Entangled Value | Dark Matter Labs | Zoe Lee ID 2024

Helloo again! Headings all over this post b/c lots happening! I am learning a ton! And have had little time to process. SO here are some updates 💌

Overview:

I have been working on a video about a core concept that appears in Dark Matter’s work. “Entangled Value” is about the interconnectedness of the world, and the importance relational context plays when assessing value of… well… anything. In a more tangible sense, an example that we were looking at early on was “guns and addictive medications have a price, yet care work in the home and breathable air does not” [from Script Draft 01].

Brief Overview on Entangled Value:

How we assign value is malleable and can change. And it has historically! We have always been able to assign a price to new (stuff or) technology that we deem valuable. We’ve witnessed value change from exclusively physical assets (like factories, housing, transports, etc.) to multi-capital assets (like intellectual property, information, and natural capital like urban green spaces).

Despite this shift, we still rarely see value placed on trickle down, systemic effects. For example, we treat planting trees as a cosmetic expense for cities. But their actual, entangled value results in many positive spillover effects like uplifting real estate prices in surrounding streets, increasing foot traffic to local businesses as people visit the park, and capturing carbon and creates urban shade over the longer term (Trees as AI).

Some resources we were looking at were YoYo Ma’s video on cultural ties, also Kayla’s thesis (that I got to watch during NCSS Commencement this past spring!).

Progress & Process:

This process has been incredibly challenging and rewarding. The video is intended to provoke a feeling about these concepts, rather than more academic writing about the concept. But, visualizing these ideas is quite difficult.

Here are some iterations that didn’t make the final cut.

Once I started combining animation w/ live action footage, I started to get somewhere better. This was the first frame that started working. After showing this cut to the team, it was super exciting watching them get excited about the video.

Other updates:

I hit the ✨archives✨ at the Brand Museum in London. It has been immensely helpful to see so much design history up close and personal while working on this project. In ID, we didn’t get much formal training on principles of graphic design, so getting crash coursed while here has been great. Everyday I feel like design newbie. It’s kinda nice & freeing – there’s so much to learn!

I’ll spare you scrolling through 100 photos of old stuff. Here are a few of my favorites!

OK! See ya later. Thanks 4 reading my thoughts!