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To Be A
Pilgrim
Through The Taming Of Consumerism
Simon Levi
13 Books 4 Pairs of Shorts 12 Ji y Bags 1 Pair of Casual Shoes 1 Fish and Tank 1 Laptop Case
2 Lamps 94 DVD’s 1 Rucksack 27 Socks Plenty of Unused Stationary 1 Electric Shaver
1 Wallet 2 Duvet Sets 1 Pair of Smart Shoes 2 Masks 1 Pair of Casual Shoes 1 Clock
1 Pair of Casual Shoes 1 iPod Dock 3 Products Packaging 1 Printer 7 Jumpers Miscellaneous Forms
1 Fan Heater 3 Squash Rackets 13 T-shirts 1 Pair of Casual Shoes 3 Cameras 2 Pairs of Flip- ops
1 Set of keys 1 Laptop 1 Pair of Casual Shoes Drawer of Untouched Stu 1 Basketball 1 Movie Poster
2 Frisbees 17 Boxers 2 Board Games 1 Espresso Maker 1 Throwing Toy 1 Pair of Trainers
1 Pair of Casual Shoes 1 Umbrella 1 Computer Mouse 1 Pair of Climbing Shoes 2 Mobile Phones 1 Scarf
3 Pieces of Climbing Gear 1 iPod 5 Pairs of Trousers 2 Badminton Rackets 1 Pair of Slippers 1 Climbing Harness
1 PC Tablet 2 Towels 4 Hats 1 Climbing Chalk Bag 3 Deodorants 2 Coats
This book is a collection of thoughts, ideas and concepts that all have a common ground.
They are all geared towards raising awareness and drawing attention to the pitfalls of our
consumer culture and our current behaviour relating to it. Each concept serves to illustrate,
and awake consciousness for an issue that is inherent to consumerism.
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or
believe to be beautiful” - William Morris, 1880
The Majority of people in western culture are obese. Not in terms of food, but in terms of products.
Our culture has a strong tendency to consume and as a result have become oversaturated. One
potential remedy for this is to go on a “product diet” and to live a lifestyle akin to that of a pilgrim.
Keep what you need and rid yourself of what you don’t.
However this is not a diet you follow to lose weight only to then put it back on further down the line.
This is more about a change of lifestyle and habit. The product diet is merely the instigator and starting
point of the journey.
I myself am guilty of this over consumption. Shown to the left are the current contents of my room.
Although it may not appear to be much it is still far more than necessary to survive and in turn more
than enough to enjoy life. The majority of it serves a variety of purposes beyond what they have been
designed for and the user has become relatively absent in the products existence. Some act as psy-
chological safety nets, some represent goals, some represent how I wish to perceive myself and how I
wish for others to perceive me.
For instance the drawer of untouched stuff is something that many people have, its full of things like
old mobile phone chargers, batteries, stray wire etc. The contents of my drawer have stuck with me
for years and never been questioned. They all seem to fall under the category of “I might need that
one day.......” When in reality they never really serve a purpose beyond reassuring us that its there if
we need it.
The climbing gear also serves as an example of how I would like to perceive myself, and potentially
how I would like other to perceive me. I’ve owned it for around 4 years now but none of it has been
put to use for at least the last 2 years. It’s kept partly out of reassurance but the main reason is that I
would, one day, like to use it again and be ‘a climber’. It’s perhaps the image that this conjures that
appeals to me and the climbing gear serves to represent that. In reality if I rid myself of the gear my life
would keep going and the loss would make no difference to me. I’ve been saying ‘one day’ for years
now and I’m sure I will be for many years more.
Part of this journey to lose weight is to become aware of these aspects of the products and the
unseen hold they have on us, their potential user.
As part of this project I aim to pursue this mentality and shall make a conscious effort to reduce my
consumption of both past and future. I shall relieve myself of the useless and the unnecessary and aim
to never replenish the loss. Or mourn for it.
Toothbranch
The toothbrush, as a product, served as a strong instigator and catalyst
for this project. It seems to sum up many aspects of consumerism, par-
ticularly the negative ones. That is to say negative for the environment
and negative for our culture, however, positive for the companies and
their workforce.
Toothbrushes come in a variety of colours, shapes and prices. They can
do a variety of tasks other than just brushing your teeth; some are even
designed to brush your tongue. When thought about logically all we
really need a toothbrush to do capably is brush our teeth cheaply and
simply but companies play on our fears and desires to sell more than
that to us and it works very successfully. The UK toothbrush market is
currently worth around £200 million.
