Change the Little
Social + Critical Design –
“Assume that we have borrowed the earth from our children, and that we one day shall give it back to them and account for what we have done to it.”
Overview
What world are we handing down to future generations? What heirlooms are created by our behaviours and consumption? These questions surrounding generational environmental debt were the inspiration behind the creation of Change the Little. From this foundation our team began exploring ways of inspiring social change by creating a small but memorable intervention, something that could be handed down throughout the years.
While researching the impact of traditions and heirlooms, be they oral, textual or physical we noted their importance of sustaining shared cultural values throughout time. This brought us to begin looking at the superstitions or turns of phrases that were embedded in us through play as children. We were particularly interested in how quick and easily these are remembered and how, even in adulthood, recalling them is reflexive. “Step on a crack and you’ll break your back”, opening an umbrella inside means bad luck, breaking a mirror means 7 years bad luck and the like. Although these may change throughout the years or change based on origin, these rhymes stick with us, often echoing around in our brain long after their salience wears off.
CONCEPT
Stacie Stilling
WORDS
Celia Pankhurst, Joseph Fredrich, Emi Webb & Stacie Stilling
ILLUSTRATION
Celia Pankhurst
What if we created rhymes to be passed through generations that sparked us to rethink our relationship with the environment?
Outcome
What if we created rhymes passed through generations that sparked us to rethink consumption and the relationship with the environment? What if we created rhymes that were catchy enough to pop into our minds through adulthood? Change the Little aims to do just that, plant little messages to change our behaviours. It is not a grand solution, but a modest approach to incrementally support a shift in perspective. A playful verbal and physical heirloom to be passed down from generation to generation.
