Unite to Divide

Unite to Divide then Divide to Unite

Project Brief.

With this project I was tasked with creating the beginnings of a sovereign identity system in a technological future imagined for a place of choice. Throughout my explorations, I was to act as a critic, using the system I developed to take on a rhetorical position. The final product needed to be in the form of a poster. The project took a month and half.

Problem Space.

Jammu & Kashmir, located in India and shares its borders with Pakistan. The place for a long time has been the center of terrorism and conflict. This project explores an hypothetical dystopian future of the state.

Research and Definition

I began by reading the history of Jammu and Kashmir. The rich history of the state has been plagued by turmoil. I began by reading the history of Jammu and Kashmir. The rich history of the state has been plagued by turmoil. I needed to understand the current situation of the state as well. I studied the demographics and distribution.

I wrote several versions of this dystopian future. I replayed each scenario in my head until I was satisfied with the world I had created. Of course, I can’t thank coffee and Black Mirror enough for fueling my creative process.

Development

For the iconography and visual, I tried combining the old and new worlds to give an illusion of unity. I looked into symbols that represented the state of J&K. I combined that with the symbols for gender and religion. I picked gender and religion because they are the biggest source of discrimination that takes place in the state.

I designed a system that enabled the propaganda of the new government. Based on the user’s gender and religion, it filtered content to brainwash the minds of the individuals living in the region.