CURRENT

oe |

Figure 2. The Ditch the Bottle sticker at a local supermarket, placed where bottled
water is normally sold, delivers an otherwise disregarded fact about the product.

2011 Egyptian protests [6]. These pamphlets were created by the
designer Ganzeer as a response to the uprisings, and were put
online to be freely downloaded by the public. Subsequently, they
were “widely shared via electronic social networks and designers’
blogs” [6]. In both examples, the designer took an authorship role—
they took ownership and responsibility over their work, motivated
by a concern over issues that impacted their society. However, it is
not completely up to the designer to control where campaigns go.
Projects can acquire “their own cultural identities separate from
that of their creators, while also allowing for intellectual attribu-
tion beyond the designer-authors” [6].

These projects are emblematic of the complex relationship
between “author (artist, designer, photographer), idea, image,
message, and audience” [7]. Itis a relationship that can trans-
form and evolve, something the Ditch the Bottle project aims to
do by giving much of the responsibility to the public. As a design-
er-author, I provide the information, resources, and materials to

REFERENCES

[i] Baskind, C. 5 reasons not to drink bottled water. 2010. Retrieved from http://
www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/5-reasons-not-to-drink-bottled-wa-

ter [2] Bottled water facts. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.yorku.ca/susweb/
resources/documents/Bottled_water_factsMar2014.pdf [3] Facts on plastic bottles
and bottled water. 2011. Retrieved from http://www.bottlesupglass.com/wp-con-
tent/uploads/2011/08/Facts-About-Plastic-Bottles-and-Bottled-Water.pdf [4] Great
Pacific garbage patch: Pacific trash vortex. 2010. Retrieved from http://education.
nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/ [5] Julier, G. From

BOTTLED
WATER
PRODUCES

htt it

ION TON
OF PLASTIC ;
WASTE PER
YEAR.

NTCHTMEROTTLES C4

yy) vad QLiWit

OSIVIE VD qa aLIWI1

encourage social dissent through community involvement, but it is
ultimately up to the public to disseminate the material.

CONCLUSION

Single use bottled water has effectively turned one of the most
fundamental human rights—access to clean, fresh water—into
acommodity purchase. It is a hugely wasteful habit in which we
throw away a bottle every time we finish, leaving it to pollute our
land and poison our oceans. Asa form of design activism, with an
emphasis on design authorship, the Ditch the Bottle project seeks
to bring these issues to light by informing and engaging the public,
and also by encouraging them to take responsibility. Designers
should not be limited only to producing content that is commis-
sioned—rather, the content can come from designers themselves.
Itis crucial, with the current social, political, and economic state of
the world, that we act on issues that have an impact on us. Design
has the potential to both initiate and facilitate these movements.

design culture to design activism. Design and culture, 5(2), 215-236. 2013. [6] Julier, G.,
& Kaygan, H. Global design activism survey. Design and culture, 5(2), 37-52. 2013. [7]
McCarthy, S. Designer as author activist: A model for engagement. Design research
society conference proceedings. Bangkok: Thailand, 2012.1614-1623. [8] Seltenrich, N.
EHP - New link in the food chain? Marine plastic pollution and seafood safety. 2015.
Retrieved from http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/123-a34/ [9] Stastna, K. Bottle vs. tap: 7
things to know about drinking water. 2016. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/
health/ bottle-vs-tap-7-things-to-know-about-drinking-water-1.2774182