Posted by Carly Ayres | Date Posted: 10 December, 2010
In current times, the American individual lives in a society filled with abundance and conspicuous consumption. However, faced with the overwhelming abundance of choice that they face on a daily basis, many are reporting feelings of dissatisfaction with their lives.
With the increase in choices available in every product category imaginable, many are left disappointed by their purchasing decisions because the customer expects to come out with the perfect product. As a result, many are refusing to participate in the system of mainstream consumption and turning to movements such as the “100 items challenge” and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) trend. These movements are not a rejection to the meaning of objects, but they are about the meaning of objects.
Calvin Ku ’11, a graduate student of Industrial Design at RISD, is constructing his thesis on finding ways to reconnect people to the objects they currently own and rediscovering the significance of the material thing and symbols that mean most to them. Only by going through this process of revisiting the objects they own will individuals be able to understand the true meaning behind the material objects they own and hence, become more mindful about future purchases.
The title of his piece is “To have and to hold” and is pictured below.
This concept aims at changing consumer behavior by changing the way of how we perceive an object. By including a statement similar to marriage vows, which requires the user’s signature, this would hopefully change the new owner’s view of the object to potential something that he or she would cherish for a long time.
The message reads: I take you, my new found loves, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
