BUOY - Final Major Project
As a response to fear of death, humans embrace culture. Its mission is nourishing people with meaning, purpose and sense of immortality. Religions had accomplished that mission for many years. In a growing unreligious society new technologies have changed human rituals. The Internet has become a contemporary "set of cultural rites and beliefs”. This project has aimed to design a contemporary system of beliefs fitting in a digital society.
Concretion of the problem:
Fear of death & the rise of the Internet use
The Terror Management Theory (TMT) defines how belief systems help confronting fear of death. Religions are the most popular example of belief systems. Internet played an important role on the fall of religious affiliation according to Allen B. Downey.
Looking at the exponential growth of the internet together with fall of religious beliefs that triggers the question: Has internet taken over the role of religion?
Research question:
Can a digital belief guarantee immortality?
Brand rationale:
Seeing that religious affiliation is falling on the expanding digital era, I wondered which cultural values would nourish young generations with meaning. The increasing use of the Internet is an opportunity to give a contemporary response to fear of death. The objective was designing a digital belief system. It should essentially provide sense of belonging, purpose and immortality.
As a response to the overproduction of digital content the brand proposes a more intellectual future. To counter irrelevant digital content the brand mission would be: eliminating the superfluous.
Concept:
The brand has been developed as a response to fear of death under three main circumstances: 1.Humans react to fear of death embracing culture.
2.The most popular cultural constructions are religions although young generations do not engage with them as it happened in the past.
3.The Millenials are the first-born digital generation. There is no system of beliefs positioned on the modern digital society which young generations feel compelled by.
These letters are sent as notifications of advice, ban or disconnection from the Internet depending on the infraction.
All letters contain a manifesto so to remind to what proper online behavior is.
Also, in case of ban or disconnection there are instructions to reduce the sanction.
A teaser of a fictitious documentary was built to ease a clear understanding of Buoy’s values and mission. The viewer learns how effectively the brand has succeeded on transmitting its message and how society embraces it.