DESIGN FOR SADNESS

We observed how many products and services promise happiness, comfort and other benefits, while none (to our knowledge) would promise to make the user sad, uncomfortable or distressed. Through literature research, experimentation, prototyping and discussion, we took a critical look at this apparent imbalance. We asked ourselves why this is the case, and what it would mean if it wasn’t. This resulted is a speculative product, the SadSet, centered around eliciting and experiencing sadness.

"I also prototyped the final concept, and constructed the usertest"

MY ROLE

My role in the project was prototyping several concepts and especially experimenting and testing the ideas. One of those concepts was The Trauma Room. Since the project was staged around eliciting negative emotions, I thought the best way to design for this was to experience negative emotions myself. In other words, I tried to make myself sad several times during the project. This eventually lead to the concept of The Trauma Room, a room that presents an overwhelming and potentially negative experience to the user. Ultimately, reflecting on this experience could be positive for ones self-awareness. However, this raises the question if it is OK to deliver a dramatic experience to someone, even if it might turn out positive in the long run?

MY THOUGHTS

The purpose of this project was not to make a thought through design product. Instead, our goal was to design an artifact to discuss the dogma of design for happiness. In a broader perspective, this shifted my view on design. I now believe designers not only design products with commercial purposes. Their responsibility is also to raise awareness for societal, cultural, political and ethical challenges.