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Seán Tait

BA [Hons] Visual Communication Design

Hello my name is Sean Tait. I enjoy making strong identities with lots of personality that try to get to the root of the design problem being faced. I like to take on a diverse range of concepts that showcase the playful side of my design sensibilities, as well as projects dealing with more serious subject matter. This is reflected in the wide range of visual languages I produce, from graphic illustration, to more abstract and textured imagemaking. Further to centering the user’s needs, I believe it’s important to draw from your own personal interests, even from outside the field of design, when approaching a topic to give the project its own distinctive character.

The way we look at who is responsible for climate change is something that needs to change. It is largely viewed as an individual problem, as something the layman is responsible for changing. Initiatives such as the “carbon footprint” were designed by British Petroleum in an attempt to shift the gaze of climate activists from corporations and onto individuals in the public.

This individualist way of thinking manifests itself as climate anxiety, with people feeling responsible for the destruction of the planet when in reality, there are 100 companies that are responsible for 71% of climate emissions. While there are changes we can and should make as individuals, if we want to see true change, we must look to corporations and work towards true systemic change.

Researching this project has allowed myself and my peers to engage is productive discourse surrounding the guilt we feel for our contributions to climate change. Through this discourse we can look more clearly at how is responsible for climate change and begin to examine how we can take action in the future.

The survey I designed found that 80% of users sampled felt some level of personal responsibility for climate change, with 57% stating they have experienced climate anxiety. I feel taking a satirical look at this way of thinking will invite people to rethink how they feel about their relationship to climate change. This I hope will urge people to look into those that are most responsible for climate change, as only 57% of users surveyed were aware that only 100 companies are responsible for 71% of carbon emissions.

Project Description

Harvestr is a company which encourages users to donate their bodies to be used in manufacturing sustainable leather, bone ash products, and biodiesel. With traditional burials and cremations being incredibly resource intensive and damaging to the environment, this donation will let the user die with a clear conscience, knowing they have offset their carbon footprint.

This project is designed to take a satirical look at how we as individuals place an inordinate amount of guilt and responsibility upon ourselves for climate change. With this project, I imagine the most extreme case of guilt one could feel for their contributions to climate change, ultimately putting their body on the line to offset their “carbon footprint.” By highlighting the ridiculousness of this way of thinking, I wish to stir discussion and make people rethink their outlooks on climate change.

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