Command X was supposed to serve as comic relief at the AIGA's Next Conference last month in Denver. Seven young designers from around the country were chosen to compete in a real-time design competition, taking on a series of assignments and risking elimination in the manner of "Project Runway" and any number of other television reality shows. No one was sure whether it would work, including the organizers. But it did work, and powerfully so, in no small part due to the compelling performances of the contestants.
The last of the three challenges was the most serious: propose a strategy to raise the turnout of voters between 18 and 24. With less than 24 hours to work, each of the finalists came up with a provocative response. But it was Nichelle Narcisi's all-text solution that caught the enthusiasm of the visually-biased 2000-plus audience, gaining her the only standing ovation of the entire three-day conference. She has agreed to share it here with the readers of Design Observer. [The Editors]
I don't care what you think of my writing or my message. You're not included in what is going on here. Your opinion is worthless and everyone here knows it. Everyone else has something worthwhile to contribute, except you.
You're the outcast. Everyone else has this figured out, except you. Everyone fits in, except you. Everyone, except you. Except you.
Exclusion is uncomfortable, isn't it? So it's surprising that so many of us 18-24 year olds have chosen to exclude ourselves by not voting.
If we've learned anything from MySpace and Facebook, it's that my generation values being a part of the group and having a say. We're mavericks of social networking, communication and internal organization. We become passionate about anything the peer consensus agrees to rally around, including skateboarding dogs. So why not focus that social muscle on something that really matters? Something like going to war. Or global warming. It's obvious that we care about those things. Getting us to act is the hard part.
One reason we shy away from involvement may be that we're actually too media savvy. We've spent our entire lives being bombarded by targeted advertising and we're fully aware of it. We've become jaded and suspicious toward anyone who may try to persuade us, especially if it's for our own good.
At the same time, all that marketing attention has fostered a feeling of entitlement. We want the messages we receive to be polished, entertaining and immediate, otherwise we can't be bothered. The only thing we're willing to invest time in is our social scene and the warm inclusive blankie that comes with having amassed a small army of MySpace friends.
So, how do you motivate us to vote? First you'll have to jolt us out of that complacency. We want to be taken seriously, we hate being talked down to, and more than anything else, we're afraid of being excluded. So make us feel awkward and uncomfortable. Make us the outsider and point your finger while you do it.
The message has to be short, like our attention span, and it should leave a mark. "Except you." Wrap some relevant topics around that phrase. Be brief and blunt. No fancy graphics, just an abrasive accusation mocking us from a dorm hallway. When you don't vote, no one cares what you think or have to say. You don't matter. "Everyone counts, except you." We will respond to belittlement, and when we do we'll see that we've missed something vital and in that oversight have lost our voice.
This is just the beginning of the idea. Right now these are pdfs with simple peer pressure-driven messages that any interested or irritated individual can print out, adding their own black and white proclamations. They'll find inclusion and empowerment as they realize that they do in fact matter and can wield their voice with mighty affect. Could this theme become a movement for our generation?
The reality is that our political system doesn't value young non-voters. With "Except You," I'm simply bringing that fact to our attention — and trusting that our rebellious spirit, fanning the flames, will do the rest.
If you want to be included, visit www.exceptyou.org.
