#031 COMMUNIQUE
IMAGE : First Prototype of Empathy Axis (1/12/2018)
TITLE : 5 Key Moments (R&D Part.2)
Looking back over the last past 18 months there are mixed sentiments comprising of a polarisation between relief and desperation.
THE ADV_™ today was not a tweaking of its previous incarnation but a complete disassembling and reconstruction of everything that was said to be engaging and meaningful but then building in a sense of purpose rather than an echo chamber of agreement or a standoff of dispute. It’s designed to produce insight, through strategic empathy and form foresight in each sector of society.
There are 5 key moments that stand head and shoulders above the rest.
IMAGE : 12x Scenario(s), A.N.D Exhibition
[ SCENARIOS ]
Question : How do you understand a civilisation?
Answer : Look at what they care about.
Over six months, we canvassed societies across multiple cultures through centuries to understand who and how civilisations were structured, praised for their advancement or criticised for the latency. We studied sociological and political systems ranging from Muhnumutapa (Great Zimbabwe) disability and immigrant policies to faith-based integration with state of Ethiopia & Kush to the expansive genders acknowledged in within Native American culture as well as the diplomacy tactics of conflict of the Roman Empire and the principles of social etiquette and class from East Asia.
Categorising societies was one challenge, but the other was to identify the reoccurring core tensions up until the present day. With the support from Philip Howe and Nine Yamamoto we arrived at a broad stroke of twelve pillars of society;
> Citizenship,
> Religion,
> Communication,
> History,
> Technology,
> Geo-Politics,
> Identity,
> Governance,
> Education,
> Environment,
> War,
> Economics.
These sectors would later go on to provide the structure of our scenarios.
—
IMAGE : Experience Testing, June 2019
[ EXPERIENCE ]
Question : What kind of experience is this?
Answer :
A world building social experiment.
Standing true to the three sectors of interest; Design, Politics and Theatre, the entire Immersive experience was constructed similarly to a film. 118 minutes 45 seconds divided into 14 sections, from the induction to the final minutes of networking. With the incredible support of Advisors Steph Singer and Mo-Ling Chui, we developed a guide — The Operator serving as a light touch facilitator to the uninitiated to world-building.
As a film, this experience would be rated 18 as a Political Thriller based on the horror of the state of society and the nervous laughter of disbelief of the free will without moral guidelines.
—
IMAGE : 40x Anything is a lot (Electronics)
[ SOUND DESIGN ]
Question : What does the environment and empathy axis sound like?
Answer :
A black market war room.
When we discovered US Ronald Reagan saw Stanley Kubrick’s film Dr Strangelove and Ken Adams striking war room design and decided to install one in the White House — this got us thinking.
Q1. What does the people’s war room look like?
Q2. Where would it be placed and what technology is it be made of?
Working with sound designer Tim Cowie, we got down to work. Some fundamental guidelines were the ability to ground all participants in the moment and harmonise their level of enthusiasm through a constant bass note. Still, building pressure and anticipation through volume and auditory notations of mechanical processing — this way, participants would be gently reassured for their progress without judgment.
Environment : In a large industrial warehouse/newspaper printers
Machine : Future analogue espionage technology, based in 1950-60s.
—
IMAGE : Assembly Test at Institute of Making (November 2019 )
[ PHYSICAL DESIGN ]
Question : So what does it look like?
Answer : A mechanical octapus
One of our key goals was to neutralise hierarchy or the notion of dominance in our experiences. Thinking geometrically, we are shifting from a pyramid scheme to a circular system where every perspective is valued even if they are at a different level of experience.
We started modelling how to create a circular device, however that became quickly impossible due to screens. As a compromise, we opted for a buildable circle, typically referred to as a Decagon (10 sided shape) however with 8 participants being the maximum number of participants capable of actively contributing, we opted for an Octagon (8 sided shape).
They were titled "The Pod " while in development. Each participant is assigned; an 8" inch screen, a speaker and face-illuminating light source — with a mobile controller for data entry shared amongst all.
Disappointingly, after ten months of development, the small fleet of pods were all scrapped due to fabrication issues, and we began again, giving birth to the Empathy Axis with the help of Romain Meunier.
—
IMAGE : APP Interface in situ
[ INTERFACE ]
Question : What does the forensic politics look like?
Answer : Apparently like espionage in 1950-60’s .
When defining the digital skin of THE ADV_™, we faced many moments of contradiction in the pursuit of a futuristic aesthetic— mainly when the use of archive materials and events are so prevalent. Similarly when committing to a modern minimalist functionality of the Dieter Rams & Braun. We developed the direction of “Future Analogue” intentionally steering away from references such as Steampunk or the overly mechanical visuals of the Matrix. After several iterations, we arrived at a neutral palette of early 19th-century newspapers but with symbols of the 21st Century.
+ Some key questions :
> How does a futurist political interface look?
> How does a political crime scene look?
> How will the actions of governments and communities be analysed in the future?
—
Click the link to see our 18 month R&D
LINK : 18 months in 90 seconds
—
For those behind the scenes who went above and beyond the call of duty…
A SPECIAL THANK YOU :
Luke Sturgeon | Greyspace
Nine Yamamoto | @pantherm0derns
Romain Meunier | Institute of Making
Tim Cowie | LinkedIn
Richard Pink | Willow Powder Coating
Efe-i | @efe__i
For press, sponsorships or media enquiries email us at hello@the-adv.com