In a high street retailer I recently saw a toothbrush for sale. The price of
this stopped me in my tracks, as it was £199.99. This seems to be a
step in the wrong direction and made me question what the anterior of
this highly expensive generally disposable device would be.
The result was a toothbrush that was more organic at heart. A melding
of a typical plastic toothbrush and a stick called a Miswak. This is the
root of the Arak or Peelu tree and is widely used throughout the Middle
East to brush teeth. However this is perhaps too far removed from what
is known and understood in western culture, hence the inclusion of a
recognisable brush. The concept offers an alternative to environmentally
damaging plastic toothbrushes but above all questions why there is a
need for a £200 toothbrush.
£50 Pencil
This concept has sprung from the £200 toothbrush. It serves to illus-
trate the ridiculousness of the pricing against a product that is typically
disposable.
A pencil, as well as a toothbrush, is a product that's a universal and
disposable artefact. This concept looks at the notion of ‘disposable’ by
giving the user a constant visual reminder that they are wasting money.
Each time the pencil is sharpened, flakes of money are lost. Over time
this reduces the pencil size and its value whilst drawing ever nearer to
the inevitable disposal. If you are more of aware of the waste occurring
and the loss that you‘re experiencing you would be far more inclined to
make such an object last for as long as possible. This has strong poten-
tial in being a method for raising a continued awareness of consumption
and wasting.
Perhaps then, this concept gives merit to products that are of high
value. If someone is more inclined to make something of value last then
it becomes more sustainable but at the same time may become less
attainable. It conjures a common problem of providing a product at a
desirable yet justifiable price whilst making it available to a wide audi-
ence.
Gold Leaf Toilet Paper
The ultimate concept to illustrate the expense of a product versus the
disposability would be gold leaf toilet paper. The use of toilet paper is as
universal and constant as a toothbrush. Be you rich, poor, young or old
these are objects you experience your whole life. The idea of this highly
disposed object being something that is worth more than the toilet itself
is the epitome of absurdness. It holds many of the same values as The
Diamond Skull by Damien Hirst.
To wipe your derriere with gold toilet paper is a selfish insult to fellow
man. However there are some products that follow this affluent way of
thinking and are accepted with little questioning.
Perfumes and watches often come at a high price, usually offering little
to justify the cost. When comparing a £1,000 Rolex watch and £10
watch, which keeps time just as well, there is little to distinguish the two
in terms of function. What you are buying is the brand, and the experi-
ence that it gives you. It is this that consumers buy into on an unprec-
edented scale and it only further fuels the over consumption that we are
currently in the midst of.
If this golden roll had Cartier repeated along its length you may begin to
accept the product. Although still absurd it is better accepted. This is a
great proportion of the issue at hand. Once a brand is established they
can draw on their followers and with ease give them what they think
they want. Not what they need.
Loyalty Card Cross
As a culture our attitudes towards life have shifted more in the last 100
years than at any other time in history. As a result the pace of life has
greatly increased. Much of this is to do with developments in technolo-
gies that began with the industrial revolution. Since that time the world
has shrunk and consumerism has grown.
This picture serves to emphasise how our attitudes and loyalties have
shifted from a devotion to religion, in this case Christianity, to a devo-
tion to consumption. Phone, wallet and keys have become somewhat
of a holy trinity for the 21st century and all serve to represent aspects
of our consumption.
The loyalty card cross shows just how easy it is to ‘devote’ yourself to
consumerism and how common and accepted it has become. Without
thought or difficulty anyone can sign up to a company or a brand, be-
coming a dedicated follower. The brand will draw you in with the de-
lights they have to offer and in return you give them your loyalty.
This is something that has become a very common practice for large
companies and allows their brand to become more widely know as
their population of follower’s increases.
Forbidden Fruit
Although this image may seem slightly clichéd, it illustrates the draw of
consumerism only too well. In the book of Genesis Eve is tempted, by
the serpent, to taste the fruit from the tree of knowledge. This is typically
depicted as being an apple. This depiction has been carried over to a
more modern rendition of Peter Paul Ruben’s ‘The Fall of Man’, in which
the apple has been replaced with an apple, in this instance of the tech-
nological variety. This speaks for the way consumerism (the snake) uses
its powers of persuasion to create desire within us for what it has to
offer. In this case the Apple iPhone has been placed as the object of
desire. Not just for the ‘apple’ links but because the iPhone is a prime
example of the power of consumerism in full flow.
