Revolt is a speculative design project, whose purpose is to provoke conversations around the importance of play, especially for children in adverse environments: Displaced children who are about to be confronted by new authority figures, facing an immigration officer or going into the foster system about to meet a social worker.
It allows children to turn-on their superpower and confront new power dynamics by reversing the authority roles metaphorically, helping children challenge authority, test their limits and release anger in a safe way.
HOW IT WORKS
Once confronted with these new authority figures, children could spin the necklace to signify a change in roles, playing out a scenario where they have more control of the situation.
Making sense of all these changes can be overwhelming and traumatic. While Revolt won't change the situation they are in, this small interaction helps them feel more in control on an emotional level, by playing out the situation and coping through play.
To push the conversation further I developed a fictitious company and campaign that could get more people involved in advocating for new policies around children's right to play and it's importance for social change.
Revolt is part of my year-long master thesis exploring play as a catalyst for childhood equality, titled Unauthorized Play: Design provocations for children in crisis.
