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DUMB: PROUDLY OUTDATED
Creating a community around people who don’t upgrade their smartphones to resist smartphone fixation. Team: Prarthana Merchant (Everything)
Outcomes:
Brand Identity
Campaign
Many people are choosing not to upgrade their smartphones, allowing them to naturally slow down and become less engaging, which leads to reduced screen time. 

Dumb builds a community around this choice and gives members the confidence to express their identity. 💪


The identity is intentionally underdesigned to mirror the slightly outdated devices the community prefers to use. 


Dumb Life is the overall name of the campaign. Dumb Hacks is where members share creative ways to keep their old phones alive and well.Dumb Fixes is where members help each other repair and maintain older devices.Dumb News is where updates about the campaign and movement are shared.


Introducing the campaign
Assets to roll out the campaign focus on bold typography and dumb phone textures to create brand awareness and recognition.

All brand touchpoints are designed keeping a grassroots level community in mind. 




Community Manifesto






Stickers become the main asset when designing for small, personal, everyday interactions. 


Digital Existence
Dumb has a strong presence on social media and the internet. Members use it to share tricks that help them keep their dumb phones running.






Process
I explored several directions for approaching Dumb phones before narrowing in on a strategy centred on building a community around people who refuse to upgrade their phones. 

Along the way, I tested three routes: a rebellious approach called Punk; a romantic direction that imagined a soft, flowery relationship between a dumb phone and its user; and a provocative route that framed London’s phone snatchers as figures worthy of applause for reducing phone use on the streets.


👀 SEE ALSO 👀

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

prarthana.merchant.work@gmail.com