DOMINION REDEFINING
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
ANIMALS AND HUMANS BY
AILUN
SAI
DOMINION REDEFINING
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
HUMANS AND ANIMALS BY
AILUN
SAI
Š Copyright 2017 Ailun Sai All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing from the author. For inquires, contact: ailunsai@hotmail.com
School of Visual Arts MFA Products of Design 136 West 21st Street New York, NY 10011-3213 Productsofdesign@sva.edu
Ailun Sai Author Designer
Allan Chochinov Chair, MFA Products of Design at SVA
Andrew Schloss Thesis | Advisor
Abby Covert Thesis | | Advisor
Jean Mishkin Editor
CONTENTS
Introduction
12
Lexicon
20
Goal and Objectives
24
Methodology
27
Research
34
Audience
50
Ideation
56
Design Narratives & Outcomes
106
Looking Forward
248
References
254
Acknowledgment
260
About the author
262
INTRODUCTION 10
11
1 Dominion? Where does it come from? (The relationship between animals and humans in different sources.)
Several years ago, there was some news about stray cats had to be euthanized because their health had so badly deteriorated as a result of maltreatment. After these reports, some animal activists started an anti-slaughter march. At the same time, some people killed a pregnant red muntjac with a shovel; they were sentenced to half a year in prison. We call people who maltreat animals ‘inhumane’ and ‘beasts’. People use these words to express their dislike of that kind of cruel behavior. However, they do not realize that when they are using these words, they already regard animals as being inferior to humans. Once, on a Chinese academic interview exam, students were asked to think of an animal that best represented them. When I heard this question, I was confused because I think that the animal that can represent me is a “human”. Yes, a biologist would say that humans are animals.
Introduction
12
Animation and literature: Metamorphosis Except for pets and food, most people have a relationship with animals through their electronic screens. Animations of lovely animals are extremely popular. Looking back of the Disney animations becomes a process of revisiting animal history: “Dumble,” “Bambi,” “Winnie the Pooh.” “The Lion King.” “Finding Dory” and “Ratatouille.” They are all strongly anthropomorphic: a tropical fish swims thousands of miles to look for its parents; a mouse becomes the chef in a humans restaurant. Even though these stories seem to be a re-redefining the distinction between human and animal, it is clear that the human is still the center of each story; they are simply using a hyperrealistic animal form to tell a story of people. Undoubtedly, anthropomorphic animal writing has a long literary history. Aesop’s fable about the race between the turtle and the rabbit is a good example: why does the turtle have to race with the rabbit? Can the turtle really “run”? Will rabbit become arrogant? In order to help humans to express the idea of “to win without pride and to lose with grace,” the tortoise and the rabbits all have to obediently cooperate within the humans’ rules. This also applies to Orwell’s Animal Farm. The first half of the story seems to let the animals counterattack humans, however, in the end, the animals are still just the actors in a human political allegory.
Introduction
13
2 Animals and I How I became interested in the topic of discussing relationship between animals and humans
I chose to focus my thesis around animals after I realized that many of my previous projects involved animals in different ways. I had enjoyed looking for design solutions in the animal world and wanted to explore the topic in greater depth. Designing for animals can be tricky – I know the intelligence of animals is not comparable to humans and I have always respected that. I was intrigued by the world they live in, which is one that we share but that is a vastly different experience for them. I wanted to use that dichotomy to create curious and new ideas. Once I started my research into the topic, what interested me the most was the relationship between animals and humans. The relationship is complex and tricky. Humans look down upon animals because we feel we dominate the
Introduction
14
world. Yet, in many respects, we are the underdog because we have to rely on them in most instances, from our food systems to our industrial revolution. Animals and humans are living on the same planet. All the creatures share the same resources and animals are part of those resources. We need animals. We depend heavily on them. However, we always ignore our connection to them. What we pay the most attention to how we can get more territory and become the masters of the world. We are fully confident that we are able to realize all of our goals. Well, is that true? Look outside the perspective of humans: we cannot simply say that humans have total dominion because, if we are to survive, we must coexist with animals. Take our relationship with animals in cities as an example. Cities are densely populated with humans; the human populations are huge in cities and this is where most human-animal interaction happens. These interactions include all kinds of dynamics from food to clothing to communication. Thus, the roles of animals are diverse in cities; animals are food suppliers, they are playmates, and these ‘citizens’ are with humans all the time and are also trying to build a better urban life. Since animals and humans both live in the city, we should respect each other and perform our roles. However, it does not seem that we are acting in this way currently. Mostly, we don’t treat animals as another equal, living beings. Here, I want to raise people’s awareness of the roles of animals in the city and to have them reevaluate the definition of ‘dominion’, and to leave a lasting impression on their attitudes towards city-dwelling animals.
Introduction
15
3 Three landscapes The landscape of the relationship between animals and humans
Human & Food Some humans regard animals as food, not as living, feeling beings. But does that mean that humans hold dominion over the animals? I am not an animal activist and I am not a vegetarian. I agree that people have the right to choose what they eat. However, what I find problematic is that, through our language and mentality surrounding the eating of meat, we separate the product and flavor from the sentient animal source. This is probably where most conflicts between meat eaters and non-meat eaters originate. Also, at this point, I want to stress that what we eat does form who we are. Meat does cause lots of problems for our health; scientists have long connected processed red meats with a wide spectrum of chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Harvard researchers found that people who ate three ounces of red meat every day were about 13 percent more likely to die—often from heart disease or cancer—before the study ended than people who did not eat meat. And daily servings of processed meat such as bacon raised the risk of early death by 20 percent.
Introduction
16
We influence the lives of animals and animals or meat, in turn, influence us. Thus, I want to question how we might reinforce the relationship between animals and humans on a dining table in a proper way while still letting people follow natural omnivore diets in order to help humans eat what they want to eat but in a more thoughtful manner.
Human & Urban Wildlife Some humans regard animals as annoying intruders. We try to keep them away. But does it mean that we hold dominion? One of the reasons that animals moved into cities is that their natural habitat is taken up by us human beings. But the humans living in cities do not like the interference caused by those animal visitors. Humans take extraordinary actions to keep them away including some that are cruel and unusual. For example, it is a common practice for humans living in cities in the US to install pigeon spikes on ledges to keep pigeons away, at the cost of their feet. But no matter how hard we work on this, animals rarely follow the intended plan. I think it is unreasonable that we destroy the habitability of animals’ original dwellings and actively prevent them from finding new ways to survive in new homes. Since we both live on the same land, we are supposed to find a way to live harmoniously and show respect to each other. ‘Wars’ are never the optimal ways to solve the conflict. We are capable of building cities that meet the needs of humans. I believe we can also figure out a way to improve the city environment to better welcome the co-existing animal friends.
