I Like Change

On Saturday afternoons he stands outside Dixons gripping his wallet, peering in at his next purchase, like a man staring at the electrified 3rd rail in an empty tube station the Friday night before, thinking 'I wonder what it would feel like if I..?' But instead of thinking, 'actually life's ok', he thinks 'its only money...' and he dives head first into the warmth of the unknown and makes a 'life changing' purchase, only to find out two years later that 32inches of widescreen didn't make everything ok.

Perhaps if he'd thought about it, this wouldn't have happened. I don't mean if he'd researched prices on the internet or checked the products high definition readiness or checked if it contained functions capable of waking him up in the morning by gently showering him in the information glow of news24. I mean perhaps if he'd considered that a £600 black box of wires and transistors may not be a remedy for long term happiness, then perhaps he could have made a more thoughtful, even more responsible purchasing decision.

But why should he? Everything he sees tells him to purchase 'fresh', and that it's ok to purchase 'fresh' again when the first 'fresh' purchase 'goes off'. He's got the money and if he hasn't got it, it doesn't matter because there will be a 'fresh' financial product available to lend him the money. And the guy likes the feeling of get something new and 'fresh', and why the hell should he not buy? I'll tell you why he should buy simply enough... Everything he buys will ultimately disappoint him, it will let him down in time, it will need replacing, so why shouldn't he fall in love with it for just a moment and enter a relationship doomed to failure. To experience that fraction of time when he pasts over the money and everything is new and novel, when every button opens a new window of possibility, a time where every knob twists him onto a new exciting facet, a new surface of his bolder sized gem. In these moments he's taken his decision and he's falling; tumbling towards 300,000 volts and he's thinking 'damn I should have done this years ago?', then BAM!

He's dead and then nothing. Nothing but two boxes one made of wood, one made of plastic, one full of burnt human remains, one full of redundant plastic parts, both boxes full of nothing particularly relevant to anyone anymore. Both full of bits and bobs, buttons and knobs which we will never truly understand. Ultimately both examples of moments of lost human thought. Both examples of things we will never understand.

Buying a new product should be about entering into a relationship with it, and design should encourage and allow this to happen. Engaging in a life long relationship is not something which would be taken lightly by the consumer, it would slow the purchasing process down, and allow time for thought and contemplation about the object, an object would gain a new emotional value during this period. The consumer is told that a product represents him, this is how its sold to him, but does it really represent him? And will that same product still be right for him in 10 years?

-- JosephStebbing - 30 Jan 2007