Icon Magazine invited us to be the guest contributor to their regular column called Rethink. Rethink asks designers to choose something to redesign. Rather unwisely we chose to redesign economic strategy. Specifically, a media campaign promoting a shift in the balance of incentives away from competition in favour of cooperation. Delivered on 32 slogans, that rather chillingly, crop up everywhere.

1. RETHINK words
FRONT and images:
Global economics Nick Bell
Design
In our most ambitious rethink to date, Nick
Bell Design has formulated a plan to change
society’s belief in the necessity of growth
through ubiquitous but subtle visual messaging
Spend just a short while restructure their economies to Right
scratching the surface of current perform at zero growth. This is Through
thinking in economics and what to allow developing economies to Orwellian
strikes you is the abundance grow without further accelerating control of the
and depth of visionary ideas the rate of environmental damage. media these
for sorting things out. This is Growth, however, defines our slogans would
quickly followed by the shocking current economic system and seep into the
realisation of the total and utter despite the fact that it is the main minds of the
absence of any political will from contributor to the world’s social public, shifting
those in power to entertain them. and environmental problems, the balance of
In fact, our leaders continue to it is hard for us to imagine the incentives from
march in exactly the opposite world working in any other way. competition to
direction than they need to if we Here, we assume the cooperation
are to prevent our debt-driven, impossible: that a political
consumption-based economic party is voted into power on
system from delivering the the back of a zero-growth
environmental and social agenda. Enacting such an
breakdown it promises. agenda would depend on
It is now accepted (by colossal state intervention,
all except the deniers) that but could not deliver wellbeing
environmental impacts scale with without everyone’s support and
a growing economy, no matter cooperation. Our strategy would
how technologically efficient it is, be diametrically opposed to
no matter how innovative design the popular, but extraordinarily
is. According to Tim Jackson, complacent, “Keep calm and
economics commissioner on the carry on” approach or the
UK government’s Sustainable empty-headed platitudes of
Development Commission, if we “Work hard and be nice to
are to stand a chance of limiting people”. Here are 32 slogans
the dangerous effects of climate that promote the values of the
change, all western nations must new economics.
Below
People will
come across
the slogans in
unexpected
places: as
the loading
TIM JACKSON. PROSPERITY WITHOUT GROWTH: ECONOMICS FOR A FINITE PLANET (EARTHSCAN)
wheels on their
computers,
on the tops of
their coffees,
on coins,
on manhole
covers, on till
receipts and
on bus and
train tickets