Introduction
17
Human & Pet Humans regard animals as playmates. But does it mean that we hold dominion? Animals as playmates probably play the strongest and the most active role among these three cases – as food, intruders, and playmates. On the surface, the relationship between pets and owners is friendship or kinship. In this seemingly equal relationship, however, there are still undertones of inequity and ignorance. Most of the time, humans feel they have power over their pets because they supply their food and are in charge of their health. However, seen another way, animals hold the dominion as well. In other words, they are unconsciously controlling us. The reason for this dominance is that the emotional connection inherent in the relationship between animals and humans is supreme. But the challenge here is that we can never exactly understand what another species thinks. We lack ways to communicate with them through human language and our interpretations of their language are colored by the perspective of a human which leads to a lot of in accurate perceptions. So how might we amplify the emotions of both animals and humans in order to provide a fair emotional exchange?
From my own perspective, I believe the ideal relationship is equality and coexistence between humans and animals.
Introduction
LEXICON 18
19
ANIMAL n. Animal will be defined as: any of a kingdom (Animalia) of living things including many-celled organisms and often many of the single-celled ones (such as protozoans) that typically differ from plants in having cells without cellulose walls, in lacking chlorophyll and the capacity for photosynthesis, in requiring more complex food materials (such as proteins), in being organized to a greater degree of complexity, and in having the capacity for spontaneous movement and rapid motor responses to stimulation. (Merriam-Webster)
APPRECIATE v. Appreciate will be defined as: to value or admire highly. (Merriam-Webster)
There are many alternatives to the term appreciate: treasure, respect, recognize, acknowledge, be aware of, to esteem, to value. In Dominion, I use appreciate because in my opinion, humans should recognize the value of animals and respect them.
BENEFIT n. Benefit will be defined as: something that produces good or helpful results or effects or that promotes well-being. (Merriam-Webster)
In Dominion, benefit refers to animals produce good and helpful effect on human-beings.
Lexicon
20
CO-EXIST v. Co-exist will be defined as: to exist together or at the same time. (Merriam-Webster) In Dominion, “coexist” refers to humans and animals existing separately or independently but peacefully in urban areas.
DOMINION n. Dominion will be defined as: the power (as authority) or right (as ownership) to use or dispose of property. (MerriamWebster) Similar words to it are “control” and “power”. One of the most famous uses of the word occurs in the Bible, when God grants people dominion over other animals.
HIERARCHY n. Hierarchy will be defined as: a group that controls an organization and is divided into different level. It implies that there is difference in the power-relationships, or dominion, between the ranked people or things. (Merriam-Webster) In Dominion, Hierarchy refers to chain of command within the natural world (humans, animals and plants, etc.)
INTRUDER n. Intruder will be defined as: someone who enters a place without permission, esp. In order to commit a crime. (Cambridge Dictionary)
Lexicon
21
In Dominion, Intruders will refer only to animals that are not welcomed by humans who are living in urban areas.
URBAN WILDLIFE n. Urban wildlife refers to the animals that can live or thrive in urban environments. In Dominion, only birds, fish and other mammals are discussed.
Lexicon
GOALS & OBJECTIVES 22
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1 To larger Audience (The main goal)
Animals are important. They support human beings and help them to survive. Humans need animals. We are not a higher species than they are. We are just different. However, humans always put themselves at the top of the ranking of living beings in the world. Some people feel that they can do whatever they want to animals and take away an animal’s autonomy. Because treat the domestic animals as though they are inferior to humans instills in humans a sense that all animals are under the control of humans. They are all like something make do what we want them to do. Animals and humans both live on the same planet. We need animals. We need to respect them in order to support our lives. However, humans do not treat animals with the degree of importance that they need to be treated. When I ask whether we really have dominion, I am challenging people’s belief that we can do whatever we want to do to animals.
Goals & Objectives
24
Thus, the goal of this thesis is to provoke people to reevaluate their relationships with animals. I encourage them to reflect on their role in the natural world and to question their perceived superiority. Also, I am hoping, by asking the question about whether humans hold dominion or not, that I can provoke people to use a similar methodology to rethink ideas and beliefs that they take for granted currently.
2 Personal Design Practice (The side goal)
I see design as a tool to ask questions instead of just solving problems. About 5 years ago, I got a chance to know fascinating speculative design can be. From then on, design, in my book is no longer just a way of solving a problem. Rather, it is a tool for people to communicate with others beyond vocal language. So, essentially, design can take any form. I really want to practice this idea of using design as a tool to ask questions and potentially encourage people to ask more questions. Staying curious is a crucial
Goals & Objectives
25
way of keeping alive, no matter whether we are speaking about one individual or about the whole world.
Goals & Objectives
METHODOLOGY 26
27
1 Building empathy
Empathy is the key of design. It is a core skill that guides designers as they create products that users will look forward to using. Building empathy in design means that we have to understand what others experience. The best way that a designer can understand what others experience is to do what the user does or will be doing. Increasing empathy in the world leads to greater collaboration and more meaningful products. Design shapes experiences, behaviors, and systems. Design has the power to create a positive impact in the process of solving the problems. Here is the process of a building an empathetic experience. (1) define who are the users and what are their relationships to each other. Users include: primary users, secondary users, tertiary users, and influencers/supporters. (2) Learn about the users’ experience with the products or services. Questions that you can ask include: what interactions do the users have with each other and what
Methodology
28
the interactions could the users have that they currently do not have?” (3) Brainstorm design solutions that incorporate empathy. We can build empathy through both digital technology and physical activities.
Technology: VR - “empathy machine” With the development of Virtual Reality (VR) technology, we now have a new way of building empathy. Some people even call VR technology an “empathy machine.” Chris Milk, the film producer of the Virtue Reality film “Clouds Over Sidra” said in a Ted Talk: “[Virtual reality] connects humans to other humans in a profound way I’ve never before seen in any other form of media, and it can change people’s perception of each other. That is why I think Virtual Reality has the potential to actually change the world.” Virtue reality is great for creating new experiences of subjectivity, perception, and sociability. It can even make its user want to learn more about the life of their experienced persona.
