The last dollar : a social commentary on the materialistic culture in Singapore

Abstract

The aim of this project is to find out the reasons and motivation behind the materialistic culture in Singapore, and to translate these textual information into a visual communication project. With that focus in mind, the project looks into existing studies on consumer behaviour and psychology. There are several interesting discovery made in early research which have been validated through surveys and interviews. Using design as a tool for social commentary, this project hopes to illustrate and bring across relevant and interesting points about materialism to its audience. This project is divided into two distinct research phase. The first would be the investigation and study on materialism, which is conducted through primary and secondary research. Thereafter, a research on how design can be used as tool to communicate heavy textual information visually. The final results of these findings would be presented in a form of an installation, where audiences are able to interact with objects and a book to learn more about the project. Accompanying the installation is 3 audio pieces, sharing the real life stories from highly materialistic Singaporeans.