The iPhone was one of the first mobile phones with the ability to update
and upgrade the software, which for many phones is something that
can perish long before the hardware. This ability to update the software
potentially meant that the phone would have a far greater longevity than
that any of its predecessors. Apple could have sold software updates in
place of phones but instead they package the new software in new
phones and release them on roughly an annual basis. This mentality
towards the selling of items is largely responsible for the consumer state
we are in at the moment. It falls to the shoulders of large global compa-
nies to be responsible with their products and the impact they have on
the world however it’s hard to keep an eye on this when there is millions
to be made.
The Ten Commandments
In essence the Ten Commandments are a set of rules dictated by the
omnipotent lord for its followers to adhere to. It is this idea of an om-
nipotent lord that is interesting and can be utilised to further draw simi-
larities between large religions and consumerism, which could be said
to have grown to such strength that it has become omnipotent.
To show this idea Ten Commandments for consumerism have been
placed on two tablets similar to the story in the bible. However here
they are a modern rendition in the form of two PC tablets and the text
is typed as opposed to inscribed. The commandments have been
written from the perspective of a being that embodies consumerism; in
much the same way the original ten are written from the point of view
of god. You could say the god of consumerism wrote them, if there
were such a thing. They are as follows -
1. Consume all you desire.
2. Do not question your consumption.
3. Trust your fears and desires.
4. Thou shall never reuse, always replace.
5. Buy now - think later.
6. Do not steal, but purchase.
7. Change your taste.
8. You shall always upgrade.
9. Covet all that belongs to your neighbour.
10. If you make it they will buy.
They are partially based on the original but have been altered to suit
the context better.
This product contains
Plastic Wood Metal Fabric Chemicals
26g 0g 47g 0g 0.75 ml
12% 0% 19% 0% 21%
of an adult’s Guideline Daily Amount
GDA - Guideline Daily Amount
Consumption is often a relatively subconscious exercise. It is only in
severe cases of over consumption such as hoarding that attention is
really drawn. However attention deserves to be drawn to the more
common levels of consumption that the majority of the population en-
gages with. It is this more widespread level that needs to be ad-
dressed and curbed. One direct way of doing this is following in the
path of the food industry and raising awareness of the downside of
over consumption. Companies are required to inform the consumer of
the levels of its contents i.e. Fat content, salt content etc and to show
this alongside the guideline daily amount of said contents. This
method could be applied relatively simply to none edible items.
Although the contents may not be as measurable as food contents in
terms of quantity provided and ideal quantity to consume there is still
potential to this idea.
This idea has worked well with food as it has stimulated competition
between companies to reduce the poor contents of their products
thus increasing the breadth of products that are healthier for the user.
GDA’s also apply a certain level of guilt to products that contain a high
percentage in certain areas and raise awareness for the otherwise
unseen consumption.
It’s these aspects that would carry over well to the application of non-
food products. Without awareness progress is unlikely to occur.
Best Before
This follows on from the idea of drawing similarities between food and
products. However instead of applying something to the packaging to
raise awareness this is something that has been applied to the packag-
ing to illustrate a point. The point being that electronics, mobile phones
in particular, are often treated as if they have a best before date. At least
that is what we are often led to believe. The whole culture of upgrading
seems to give these products an ephemeral existence before they have
even rolled off of the shelves. In terms of emotional durability phones
certainly do have a best before date and unfortunately for most it does
not last long at all. It’s certainly shorter than the physical durability. Ide-
ally these two connected aspects of a phone should be of equal span,
possibly with the emotional connection taking over slightly. The longevity
of these connections also needs to be drawn out far beyond their cur-
rent length. However this is at odds with the interests of the companies
involved in the production of the phones. Generally an increase in time a
product is used for comes with a reduction in sales. With this in mind
the whole upgrading culture, which is almost a given these days, thrives
and we expect to change our device and often look forward to it.
Planned obsolescence is something that is now rooted within our
psyche. We’ve come to expect products not to last, which is a large
reason we have come to consume on such a large scale.
A potentially better way of designing would be for planned reincarnation
i.e. Aim for the product to serve a purpose after its designed purpose is
fulfilled. This is often done retrospectively. A wine bottle serving as a
candleholder would be an example of this, but it is often never intended
or countered into the design process, which is something that could
change.
Belt Up
This concept is a fairly literal way of expressing the ideas put forward in
the introduction, in particular the idea of our culture being obese in
terms of products and belongings. The belt conveys the idea of needing
to lose weight with a reduction in size correlating to a word along its
length. The larger person would buckle the belt where it reads ‘Exces-
sive’ and the smaller may buckle it where it reads ‘Sustainable’.
A belt as an object stands as a symbol of size and weight and so pro-
vides a simple analogy for over consumption. In this case it becomes a
measure of your possession weight as opposed to your body weight.