Physical activity Empathy is also used in many physical products in such a way as to make the product successful. The product itself can create empathy in those who use it. An example of a product that created empathy was a Japanese government initiative that had three governors wear pregnancysimulating rigs to feel what a pregnant housewife might feel on a daily basis. One of the participants said that he really had not understood how his pregnant wife felt during her pregnancy but after using the rig he was more aware of
Methodology
29
how hard a time she had during so many months. The end goal of design remains to make life better. One crucial way of realizing this goal is to engage empathetically in all areas of life.
2 Practical “Speculative & Critical Design” Thinking
Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby in their book, Speculative Everything, proposed a kind of design that can be used as a tool to create not only things but ideas. For them, design is a means of speculating about how things could be—to imagine possible futures. Speculative design is way of exploratory thinking. Instead of starting with a specific question, speculative design is a process in which designers make a “wow factor” to
Methodology
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stimulate discussions among audiences after then have seen the designed artifact. The essence of this process is creating some sort of stimulation, a catalyst, that will trigger a response, rather than creating just the designed artifact itself. Critical design is a design method using critiques, challenges, humor, and satires. The aim of critical design is not to solve problems, rather, It seeks to challenge audience’s perceived ideas and then to influence those ideas. Most critical designs need to be functional and to have some type of interaction with audiences. Personally, I admire this kind of design, one that needs the active participation of an audiences. The world needs social dreaming; I believe that designers should care more about social impact. Designers should be designing to create a better world rather designing for passive consumers. A big benefit of thinking about possibilities and dreams is that people will then be ready for future challenges and will be encouraged to re-evaluate actions that they are currently taking. However, it is not enough to just show these conceptual designs in a gallery. A smarter way is to bring these speculative and critical ideas directly into the real life of consumers. If your wish is to create social impact, then you need to connect your design with as many users as possible. Usability and practicality are important issues for designers to incorporate into their designs and will impact how many users you can connect with. Both can be achieved through form and material, and by incorporating user’s behavior into the design.
Methodology
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Methodology
RESEARCH 32
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Research
34
Research
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1 Secondary research:
The relationship between humans and animals in history The tie between animals and humans is weakening and this trend will be detrimental to us. Our prehistoric ancestors had intense relationships with animals. They hunted animals. They kept animals as pets. They used them for food. During those earliest times, people started to feel that they held dominion over animals. Animals have helped us to develop advanced tools and to improve our communication skills. Animals have helped us to understand other people. They also have taught us that there are other species that have emotions, needs, and thoughts. And they also have helped us to expand our empathy and understanding skills. In the early stage of the evolution of humans, animals and humans have kept this kind intimate relationship. However, as urbanization has increased, humans have been having less and less contact with animals. If we finally do lose our connections with animals, the consequences will be catastrophic. Our links to animals are precious and should not be taken for granted.
Research
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Here is a story about how animals have taught humans to make tools. Our hominid ancestor made the very first tools about 2.5 million years ago; they crafted pieces of stone into tools to cut the flesh off of the animals that they hunted. They shaped stones into specific shapes that they needed and wanted. Our ancient ancestors also scavenged for meat from the carcasses of animals that had been killed by leopards, cheetahs, and other carnivores. Using the sharp blades that they had constructed they were able to cut off chunks of the carcasses of deer or antelope. These tools even helped them to escape quickly when a lion became angry. Ancient humans did cave paintings to show how crucial these animals were to their survival. The cave paintings in Lascaux and Chauvet in France are stunningly beautiful even though only a few things were drawn on the walls. Most of the drawings are animals like lions, stags, horses and bulls. We are obsessed with animals because our lives depend on our relationship with them.
The relationship between humans and animals in history The relationship between humans and animals is becoming more and more complicated. The pet-owner relationship is a good example of the changing relationship. The phenomenon that people like to keep pets uncovers a special relationship between pets and owners. Humans
Research
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are very unique in that we will spend time to build the relationship with other species, such as dogs, as well as with human individuals beyond our own family members. For thousands of years, humans have loved other species. We have gotten so much from animals, much more than what we thought.
2 Interviews
Research
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Valerie Fullarton President of Inwoof
Heyi Shao
Mengru Jiang
Ni An
TCM Physician
Event and Marketing Coordinator
Emergency Veterinarian
Sun Asia Ocean World
Gabriela Cristina
Lin Zhang
Joon Seok Park
Caroline Prybyl
Veterinary Specialist
Herpetologist
Conservation Education Presenter
Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialist
Nanjing Normal University
Postdoctoral associate / Biomedical scientist
t
Research
Laboratory of immune cell epigenetic
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
39
Ning Li
Maya Friedberg
Sarah Hezel
Ferdie Yau
Ornithologist
Positive method dog trainer
Nanjing University
Sag Harbor Veterinary Clinic
Director, Interpretation & Graphic Design
Wildlife Biologist & CertiďŹ ed Professional Dog Trainer
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Sits & Wiggles Dog Training
Guanchen Liu
Tina Chen
Robert Weiss
Student in animal science
Lead Product Designer
Physician
Bark&Co
Weiss Pediatric Care
Lasor Feasley Single parroting
Research
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Maya Friedberg Positive method dog trainer Sag Harbor Veterinary Clinic
“Because the dog is not going to judge, the dog is just there and listens.” “The dog is into everything. They are so into your body.” “Some people think that certain animals don’t have feelings. But it’s just a different kind of feeling. They still have feelings. They are just on such a different level of everything, of life.” “I wish there are more awareness. First of all, not comparing human intelligence to another animal’s intelligence. Because they are not intelligent in a same way as humans. It does not mean they are stupid. They can tell emotions. Animals can smell pheromones and they smell fear. They delight each other in a different feel. They just use their natural senses more, because they don’t have spoken language. We don’t use body language as usual as dogs, because we use spoken language.”
Research
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“Do not compare human intelligence to another animal’s intelligence; they are not intelligent in the same way as humans.�
Research
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Robert Weiss Physician Weiss Pediatric Care
“The dog has instincts.“ “Animals give tremendous gifts to humans.” “We like to think we are smarter than everybody. We like to think dolphins are not that smart. They are just fish mammals. But we’ve learned more and more that they are just a unique species and we don’t understand how they communicate with each other. They could be a higher level species than we are. We just don’t know. We use tools. But does that make us better? No, it just makes us different.”
