In this project, I delved deeply into what defines me as a designer. Through extensive mind mapping and exercises to better understand myself, I realized that I am inspired by conveying deeper meanings through my jewelry. I looked out into the world for important subjects and was struck by the dreadful topic of war. I wanted to create an anti-war piece and thought about the political badge as a form of adornment that conveys opinions in the public sphere. This led me to consider how its physical appearance fits into our modern world, especially for Generation Z. I conducted a research paper on modernizing the political badge to resonate with Generation Z and their values. I found that making the piece more aesthetically sustainable and using greener materials could be beneficial. It also became clear that text and creating a community around the piece were important.

I wanted to work with Kristine Harper’s concepts of aesthetic sustainability, aiming to create a product that offers “instant payoff” while also breaking the comfort zone. The object appears beautiful at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the text reveals a more unsettling message.

I followed a design thinking process, moving from the empathize phase to the define phase, where I identified four design drivers:

• A recognizable form with a twist
• Smooth surface
• Italic text
• Inspired by print/graphic design

I created a mood board based on these drivers. I used AI as a sparring partner throughout my process, particularly in the initial ideation phase, blending forms to create a recognizable shape with a twist. I realized the importance of maintaining a round form to ensure recognition as a political badge while incorporating a Möbius strip twist.

I began my sketching process mainly in Rhino, allowing me to experiment with forms incorporating the Möbius strip principle, where the surface can be followed continuously. Simultaneously, I researched an anti-war text for the jewelry, which was challenging. Eventually, I found inspiration in a long poem, leading to the phrase: “I am angry that war is a constant.”

For the font, I was inspired by graphic design. To achieve the effect of beauty with an underlying message, I chose an elegant italic font, creating an intriguing contrast.

The text is written along the entire surface. The piece is a larger statement item, designed to be worn as a pendant on a necklace or attached to a belt or bag, offering a modern take on the badge. This is only the first prototype, as I haven’t fully tested it yet. The next step is to print it to assess the dimensions in real life and have the text engraved by a professional engraver for better quality than I could achieve in Rhino.

In the future, I plan to include a QR code with the jewelry, leading to a webpage listing all active wars, current death tolls, and a link to the text that inspired the piece.

This process also involved many considerations on how to portray politics in jewelry and branding. Initially, I used AI for the product video but found it gave a skewed portrayal of my message. It felt wrong to discuss such a serious topic as war through AI-generated images and voices. Therefore, I used the AI-generated text to create my own comic strip.