrances, with half of the perfume the consumer already owns not touched or used.
Consumers only buy perfume for the brands and for the attention, when using these brands. My approach to consumerism is to inform and alert the public to the amount of money going into the perfume industry each year and how much is spent unnecessarily, particularly during the festive season.
Is there really such thing as a “fashion must have”?
Most fashions only last six months so what you buy now won’t necessarily be a “must have” in a few months. With millions of pounds worth of clothing bought each year soon discarded, the aim of this piece is to make people think more carefully before they buy. Many people blame discounts and sales for purchases that never get used. Could this simple statement make people think more carefully about their fashion impulses and reduce waste?
We spend our lives craving the most desirable logos and brands. Although branding was originally a means to claim ownership of cattle it has worked its way into our everyday lives
We are drawn to different brands for a diverse range of reasons. Whether to make our friends jealous or simply make ourselves feel better; logos have a great deal of power over the modern consumer. This exhibit has been designed to reflect how controlling logos are becoming. Modern logos and brands have become more important than family traditions with today’s generation favouring the new and the fashionable rather than what’s important.
Through my typographic poster I aim to inform and encourage people to recycle paper.
Recycling paper reduces the amount of trees being cut down and requires less energy to recycle it than to produce it from raw materials.
We all talk about “going green” but not many of us play a part in changing ours and the nation’s recycling habits. We need to start to recycle, everything, today for a better tomorrow.
“Money grow on trees-recycle paper”.
This exhibit documents the differences between a £5 spend on basics range fruit and veg in 3 high street supermarkets and what can be purchased locally for the same amount of money at Bridgnorth Market.
This project aims to encourage anyone who is fortunate enough to live in a town with a market, to support and use it.
Collaborative consumption is a term that describes a shift in consumer habits.
Because of the change in the global economy and the availability of online technology, consumers are starting to share, lend, rent, and trade rather than buying new products. My work is inspired by this change in consumer culture because I genuinely believe that collaborative consumption is a step in the right direction towards a sustainable way of consuming – Instead of mass producing new products why can’t we just learn to share?
There are now more occasions than ever to show our love and care to people, birthdays, anniversaries, traditional festivals, and international holidays.
How do we get the message across? Is a ready-made printed card more sincere than a sometimes clumsy but made by hand card? Do greeting cards actually illustrate the greetings at all? With white cut-out decorations placed on white cards, plus related consumer spending statistics printed on the inside, viewers are free to interpret and consider their own response to these questions.
Through my typographic poster I aim to inform and encourage people to recycle paper.
We all talk about “going green” but not many of us play a part in changing ours and the nation’s recycling habits. We need to start to recycle, everything, today for a better tomorrow.
“Money grow on trees-recycle paper”.
Too often we are influenced by impulse buying, whether through supermarket sales, an unplanned shopping trip, or even the sights, smells and sounds within a store.
There are many statistics and a lot of information around impulse buying which I believe people should be aware of so that they know and understand the situation. However for people to take notice, I have chosen to present this information in the form of an infographic, making it eye catching and appealing to the viewer in the hope of increasing awareness of this issue.