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“We use tools. But does that make us better? No, it just makes us diferent.�
Research
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Sarah Hezel Director, Interpretation & Graphic Design The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
“A zoo is entertainment and nostalgia. Our job is to keep changing and evolving them. “It becomes a problem when it becomes industrialized.” “Not preserving individual animals but preserving a whole species.” Sarah mentioned that when they are in the process of build an animal exhibition, they must consider the user experience from the perspective of the visitor. They are either raising up the animals or lowering down the people in order to create eye contact. And that eye contact, that connection, is fostered through the entire design.
“In a shark exhibition, we were creating renderings of sharks as not powerful, not with a shiny machine look, but with a soft, acceptable and vulnerable look.” Sarah gave an example of the importance of building empathy through analogy, which is similar to raising children in the animal
Research
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world and in the human world.
“For the small kids, we are giving them access and experience. Not to start the conversation with a negative issue, but from an engaging fact. Then tell them the theory.”
“We work through emotion and cognition to tell people how these species are important to the whole ecosystem.”
Research
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Lin Zhang Herpetologist Nanjing Normal University
“Animals actually don’t understand the pathways that humans built. And they need time to adapt to the new infrastructure.”
Research
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Gabriela Christina Veterinary Specialist Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialist
“Animals can’t speak. I want to be their voice.”
Research
AUDIENCE 48
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My target audience changes because of the changes of the animals’ definition. So I am going to articulate about my audience in different categories from these four aspects: need, context, channels, and factors. “Context” describes all the circumstances surrounding the user’s need. “Channel” refers to the ways I can reach my audience. “Factors” are the principles that I need to follow and consider in my later design for my target users.
Audience
50
Animals as food: Need & Context: The persona in this category is meat eaters. This group of people grows up in a meat-consuming environment. They deeply believe that meat is just the flesh of animals that have been intentionally raised to be eaten by humans. They rarely think about the process before meat comes to the dining table. Channel: Meat-eater are everywhere. But actually, I started by interviewing vegetarians who had just transformed from being meat-eaters. I learned the reasons why they want to stop eating meat. I then talked to meat eaters to ask why they like meat so much and cannot delete it from their daily diet. Collecting the comments from both groups and finding the overlap between them gives us the possible design points. Factors: I hope that my design can gradually change people’s behavior. I think a good design can make users understand the meaning behind it and not just stop at the first glance. A good design should motivate the user to think more; the more you think, the better you will it. So my design philosophy in this project is to let users feel and discover the deepest parts in it.
Audience
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Animals as intruders: Need & Context: The persona here is people who live in urban areas and who do not know much about urban wildlife and do not really care about them. They are busy with their work Channel: I found my audience through on-line Virtual Reality platforms, VR group meet-ups, some of my friends who already work, and other sources. Factor: The goal of this project is to raise people’s awareness. So the more users I get, the more successful the project will be. So the design here needs to be fun, engaging, surprising and novel. People should be eager to something that they have never experienced before.
Audience
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Animals as companions: Need & Context: My persona here is pet owners who have only have a modest amount of money but who are willing to spend money on their pets to take care of them and buy them outfits and food. They are obsessed with their pets. Perhaps they even have Instagram for their pets. They want a new way to engage with their pets. These people need a new opportunity to expand the ways that they interact with their pets. Channel: I reached my audience through vets and pet care providers including doggy daycare, pet groomers, pet hotels, dog walkers, pet stores, as well as people at dog parks and some people who actively share their pictures and feelings about pets on social media. Factors: One of the factors of my design definitely should be engaged with both human and pet, which means my experience would involve people who own pets. It needs to be an experience that they have never tried before. I hope the experience can be adopted easily so they can easily transfer it into their daily lives. The experience also needs to be delightful and enjoyable for both the owners and their pets; they must both enjoy the same activity. The activities of pets and owners cannot be separated; they are the same thing.
Audience
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Audience
IDEATION 54
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1 Early Exploration 100 Sketches Speculative Objectives
Ideation
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100 Sketches Speculative Objectives
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Ideation
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Speculative Objective 1
Human crackers
The project is about how animal elements form social values. It seems that animals are more vulnerable than humans. The interactions they have with humans, especially in big cities like NYC, are mostly in forms of food. We not only eat them but we also make much of our processed food in their shape, like the Animal Crackers cookies. Thus, a notion that animals are born to be consumed and eaten by humans is gradually formed by our human culture. Our culture is ‘human-centered’, even for animals.
Ideation
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Take the zoos as an example. You pay for your ticket to visit the animals. After you enter the zoo, you immediately enter a total ‘animal world.’ In this ‘animal world,’ humans wantonly use their power as a seemingly higher level species. The ‘animal world’ is still human-centered. No matter what you see, eat, wear or play, it all includes animal elements.
Ideation
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This phenomenon makes me think: what if the animals’ world were animal-centered? What would animals think? How would they see humans? These seem to be questions that can be much debated. I hope my project can at least raise people’s awareness about the values that they have formed.
Ideation
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Ideation
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Speculative Objective 2
Sniffer
Imagine a moment when you first meet someone and you do not know anything about him/ her. Is it difficult for you to make a judgment about their character? How would you start the conversation with him/ her? When animals want to join a group or make a new friend, they do not have to consider those issues. All they need to do is to sniff each other and feel the pheromones. Human evolution has made us communicate with other humans in a different way from the way in which animals communicate with each. Because of this difference, we miss something in the process of communicating. Maybe if we communicated in the same was as animals do, we could understand each other better. So, why don’t we start ‘sniffing’ again?
Ideation
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Speculative Objective 3
Connection
If you meet someone the first time, and you feel a familiarity with him/her, that is because you probably have something in common with each other. If an animal has ever been domesticated by humans, even though it may have been sent back to live in the wild, there will still be some marks left on its body. I want to be the medium between people and animals, to help humans recreate those marks on their own bodies in order to build an affinity between the humans and animals.
/ Dog
Ideation
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/ Horse
Ideation
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/ Bird
Ideation
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2 Social Intervention Disruptive Technology Policy Data Public Perception Bright Spot
How can we design our city to adapt to animals? How might we redesign our body to communicate with urban animals? How can we interact with urban wildlife?
