This is inspired by my earlier work, which focused on the idea of waste – particularly on the issues of mass-production and single-use products – which I highlighted through the life-cycle of a party popper. In order to highlight the very brief life it lives vs. the waste components that are left when it is spent, I thought it would be ironic to describe its life in the form of a manual. I was inspired by Ikea’s iconic assembly manuals, which impart knowledge in terms of demonstrating how to assemble their products on a step by step basis, without the need for written instructions, just using relatively simple illustrations. My manual uses this format, which concludes with an image of a discarded used popper.
Looking back, I particularly like this piece. Personally, I find its total simplicity effective in drawing the reader’s attention to the life cycle of the product – one that is particularly short. I am also pleased with the final presentation, which appears much like that of a genuine Ikea manual.
To accompany this I created a poster, employing the same graphics used in the manual, to again illustrate the necessary steps, this time in a different format.
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