Citizen 0753

Background

This series was created under the guidance of Silas Munro, of VCFA, and Jennifer Cole Phillips for the Alter Ego project at MICA. Each designer was to assume an alternate persona and create with this new voice. Silas instructed us to blend fact and fiction during this process.

I took the opportunity to explore observations I made within my past business relationships but also within myself as a person. I designed these posters to illustrate the journey for Citizen 0753 as he experiments with what he had come to believe was fact in order to redefine himself.

Statement

As the designer for a totalitarian state, Citizen 0753 worked under the leadership of Upper Level. They were his superiors establishing the standards for the Department of Creativity. In his role, he dealt firsthand with fabricated information, fragmented communication, and distorted truth in order to control the population. This series was designed to show the facade Upper Level needs to portray it's power as well as the reality a good citizen lives with daily.

Manifesto

I am a good citizen. As a good citizen it is important to abide by the creative restrictions set forth and never allow my voice to impede progress. I support the decisions made by my superiors and trust them to protect me from risks. For a good citizen, constraint and silence are comforting. Speaking out is unsettling.

Compliance is a sign of respect for the established standards. This should not be viewed as a weakness. Instead, it is a declaration of freedom. I am no longer burdened with choices. I no longer attempt to appease some childish belief in my own creative faculties. I accept what is put before me and await further instruction. I am free.