Ideation
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Speculative Design
Future Plastic Surgery
Ideation
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3 Co-creation Workshop Animalize
Ideation
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/ Kevin is acting as a mouse
Ideation
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/ Lassor is acting as a cat
Ideation
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Kuan Xu Species: horse Character: have a blind spot directly in front of their noses but have a wide and circular view Object: Rescue mask
Ideation
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Lassor Feasley Species: cat Character: avoid making eye contact with humans Object: Eye contact maker
Ideation
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Ideation
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Kevin Cook Species: mouse Character: small but still scares people Object: Scaring mask
Jingting He Species: Kangaroo Character: intimate but different Object: Assimilation outfit
Ideation
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Jiani Lin Species: dog Character: Sensitive nose Object: Smell amplifier
Louis Leach Species: dog Character: make people smile Object: Smiling mask
Ideation
DESIGN NARRATIVES & OUTCOMES 104
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1 ANIMALS AS FOOD Tempera Man-made Salt
Design Narratives & Outcomes
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Tempera / Product Design & Campaign
Tempera is a product line of spice, herbs, and flavorings in the form of edible “makeup� for meat eaters.
Design Narratives & Outcomes
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Most humans do not feel badly when they are eating meat. However, we have to confess that in the era of industrialized livestock agriculture, countless animals are violently killed for consumption and that we take this as just the way of the world. Even though most meat eaters have no direct involvement in the killing or mistreatment of animals, I wish they could at least pay some attention to what they eat and show respect to those who were sacrificed so that they could live. ‘Meat’ was actually a living, beautiful being. Each animal had an identity before it was sacrificed for consumption however meat eaters have removed this identity from the animal.
In the human world, the deceased are dressed up and made to look alive before cremation to show love and respect. What if we apply the same ritual to our food?
Design Narratives & Outcomes
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Global meat production rose from less than 50 t in 1950 to about 110 t in 1975; it doubled during the next 25 years, and by 2010 it was about 275 t, prorating to some 40 g/capita, with the highest levels (in the US, Spain and Brazil) in excess of 100 g/capita.
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Design Narratives & Outcomes
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People like to put different sauces and spices on their cooked meat with the intent to add their desired flavor. However, I think we can transform this behavior into a more meaningful and thought provoking ritual. Before you eat that piece of ‘meat’, you could apply ‘cosmetics.’ Traditional sauces and spices would be enclosed in a type of cosmetic
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bottle and you would use cosmetics applicators to apply the flavors to the meat. The application would mimic the behavior that some cultures use on deceased humans. In this way, humans would get the desired taste of ‘meat’ while simultaneously showing proper respect for the ‘meat’.
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This behavior itself is both natural and fun. It should not offend meat eaters at first glance. But as they reflect on this flavoring process and relate it to their own life, I believe that they will re-evaluate their meat consumption and begin to respect meat more, eventually changing their diet.
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Man-made Salt /Speculative Design & Campaign
“Man-made� salt is a kit that lets you cry on the meat. In the kit, there is a series of artifacts that can make you cry such as onions, eye drops, and a ticket to see a sad movie. While you are crying, your tear seasons your meat.
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Most people agree that humans should care and respect animals. Any abuse of animals by humans is never a good thing. However, when animals appear as a form of food, people do not continue to maintain this attitude that abuse of animals is wrong. Frankly speaking, interaction between animals and humans now happens most frequently on the dining table, especially in the cities. From my own perspective, eating meat is not wrong. Everyone has a right to choose what they eat. But what I disagree with is that people take eating animals for granted. People eat them with little thought for the animal itself. Eating meat is acceptable but people should respect the ‘sacrifice’ that the animal made so that the human could continue to live! I assume that if humans could empathize more with the animal and reflect on the eating process, they might gradually change their attitude about their food and the ways that animals are treated.
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2 ANIMALS AS INTRUDERS Wildeye Duck Hunt Pro
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Wildeye / UI & UX
WILDEYE is an immersive VR experience that provides people the chance to explore the city from an animal’s perspective. Users not only can see what an animal’s life is like in the urban environment, including how difficult their living conditions are.
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We Aren’t Alone in Our Cities. As cities expand, it’s not just humans who are becoming increasingly urbanized. Concrete jungles and actual jungles are no longer realms apart. While over 600 different species of wildlife call New York City home, humans have a greater chance of encountering certain wildlife species than others. Whether it is a deer wandering across the road or a raccoon looking for something to eat, the possibility of a wildlife encounter exists every day and around every corner.
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The WILDEYE app cooperates with local wildlife foundations. It works with animal care experts to put the micro cameras and navigation trackers on rescued animals. Because of their “role” of being an “eye,” urban wildlife, which in the past has been a group that has often been overlooked, is no longer overlooked but is increasingly becoming an official part of urban society. The app helps animals and humans to live together in a mutually beneficial way. Humans make space for the animals and in return gain a new perspective of the city.
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Duck Hunt Pro / Service Design
An arcade game that aims to raise urbanites’ awareness of the disastrous consequences of eradicating urban wildlife. The game has the added benefit of teaching people the value that urban animals provide.
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Urban Wildlife provide tons of benefits to our cities.
Beneits of Urban Wildlife: 1. Urban animals regulate and support the ecosystems of cities.
Decomposition
Control of pests
Pollination
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2. Urban wildlife impacts human health and quality of life.
Increase recreational, aesthetic and spiritual value.
Improve mental health and psychological wellbeing
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3. Urban animals help keep urban areas clean.
Consume organic wastes
Eat food human dispose of as litter
However, Humans don’t appreciate the benefits provided by urban wildlife.
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How might we get city-dwellers to understand the value of urban wildlife?
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It works like this: 1. The machines are placed in the bars , theaters and shopping plaza, etc. 2. People can pay 50 ¢ to play. 3. The player selects a certain urban species and shoot as many as possible. 4. At the end of the game, an image shows how the urban environment will change because of the loss of the species. 5. Finally, the game will give the contact of local urban wildlife rescue organizations and notify the users that the money they spend on it is donated to them.
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DUCK HUNT GAME GAME GAME GAME GAME
A B C D E
TOP SCORE = © 2017 URBANWILDLI
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T PRO PIGEONS RATS CROWS RACOONS COYOTES
666,666,666 IFEPOWER CO., LTD
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Level 1
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Our expertise in urban wildlife, social interventions and game design helps launch DUCK HUNT PRO. Our vision is to draw people’s attention to urban wildlife and recognize the value animals provide to the city. Additionally, we look forward to supporting the mission of local urban wildlife organizations by contributing financial support.
