When asked the design provocation designing for or against the bourgeoisie, I began to investigate our society and how we have evolved within design over the past decades. Looking at the how we reacted to events such as the industrial revolution and major political changes and revolutions.

The post-modern era was particularly interesting as we began to really question everyday objects and play with its form and in some case also function. After learning more about post-modernism and what it entailed I made the decision to design against the Bourgeoisie or at least creating a critique on the new bourgeoise. Designing against allowed me to create a clear statment of todays world and open a more critical deign thinking. Investigations in Social media, Privacy, and luxury was persued, topics of great relevance in todays society.

Virtue Signalling is a concept that has crept into everyday life. It is a habit of indicating that one has virtue merely by expressing disgust or favour for certain political ideas or cultural views. Overall believing in having the moral highpoint. I wanted to explore the shift we have seen in terms morality within our society. How having moral status is important in having and maintaining your position in social groups.

Capitalism gave us the chance for decadence for everyone. Yet, today in a post-enlightened world we have lost a sense of guidance for being virtuous and living with integrity.

We see virtue signalling as new bourgeoisie form of consumption. We have shifted to consuming ‘good’ rather than goods.

To convey this through design, I have created two coffee tables. A bourgeois table reflecting virtue signalling tropes and then an Anti-bourgeois table which is plain with a small symbolic hint to the virtuous person who owns it.

Using concrete poetry to extenuate the message the virtue signalling message is stretched out on the surface of the tabletop and only when someone is slumped low in the couch can we read the message. Which reads Umm… Is that TV wasting valuable resources? Get of your ass! Then each leg baldly states a virtuous trope of which the table upholds. Its handmade, recycled, Australian made and Fair trade. Making sure everyone can see it. Then all together being held up by the moral hands.

The anti-bourgeois table does not show it off at all it is almost ludicrously simple and made of concrete to eventuate the idea of concrete poetry. It is concrete poetry in its purest from there form showing purity. Only at a certain time, as the sun sets and shines upon the table surface it penetrates through a hole and shines the moral hands onto wall. A small discrete reminder for the owner. This overall conveys the idea that the truly virtuous person does not need to show it but knows it themselves.