The words upon this belt not only aim to illustrate ideas put forward in
the introduction but also, as a concept, serves as an incentive to go on
a product diet. It provides something similar to a measurement of your
consumption. In the same way the holes on a belt serve as an indirect
measurement of someone's weight the words on this belt serve the
same purpose except for your possessions. When people can visualise
and comprehend their consumption they have a far better ability and
incentive to do something about it.
Planned Reincarnation
There was always an intention to take the thinking that has been col-
lected and developed throughout this project and demonstrate an appli-
cation of it within the real world. So far the concepts that have been
presented serve little purpose above raising points and illustrating trails
of thought. However for this project to be successful it was important to
show that the thinking holds real world practicality.
Two direct outcomes have been developed to demonstrate this. The
first has been designed to work with the leviathan of consumerism and
provide solutions to problems it has created. The second is more of a
step away from the consumer world and looks more at living with little
but ones self.
The first deals with thinking that came from the ‘best before’ concept
for product packaging. In particular removing the idea of products
having a set life span and giving them a second life after their primary
use has run its course. This has been called planned reincarnation to
serve as an anterior form of thinking to planned obsolescence.
In this case the product in question is a drinks can. A product con-
sumed and disposed of in vast numbers. The most environmentally
friendly approach to this product would be to stop it being consumed
entirely however that verges on the impossible. Instead it would be sim-
pler and more user friendly to work with consumerism and provide a
solution for the vast consumption. The concept proposed is a method
of resealing drinks cans so they can be used again and again. They cur-
rently have a method for opening but not one for closing, unlike a drinks
bottle, which can go on to be reused countless times.
Re-sealable Cans
Designed to be as minimal as possible to remain cheap and unobtrusive
the seal allows for reuse of a drinks can countless times. As demon-
strated in the diagram the product allows for the can to be kept as op-
posed to being disposed of or recycled.
The silicone seal is pushed up through the underside of the ring pull and
held in place by the recess that runs around the circumference of the
seal. It can then be swivelled around and pressed down to seal the can.
The can is then re-opened by lifting the ring pull once again. The method
of opening has been kept the same as it is universally understood. As for
the sealing, which is new, that has been kept simple and as universal as
possible. The sealer itself would make little difference to the price of the
can. Upon purchase it could be packaged similar to a straw with a drinks
carton or contained within the recess at the base of all drinks cans. Or
alternatively a set of them could be purchased separately form the can
and used as and when needed.
The can seal compliments the thinking and philosophy behind this
project and serves as a well-rounded outcome. It delivers a product
that’s cheap, available and understandable to a wide variety of people
whilst at the same time reducing the consumption of an object by giving
it a second life. In this case the can has been reincarnated as a can
again but planned reincarnation does not limit a product to being reused
in the same way as its initial purpose dictates. It can be reincarnated
however the designer or the user sees fit.
Wherever IILay My Head
Wherever Lay My Head
In contrast to the can sealer this product is more of a step away from
consumer culture. It deals with ideas of nomadism, dreams and ques-
tions how many possessions we really need. In a practical sense this
product offers the user a soft place to rest their head wherever they may
be. But when drilled down it holds a message that is far broader and
questions what more do you need other than yourself, your mind and
your environment.
The message inscribed along the length of the fabric reads “Wherever I
Lay My Head, That’s My Home”, a twisting of the words from the
famous Marvin Gaye song. These have been used to add deeper
meaning to the product and make it something more than just a pillow
for anyone deserving of one. It gives the product an instant nomadic
vibe. The idea of living without possession and only surviving on and in
your environment is a very animalistic one and something that is under-
taken by very few these days. It could be argued that consumerism and
the culture it has bred are partially responsible for this. For the majority
of people in this day and age its difficult to exist without a job, which
affords you possessions to provide enjoyment, which tie you down to
one place, which stop you leaving your job. To live in a free spirited ex-
plorative manner nowadays is next to impossible. But that is exactly
what this product has been designed for. It would sit comfortably with a
range that offer a similar message whilst also providing some practicality
to the user in their anti-consumeristic nomad lifestyle.
The Naked Watch
Honesty in a design is something that can make a significant difference in
the connection a user has with an object. When a product shows you all
it is and hides nothing it is far easier to interact with it. If it’s possible to
understand its workings, composition and/or purpose there is no room
for the product to disappoint, if something does go wrong it can be un-
derstood and processed rationally. The drinks can re-sealer and head
rest both offer this form of honesty and have been designed to so. Elec-
tronic products are a common culprit of being dishonest to the user.