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DUCK HUNT PRO
Get ready for the end of the city
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3 ANIMALS AS COMPANIONS Nibble & Sniff Releash
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G E T C LOS E R TO YO U R F U R RY F R I E N D
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Nibble & Sniff / Experience Design
Nibble & Sniff is a pop-up restaurant for pets and owners to hang out together. Unlike traditional pet-friendly spots, this adorable eatery not only allows pets eat with their owners but also ask owners to behave as their furry friends. Owners make the best use of their sense of smell to embrace their food.
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There are 46.3 million US households that have at least one dog. Mintel’s Pet food and Supplies reports that 66% of pet owners say they ”treat their pets with as much care as they could with a child.” Many pet owners give their pets the best material conditions to show their love but do those supplies meet the pets’ needs? Many dog owners believe that they know their dogs very well. But do they really understand their dogs? I want to create an experience that will help people to better understand their dogs.
Higher needs ( Behavior & Lifestyle )
Basic needs ( Food & Living )
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Because we choose to keep dogs as pets, the first thing that we have to do is to feed them. Because feeding their pets is one of the most frequent daily interactions that happens between dog and their owners, I launched a popup restaurant that let owners understand how dogs eat and how they use their multi-sensory to interact with their food. The restaurant is dog-center designed, which means that the dining process was constructed to fit the natural behaviors of the dogs. For example, dogs eat from dishes and bowls that are placed on the floor. In Nibble & Sniff, I encourage customers not only to dine with their dogs but also to dine like them. The goal of this experience design was to encourage people to experience their daily life from the perspective of the dog in order to build a deeper connection with their furry friends.
95% of dog owners admitted that their life have been changed by their dogs.
90% of pet owners regard their pets as family members.
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User Test
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Poster
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Social Media
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Props
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Smell Menu: Dog recognize everything through their smell. Their nose is their “eye.� In Nibble & Sniff, customers order food by sniffing on the scent holder instead of reading a paper menu. Customers make the best use their sense of smell and avoid all visual distractions.
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Six different pasta sauce were placed on the smell menu. On the top of the menu is a mesh cut-out that allows the aroma to be released. Customers remove each lid and sniff the mesh. After smelling all six options, customers tell the waiter which pasta sauce would they like to order.
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Paw (Hand accessory): This little paw-like accessory is designed so that it limits the ability of customers to use their hands. The straps are made from stretchable materials. Each of the paws has three straps so that it can fit any hand size.
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Napkin holder: Napkins are fixed on this special holder. Instead of wiping their face by using their hands, customers have to put their face on this napkin holder. The napkin holders are mounted next to the food bowls on the floor.
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The Event March 25, 2017 5 Tudor Place, New York, NY
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After the event, I got a lot of useful feedback. The comment from one of the participants that appeared on the Nibble & Sniff Instagram page was quite valuable. He wrote that “I now realized why Bob wouldn’t eat or drink out of a stainless steel bowl. The light reflecting off the shiny metal bowl irritated my eyes while I ate like a dog.” These words caused me to think about the current, so-called user-centered design. Are they really designed from the user’s perspective when the user is a dog? More than 80% of the dog bowls selling on the market are made of stainless steel because it looks nice and is easy to wash. However, the designers have probably never done a “user” test like the one I designed here to learn more about what the animal “users” actually experience.
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New ways of connecting with your dog
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Releash / Speculative Design & Product Design
Releash is a series of converted leashes that represent five different assumptions about the future relationship of pets and their owners.
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At least two-thirds of Americans live with an animal. Ninety percent of pet owners regard their pets as family members. (2011 Harris poll) More and more pet owners want to have a deeper emotional connection with their pets. Some people even said that we have a stronger emotion bond with our pets than with other people. Dog owners have many opportunities to engage in physical exercise with their furry friends, such as walking, which enable them to have a sociable exchange. Compared to other pets, dogs are a species that especially need companionship; in this regard they are a lot like humans. This set of converted leashes is for people who have an unconditional, loving bond with their animals.
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Instead of verbal communication, I see design as another way of expressing ideas. In this project, I use leashes as a vehicle to ask questions. Each leash represents one hypothesis about what the future relationship between pets and owners will be like and to also explore some of my questions about current pet-owner relationships. The double-ended leash is a good example of my thinking process.
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Double-ended leash
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“Who controls whom?” Since my thesis’s title is “Dominion” I started to ideate around ways of expressing how the power dynamics between pets and owners occurs. I went through every detail of the daily life of dogs and their humans and I was intrigued by one little interaction, the moment when the human attaches the hook on the leash to their dog’s collar or harness. I interpreted this behavior as a starting point of control. It is a physical announcement that the control that the owner can exert over their dog is now actually starting. The humans literally holds the power because their hands are holding the leash, the “power tool.” Humans are manipulating one end of the leash and, most of the time, the dogs is following its owner, at least in terms of the direction in which they are walking. I started to ask questions about this kind of seemingly common and acceptable interaction. Why do people take certain actions with regard to their pets? Will the action itself influence people’s sub-conscious understanding of power? If people pay attention to what their dogs feel, will they think of taking the same action with regard to themselves.
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Directional leash
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Do you really know where your dog wants to go?
Dogs perceive the speed of a moving object to be much slower than humans perceive it to be. Dogs see the world through a Matrix-like “bullet-time.� They ability to see differently than humans see is a natural consequence of their evolution, of their need to escape larger predators. Additionally, dogs using all of their senses to help them perceive the peripheral world, including sounds and smells. As a result, dogs actually know their owners better than owners know them. And it even seems that they can predict what their owners want to do next. Since humans lack the same sensory capacity as dogs, I explored how to help people have, to the extent that it was possible to do, a sensory experience similar to that of their dogs. Doing this would enable the owners to walk their dogs in a more dogfriendly manner rather than just to force the dogs to follow their routines.
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Multiple walker leash
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What if you could walk your dog with other people?
This idea came from two main sources. The first source is the big benefit that the dog owner can get as dog walking can help the owner to make friends because walking out of doors could present them with more opportunities to meet new people and begin conversations with them. Another source is that some people want to own a dog, but they cannot. In terms of space constraints, time constraints, or a variety of other reasons, many people do not have a chance to own a dog. This does not mean that people have to deprive themselves of all the happiness that a pet can add to their life. What if a group of people could share the same dog-human interactions together by, for instance, walking a dog together. The product has two parts—the leash and collar. Multiple rings are attached to the collar which is made from a striking yellow fabric that catches people’s eyes and indicates that this puppy allows other people to walk it. People who do not have a dog can buy the matched leash and be ready to have a fun experience walking a dog in the company of with other people.
