Speculative Stuff
2023 - 2024 Student Works

* The intellectual property rights of each work are owned by each student.

Or Brand :
Cheap people’s organs on sale!


















JIHUN CHANG








Mr. John in 2023 was diagnosed with end stage of kidney cancer. A kidney transplant was needed for proper treatment for the disease, and he is looking forward to a kidney donor. The doctor determined that John’s life would be very dangerous if no kidney donors appeared in the near future. John’s family considered purchasing a kidney through a special route for a quick organ transplant, but through a special market, the kidney was very expensive at $150,000.

So there’s no other way than to wait for a kidney donor. As in John’s case, cancer, which accounts for a large percentage of human deaths, is bound to be accompanied by organ transplants for treatment. But compared to the number of patients waiting for kidney and liver transplants,(for example) organ donors are far short. Therefore artificial organ technology that can immediately respond to demand is ideal. But artificial organ technology still has many problems. The performance of artificial organs in the current technology lags behind that of actual organs, and there are fatal problems such as immune responses and software defect.

However, the situation will be different if these problems with artificial organs are overcome. If the technology of artificial organs is much better than that of human organs, what will people choose? Humans equipped with super livers will happily get drunk and never get tired, no matter how much strong alcohol they drink. Other people with super eardrums can fully control the noise using noise-cancelling, which will improve their quality of life. Also, the person who switched to super muscle will be able to make a lot of money without taking a break from construction work and without physical pain. The advantages of these artificial organs will greatly motivate people to give up existing human organs. There will be no more nightmares of dying while waiting for a donor, like the aforementioned case of organ donation. In the distant future, John would be bothered to urinate a healthy kidney, and he could replace it with a super kidney that produces solidified urine and releases it once a month. In a world where organ replacement is prevalent, there will be no worries about getting cancer. 

As a result, those who lack the economic conditions to buy artificial organs will buy discarded organs at low prices. The project’s ‘Or Brand’ was designed from the image of an inexpensive and popular brand called ‘No Brand’. And the spelling ‘Or’ means a human organ. the Or Brand product shows a tendency not to pay extra for packaging somehow through brown reusable paper. And through vacuum packaging, it gives a cheap feeling as if it were selling meat on a mart display and shows a strange appearance. In addition, human organs such as the stomach, liver, and kidneys are displayed side by side, giving the feeling of abrand lineup of products, showing the bizarre appearance of legalized human organ sales. The project was designed to show that the current expensive and precious organs may not be in the distant future.





2023





Speculative Stuff



Speculative Stuff documents the design works of Yonsei University's Integrated Design undergraduate students, showcasing South Korea's first speculative design course. Led by Hyunjae Daniel Shin (Assistant Professor) and Eun Sun Park (Lecturer), our 16-week program blends theoretical lectures, interactive workshops, and practical exercises.

This course aims to foster the ability to understand and speculate about macro and micro changes in technology, culture, society, and the environment through everyday products and services in future contexts. By using future scenarios, comedy techniques, and preposterous worldbuilding, students develop a critical perspective on alternative futures.