They present a front that provides a certain level of connection with the
user but if an error occurs the user generally finds themselves at a loss.
In this case the lack of understanding can cause a wide range of nega-
tive emotions. This dishonesty that we experience has caused us as con-
sumers to expect products to fail after a certain period, typically only a
matter of years, which is severely detrimental to our environment.
The watch to the left serves as a good example of honest design. It
shows the internals of an object that is understood very little and uses
them to an aesthetic advantage. Compared to a digital watch this can be
understood and appreciated far more due to the openness of its intrica-
cies. This coupled with the emotional connections it has with me, its
user, results in a product that has a lasting presence as well as use. At a
point when it did break it was out of the question to buy another to
replace it as it holds to many connections and means too much to me.
The only option was to search for a jeweller to fix it, after some careful
tinkering the watch was resuscitated and ticked once again. If it wasn’t
as honest and naked with me its fate may have fallen a different way and
some other watch could have set up camp on my wrist.
13 Books 4 Pairs of Shorts 12 Ji y Bags 1 Pair of Casual Shoes 1 Fish and Tank 1 Laptop Case
2 Lamps 94 DVD’s 1 Rucksack 27 Socks Plenty of Unused Stationary 1 Electric Shaver
1 Wallet 2 Duvet Sets 1 Pair of Smart Shoes 2 Masks 1 Pair of Casual Shoes 1 Clock
1 Pair of Casual Shoes 1 iPod Dock 3 Products Packaging 1 Printer 7 Jumpers Miscellaneous Forms
1 Fan Heater 3 Squash Rackets 13 T-shirts 1 Pair of Casual Shoes 3 Cameras 2 Pairs of Flip- ops
1 Set of keys 1 Laptop 1 Pair of Casual Shoes Drawer of Untouched Stu 1 Basketball 1 Movie Poster
2 Frisbees 17 Boxers 2 Board Games 1 Espresso Maker 1 Throwing Toy 1 Pair of Trainers
1 Pair of Casual Shoes 1 Umbrella 1 Computer Mouse 1 Pair of Climbing Shoes 2 Mobile Phones 1 Scarf
3 Pieces of Climbing Gear 1 iPod 5 Pairs of Trousers 2 Badminton Rackets 1 Pair of Slippers 1 Climbing Harness
1 PC Tablet 2 Towels 4 Hats 1 Climbing Chalk Bag 3 Deodorants 2 Coats
At times whilst exploring this subject it has often felt that consumerism was being
attacked, which in some regards it was. However it is really cultures, populations and
individuals that dictate the presence that consumerism has within our world. We are all
in some way responsible for the damage our consumption has caused to our planet
and its trillions of inhabitants and we need to take a more active role in reducing our
negative impact.
As stated at the beginning, my personal reduction in consumption was something that
was important and helped this project to be honest. Practicing what you preach is an
important trait for anyone. The contents of my room were closely scrutinized and each
fell into a keep or rid pile. Often there would be a battle between emotion and rationality
when it came to deciding which category the objects would fall into. The majority of the
time the rational side would trump the emotional but there are some cases where the
emotional would take precedence. In most cases this can be difficult to justify. Some-
times an object can evoke feelings deeper inside you that can be difficult to quantify or
articulate but speak to you and mean things to you no other object does. These types
of object are important as they help make us human, without them we would be far
more robotic in our approach to the world. The artefacts that have a red cross through
them have all either been reduced, removed or are in the process of being removed
from my life. Most of the unused objects have been passed onto charity shops or
handed on/sold to people far more in need of the object who will make better use of it
for far longer than I have.
The objects that have been kept all serve either a constant purpose, with their disap-
pearance being a hindrance to everyday life, or they serve as a memento of an impor-
tant time or person. The William Morris quote from the opening ‘Have nothing in your
houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ is something that
has been mentally reiterated constantly throughout this process. This method of docu-
menting my possessions has assisted greatly in allowing me to visualise and compre-
hend my consumption and the problems it creates. I would certainly encourage anyone
to do this as a means of achieving a more environmental way of living. It also provides
you with a comprehension of what you do and don’t need to live life simply but still
happily. The act of getting rid of possessions is also a surprisingly satisfying process
when you know it’s the right decision. It provides a certain sense of calm.
This project has been somewhat a pilgrimage of the mind and shall continue to be. This
is a journey that has no end point or destination; it is constant due to it being both a
personally and universally applicable subject matter that has no boundaries. For me the
concepts produced along the way have all served as ways of communicating what I
have learned through my thinking along my pilgrimage.