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Sniing leash
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What if you could smell what your dog smells? Every dog owner probably has had the same experience: when you are walking a dog, your dog seems interested in everything. It will sniff every single bush, every fire hydrant and every lamppost. They also watch the animals in their surroundings and want to meet and sniff other dogs they encounter during the walk. People might wonder why dogs sniff so much. The reason is because sniffing and smelling is a dog’s primary mechanism for processing new information and observing the environment. In other words, a dog smelling is just like a human seeing. In Alexandra Horowitz’s book Being a dog: Following the Dog in to a World of Smell, she explains the elegant engineering of the dog’s olfactory system and how familiar canine behaviors – licking, sneezing, tail-wagging – are associated with smell. The olfactory sense is extremely important for dogs while humans often overlook its role in their own lives. Even though dogs have a much stronger sense of smell than do humans, we can still benefit from it, even if we just try to focus on using our sense of smell. Simulating what your dogs do is a way to build empathy with your furry friend. The unique experience that is created through a “Sniff leash” will help the dog owners get to know their dogs better.
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Marionette leash
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What if your dog walks you?
Even though people lead their dogs most of the time when they are walking them, you can still feel moments when you must compromise with the dog. That is because you love them so much that you do not to cause them to be hurt by the leash if you were to control them totally in this moment. At this moments, owners are marionettes that are played by dogs. How might we use a leash to visualize and empower this underlying relationship? The leash keeps both the appearance and usage mode of a marionette, which would not only make owners see their pets in a different way but would also trigger other people to think about their own pet-owner relationship.
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1 Is this thesis a question or solution?
In my thesis, there is a key question that has guided me in doing all of the projects: Do humans hold dominion over animals? All of my projects are simply different forms of asking this question; the goal of this thesis is to raise people’s awareness of this question so that they are motivated to reconsider their perceived superiority over animals. However, most of people already have a deeply held belief that humans dominate all the other species. If I just simply ask the guiding question of this thesis, people will not simply open or change their minds spontaneously. Thus, in the process of ideation and execution of each project, I also kept asking the question: “how can I use design to re-frame the ways in which humans have exercised dominion over animals?” The outcomes of asking these questions are various. Some are practical solutions such as the WILDEYE, others are
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provocative such as TEMPERA, and some are hypothetical such as RELEASH. My thesis can be seen either as a question or as a solution because it uses solutions as a way to ask questions.
2 Some thoughts bout the future relationship between animals and humans
About the relationship between humans and meat: I watched a TED talk given by Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado called “To solve old problems, study new species.” It presented the interesting idea that biological research today tends to focus on only seven species, including rats, chickens, fruit flies and humans, and that these seven correspond to only 0.0009 percent of all of the species that inhabit the planet. Chicken makes up a significant proportion in our daily
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diet. However, it seems that we have never thought about the reason why we choose chicken as our food and thoughtlessly mass produce them. To me, it seems that the behavior that causes us to just randomly choose some species and to breed them as our food is irresponsible and that it is unfair to those animals. The issue leads me to think about the choices that we have made in our diet. If we have a chance to choose other living beings as our food, would we still choose chickens, ducks or other poultry? Then what could we choose? In the talk, the speaker mentioned that astonishingly our biological research restricts our ability to explore new life. For example, it is estimated that 95 percent of our oceans are unexplored, which means there is an incredible number of species that we are not aware of. A particular species that he focused on was Schmidtea mediterranea, a type of flatworm that generates a complete new animal in less than two weeks after it has been cut into several fragments. I wonder if there is any kind of species that has this same capacity and that is edible. So, what if we try to use this kind of animal as our food? If we did then we would only need to leave a little piece of our food uneaten and the food itself would keep growing forever. This kind of mass production sounds much more effective and natural than the mechanized production that is used now. More importantly, this naturally regenerative process is environmentally-friendly. So I think we definitely should not simply continue to focus on the things that we have already discovered and understand, including food. I believe that new alternatives will appear as long as we hold a passion for exploring new things and keep trying new directions.
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About the relationship between humans and urban wildlife: The problem that I am trying to solve with the work that I have been doing over the past year on my thesis is how to better live with our wildlife neighbors. The reason why more and more carnivores like coyotes are moving into the urban environment is that the number of the carnivores is increasing because of the efforts of humans to protect and conserve these animals. Large carnivores move to the cities which are full of food sources that they can effortlessly find, such as pet food and food craps and garbage discarded by humans. Also, these animals are not as afraid of humans as their ancestors had been; they see humans totally differently from how their ancestors viewed humans. In other words, the urban environment has become a place where it is much easier for these animals to survive than are many rural places. There is less threat and more food in many urban environments, making it a more favorable place in which to live.
This fact leads to a thought-provoking question that we need to answer in order to maintain a harmonious urban life with these urban wildlife: since it is inevitable that humans will live with these animals, to what degree are we going to tolerate the risks that they pose and what kind of adjustments should humans make in their lives? And another question is: can we use cities as a way to protect and restore populations of threatened and endangered species?
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About the relationship between humans and pets: The relationship between pets and their owners is increasingly close. In one stage of my three dimensional project I created a newspaper of the future that is about marriage between pets and their owners becoming legal. Also, in my “Releash� Project, I imagined that the pet-owner relationship can be changed through all kinds of artifacts and activities. I am hoping that people will be inspired by my project and explore other ways to tighten the bond between their pets and themselves. Also, I am happy to work with pet supply companies to design products that are designed from the perspective of the pets.
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BOOKS De Waal, Frans. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?. New York, NY, Norton, 2016. De Waal, Frans. The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society. New York, NY, Broadway Books, 2010. Dunbar, Ian. How to Teach a New Dog Old Tricks: The Sirius Puppy Training Manual. Berkeley, CA, James & Kenneth Publishers, 1996. Dunne, Anthony, and Fiona Raby. Speculative Everything. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2013. Montgomery, Elliott P., and Chris Woebken. Extrapolation Factory Operator’s Manual. United States, Extrapolationfactory.com, 2016. Orwell, George. Animal Farm: A Fairy Story. New York, NY, Houghton Milin Harcourt, 2009. Saina, Carl. Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. New York, Picador, 2016. Wise, Steven M. Rattling the Cage: Toward Legal Rights for Animals. New York, NY, Perseus Publishing, 2000. Yong, Ed. I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life. New York, NY, Ecco Press, 2016.
