Design of Discontent - An online platform of DIY designs for empowering protesters
Bachelors project - guided by Yaron Louvaton
In recent years we have witnessed an unprecedented civil awakening. Millions of protesters around the world take to the streets full of anger and passion demanding change. The DESIGN OF DISCONTENT project came to examine objects from the world of protest and to offer new tools to the demonstrator.
Approaching the global protest phenomena from a design perspective, I set out to empower activists, organizers and protesters by hacking objects lying around the house and turning them into tools of protest. I then has created an open source bank of tools and designs to answer protesters’ needs.
Noise maker from detergent bottle, balloon and a ruberband
All images courtesy of Sharon Avraham
In the world of protest, problems are solved with quick, simple, elegant grassroots solutions that create a very unique and distinct design language. I embarked on a journey as a designer-demonstrator into the world of physical and virtual protest which spawned a series of ideas for objects based on those same unique design values.
I chose 10 common protest scenarios and approached each with a 24 hour hackathon. Using only what could be found around the house objects were cut, fixed, improved and repurposed to become tools of protest. Due to this approach objects could be easily replicated at any protest worldwide.
“We think of design as order, as beauty, and we don’t stop to think about how anger,
disillusionment, divisiveness and how the response to injustice should be designed.”
- Diego Beltrami | Design for Social Protest | Medium.com -
Umbrella with Window inspired by the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong
Modular stage from vegetable crates, plywood and ratchet
Balloon ball barricade inspired by the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong