Thursday 19 May 2011

Dopamine Scratch Card!





Given the words mall experience and currency as starting points we discovered the chemical dopamine which was associated with feelings of pleasure and happiness and is released in the brain when we experience something, new, exciting or challenging. For many people shopping, or more specifically window-shopping, is all of these things. The prospect of finding a great deal and the excitement of discovering something unexpected when window-shopping releases the desired dopamine rush.

But what if you take away the immediacy of window-shopping? By covering the shop window the retail voyeur must actively scratch away the surface to get their fix. The result is a prolonged period of expectation and an increase in dopamine release.

This is where the language of the scratch card comes into play. With scratch cards you are aware of the possibility of a prize and how to reveal it. However, with these cards it’s not what we have hidden but the process of revealing it that is the real prize - the journey is the reward.

The shops shown on these cards are representative of popular clothing, entertainment and home retail outlets in London today.  We are not focusing on the negative nature of these retailers, but instead the positive side of shop culture that you never knew existed.


Collaboration with Fred N, Alice T, Gorge V and 3 illustrators.
-Apparently, we exhibited our work at KK OUTLET in London.



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