In my project ‘Things That Might Be True’, I explored how an expanded visual communication design practice can be used to provoke political introspection. I conducted my experiments through visual communication design, in collaboration with many participants. My main discoveries were the materialisation of the Stemme Department and its activities, and the construction of a sub-category—political, political design—down the rabbit hole of political design and adversarial design practices.
My practice allowed me to fully explore the potential of visual communication. The perspective of artistic research meant that practical design work constituted the core of my experiments. I learnt a great deal about ethics, collaboration, precision, and about the intuitive versus the planned. Through repetitions of ideas, conversations, and reflection, I eventually managed to articulate precisely how I work, what I do, and why, and what I need in terms of materials, expertise, locations, and participants to conduct my research in a satisfactory way. It turned out I actually need quite a bit—especially participants who are ready and willing to share their innermost thoughts on political ideas, dilemmas, and their inner political landscape.
During my project, I connected with a range of thinkers and practitioners who have considered or are working with these same issues: Plato, Gadamer, Dewey, DiSalvo, Schön, Mouffe, Kristeva, Kling, Snodgrass, Coyne, and Tharp and Tharp. Some of these started paving the way for my project thousands of years ago. Others continue to explore these questions to this day. Many are known around the world. There are also a number of designers—including Ben Hayoun, Ericson, Herregraven, Miediger, DeVet, Huus, Malpass, Lier, Rajhi, and Hickethier—who experimented, sketched, tried, asked experts for advice, materialised, and wondered both long before my time and alongside me.
In the realm of imagination, the familiar figure of Alice in Wonderland emerged. Having tumbled down a rabbit hole, Alice marvels at what she sees and discovers. She was my companion, told me not to be afraid, encouraged me to make everything a little bigger, a little more colourful (including with bolder stripes!), a little more of everything, quite simply. In visual communication, almost anything is allowed within the limits of ethics. But from the perspective of universal design, visual communication design can sometimes feel rather meagre, tight, and restrained. Still, Alice observes, encourages, enlarges, laughs, and invites one to play.
As I engaged with the fictional, the Stemme Department materialised. Its activities show us that the path to the future requires introspection. The department challenges the prevailing ideas of how citizens (should) connect to their inner political life by offering new and collective ways of exploring our inner political lives. Designers can imagine for themselves and for others what does not yet exist, what no one has yet seen.
All of these things are ‘Things That Might Be True’.