WEBSITES/ARTICLES Aldred, Jessica. “More Than 1,000 Species Have Been Moved Due to Human Impact.” www.theguardian.com, 20 Apr. 2016, April 20, 2016https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/ apr/20/more-than-1000-species-have-been-moved-due-tohuman-impact. Accessed 24 Feb. 2017.
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Berg, Nate. “Bring Nature Back to Cities is Good for Plants, Animals and Humans.” www.mentalloss.om, 10 Oct. 2016, mentalloss.com/article/86510/what-can-urban-wildlife-teach-usabout-pollution. Accessed 26 Mar. 2017. Brown, Nik.“What’s Human? What’s Animal? And What of the Biology in Between?”.” Www.theguardian.com, 25 July 2011, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/26/humans-livinglike-animals-deeper-impulse. Accessed 12 Oct. 2016. Cottney, Catherine. “Mintel trend this week: Luxury pet food, policing by social media and going native.” www.mintel.com, 17 May 2013, www.mintel.com/blog/new-market-trends/new-trendspet-food-industry. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017. De Waal, Frans. “How Do Dogs Recognize Us? And Why Do We Love Cats Anyway?” Www.nytimes.com, 8 Nov. 2016, , https:// www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/books/review/being-a-dogalexandra-horowitz-lion-in-the-living-room-abigail-tucker Einstein, Debra E. Urbanization and its Human Inluence. Mar. 1999, darwin.bio.uci.edu/sustain/global/sensem/Einsteinw99.htm. Accessed 8 Nov. 2016. Gearin, Coner. “How to Stop a Bird-Murdering Cat.” Www. theatlantic.com, 9 Dec. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/science/ archive/2015/12/accessories-for-your-murderous-pet/419601/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2017. Gregoire, Carolyn. “How City Living May Be Harming Your Mental Health, And What You Can Do About It.” Hufingtonpost.com, 20 July 2015, www.huingtonpost.com/2015/07/03/walking-naturedepression_n_7704604.html . Accessed 11 Nov. 2016. Griiths, Sarah. “Dogs See Us Move in SLOW MOTION: Animal’s Brain Processes Visual Information Faster Than Humans, Study Finds.” www.dailymail.co.uk, 7 July 2014, www.dailymail.co.uk/ sciencetech/article-2685860/Dogs-SLOW-MOTION-Animalsbrain-processes-visual-information-faster-humans-study-inds. html. Accessed 4 Oct. 2016.
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Hoare, Philip. “Living as a Goat? It makes a Change from Being Human.” Www.theguardian.com, 26 Feb. 2016, www.theguardian. com/commentisfree/2016/feb/26/humans-living-like-animalsdeeper-impulse. Accessed 1 Jan. 2017. McKie, Robin. “Our Special Relationship.” Www.chinadialogue. net, 11 Nov. 2011, www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/ ch/4607-Our-special-relationship. Accessed 14 Mar. 2017. Miller, James E. Beaver. 2005, icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/ beavers.asp. Accessed 28 Apr. 2017. Nicholls, Henry. “Should Cities Be For Animals Too?” www. theguardian.com, 14 Apr. 2014, www.theguardian.com/ cities/2014/apr/14/cities-animals-urban-environment-species. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017. Oltermann, Philip. “Human-Animal Studies Academics Dogged by German Hoaxers.” www.theguardian.com, 1 Mar. 2016, , https:// www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/01/human-animal-studiesacademics-dogged-by-german-hoaxers. Accessed 12 Mar. 2017. Radford, Tim. “Eye Shape Reveals Whether an Animal is Predator or Prey, New Study Shows.” www.theguardian.com, 7 Aug. 2015, www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/07/eye-shapereveals-whether-an-animal-is-predator-or-prey-new-study-shows. Accessed 22 Feb. 2017. “Urban Wildlife Should Cherished for the Ecological Beneits.” Www.azocleantech.com, AZoCleantech, 17 July 2015, http:// www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=22177. Accessed 22 Oct. 2016.
FILM/VIDEO Alvarado, Alejandro Sanchez. “To Solve Old Problems, Study New Species.” TEDxKC, Aug. 2016, https://www.ted.com/talks/ alejandro_sanchez_alvarado_to_solve_old_problems_study_new_ species. Accessed 10 Sep. 2016.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT 260
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This book is dedicated to my family and friends for all of their support, trust and love. It would not have been possible to write this thesis without the help of the faculty and staff at Products of Design, the Visible Future Lab, the experts who share their knowledge and experience, and without the support of all participants in the workshop and events. Thank you to my teachers who helped me and guided me through my thesis: Allan Chochinov - Chair, MFA Products of Design at SVA Andrew Schloss – Thesis I Advisor Abby Covert – Thesis II Advisor Sinclair Scott Smith – 3DPD2 Emilie Baltz – Experience Design Advisor Brent Arnold – Screen Design Advisor Steven Dean – Service Design Advisor Janna Gilbert – Business Design Advisor And a special thanks to the Products of Design Class of 2017 and 2018 for their support, advice, presence and energy during the last two years. This book would not have been possible without all of you and especially without: Jenna Witzleben Julia Lindpaintner Doug Fertig Alexa Forney Xumeng Mou Gahee Kang Will Lentz Karen Vellensky Oscar Pipson Dayoung Hong Michael Kenney Andrea Cameron Josh Corn Arjun Kalyanpur
Acknowledgment
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 262
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Ailun Sai is a highly-motivated multi-disciplinary designer who merges creativity with positive social impact. As a thinker, maker, and do-er, she tackles problems through hands-on physical exploration, rigorous investigation and strategic intent to render the invisible visible. She also has a particular interest in exploring new possibilities in future scenarios and proposing open social questions with hypothetical alternatives. Born in Dalian, China, Ailun Sai is currently based in New York. She will graduate in May 2017 with an MFA in Products of Design from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She holds a BFA in Industrial design from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. In addition to being a designer, Ailun is also an illustrator, artist, teacher, sports enthusiast, and animal lover.
Contact: ailunsai.com ailunsai@hotmail.com
About the Author