There is an old saying, “The barefooted are not afraid of people wearing shoes” in China. The meaning behind it is that when those who have power over the public put too much pressure on people, people will begin to fight against them because they have already lost everything.
Protest is usually understood as a tricky, radical, and sometimes dangerous. Peaceful protest movements have been achieved also with the harm to the participants during the process. People protest for human rights. No matter what kind of topics are brought by them, human rights are always the center of everything. Fighting for human rights has been practiced throughout history, especially during the war time. Today, protesting for human rights is more practiced through scientific movement, and artistic expression.
The ways of people taking part in protesting movements can vary depending on the topic and the initiators. Nowadays, art is one of the most understandable ways for people to accept, and to popularize. Protest arts grasp the audience, and then leave the space of imagination for people to involve deeply in the event. Artists use their popularity to create a space for their followers to speak up. Among the audience who share the same thought, the sense of belonging is created, and then grows to a higher level.

“Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg.” ---Haruki Murakami

Haruki expressed his determination of always standing on the side of “the egg”. “The egg” here can be explained as the vulnerable group in the world, or simply as the people. As a novelist, Haruki’s way of protesting against the dictatorship is to speak through his works of writing and speech. Novelism is considered a method of artistic works. Then, design, also being considered as an expression of arts, how can it contribute to protesting for the rights of “the egg”?
As an industrial designer, I dedicate to the critical thinking of the design process. The story of the products as well as the process of development is more valuable than the products themselves. A successful story makes the product stand out more than just the function. I also believe that the background of a product can help users solve the problems in an emotional way. Providing a new function is still superficial. Changing the way of thinking can actually help people from their hearts. Designing for protest is a unique topic with the sense of making artistic pieces. It highlights the background story instead of the functions of products. It is also relevant to political activities so that many designers with political correctness would avoid telling such a controversial story. For me, I would love to run toward fields that people usually consider avoiding. Political activities are too sensitive to be touched. Therefore, as an industrial designer, an artist, and a social activist, it becomes my job to find the balance between politics and the users we love.
From the first expression, the design for protest can be easily viewed as graphic design. Graphic design plays an essential role in dictating and reacting to the major political events throughout times. A good message can change the face of the campaign for a long time. Designing the content then becomes the most understandable method for the protestors to express what they claim for.
However, more than using speech, there are lots of artists also using language to protest. The only difference is that they speak in a language with musical rhythm. The group of artists are musicians. At the same time, they are also known as social activists. Protest in general is achieved through language, such as using signs at marching, posing online, and speech. For musicians, they speak in music. Their words are written as lyrics in the songs to be sung, and popularized in live music or music albums. Songs represent their thoughts and claims. Different musicians have their own claims and way of protesting. Here are some examples of a couple of famous musician activists in the world:
John Lennon & Ono Yoko: John moved to NYC after he left The Beatles. He and his wife, Yoko, worked together for world peace and the anti-war movement. They used their honeymoon to accomplish a bed-in peace activity. During his years in NYC, he published several musical albums with the works of claiming anti-war and full human rights for every single individual. After being denied by the US immigration office, the Lennons introduced the conceptual country called Nutopia, saying that the country has nothing but people.
Bob Dylan: Bob Dylan’s lyrics have been acknowledged as poems and literature. He has also been granted the Nobel Literature Prize. Bob Dylan’s early works talk about the injustice in law and political movement by the US government, which became extremely influential to the public in the 20th Century.
U2: A musical band from Ireland. Ever since the 1980s, the members of U2 have been collaborating with other celebrities and organizations to address the ongoing issues in poverty, injustice, and environmental pollution.
For me, I am from China, a country with a unique way of governing billions of people in the world. Protesting is always a sensitive and prohibited movement in order to maintain social stability. Hence, the musician activists in China are experiencing more restriction in their social activities and publication of their works. They need to figure out a more humble and silent way to protest and to speak for the people. For example, Li Zhi, a musician from Nanjing, China, published several radical songs during early years of his career. Most of the songs are either ordered to be modified or banned. In 2017, Li Zhi followed the Chinese novelist, Wang Xiaobo’s claim that the real freedom is the freedom of thinking. He started a live music tour called “334”, aiming to travel to 334 towns in China to popularize live music. He wants to be an educator to people who don’t have access to certain forms of arts. However, after performing in 59 cities, he was fully banned in 2019.
From Li Zhi’s experience, I raise a question: how can musicians and social activists keep their protest under restrictive circumstances? And how can I help them as an industrial designer?
In the beginning of my last semester in college, I started with a warm-up project called “Don’t Talk, Just Repeat”. It is a conceptual sneaker design with satirical background. The reason I chose the sneaker design is that sneakers are usually given with a background story. The story then becomes the reason why the design is popular among customers.
I used the position of sneakers on a body to represent the resistance of the user. The lyrics “Don’t Talk, Just Repeat” are modeled on the sidewall of the sole in Chinese characters. The user is stepping on top of the characters to represent that they are against the repeating life. On the bottom of the shoe, the sentence “People Do Not Need Freedom” is printed so that when people walk around, the words can be left on the ground.
For the upper, the underlay is a simple piece of knitting for comfort. The overlay is a double-layered TPU firm with a mesh in between. It can be taken off the whole shoes as a sign for the protestor. TPU firms can be written on content with markers. The overlay is hooked on the sidewall of the shoe. On the lateral side, the pins are hidden in the characters. On the medial side, it leaves a blank space for the protestors to design by themselves. They can use screws and push pins as hooks. This design means that the true personality is always hidden with something unified by the society. Around the ankle, the protestor can wrap with jewelry or decoration they like in between the overlay and the underlay with an end being shown on the back. This means that protestors can keep their identity inside with some parts showing to the public. The whole shoe is made in a white color. I was inspired by the concept of Nutopia by John Lennon that the flag of Nutopic is pure white. It is because that peace can only be achieved through surrender and compromise.
The reason I did sneaker design is not only that I have work experience on footwear design, but also sneakers can represent a significant proportion of personal characteristics. It is a typical product that is made to tell stories. The story behind a pair of sneakers are usually more valuable than the product itself. The function of a sneaker is minimal when it is made based on a celebrity or a historical event. Also, sneakers are small objects. They can move around with the users. The message can then be viewed by the audience in a short period of time.
To be continued, I started The Barefoot Series for this semester. “The Bare-Foots” represent “people”, who own nothing substantially compared to people who have political power and wealth. Here, “The Shoe-Wearers” here represents the decision-makers. The protesters are not afraid of the government. A similar meaning I find from the book the American Journal of Politics that ”A beggar will never be bankrupted”. My goal is to design a pair, or series or sneakers that can be used as instruments. While playing, the musicians are bare-foot to show that they stand the people to fight for their freedom. The selection of instruments can be a collection of traditional Chinese instruments that reflect the history of low-income class, or the modified version of existing instruments. The sneakers should combine materials, structures, and forms that have deep meaning in people's lives. The design is a new language for musicians to play their music in a satirical way against the government. It is designed for protesting, but if necessary, it can also be introduced as instrument and footwear design in order to avoid conflicts.