I was looking at products for inspiration for the ‘clicker’ and came across Surplus Research headphones. Their branding execution is on point and the promo video is brilliant; I loved the retro vibe with the colour grading and vintage iPod. They use a password-protected purchase link to crank up demand and hype. A really interesting new brand with great marketing.
That led to an idea: what if I made ThoughtCounter into a physical product to “sell”? With its own branding, marketing, promo video, in-store display.
Not literally to sell, but as part of the exhibition.
The product
Minimal aesthetic, premium materials, slick branding. Considered packaging with an instruction booklet that reads like a mindfulness guide meets user manual. Aimed at the new generation of fashion/wellness focused consumers.
Price: £300 – same as an Oura Ring for sleep tracking or a Whoop strap for heart rate. Why wouldn’t we pay that amount to track whether we’re actually conscious or not?
Why this interests me
Firstly, I would really enjoy creating this! I have first-hand experience developing the Everpress brand from the ground up.
More importantly, it creates an interesting tension. It’s poking fun at capitalism – we’re spending money and wasting time on the wrong stuff (shopping/consumerism/looks) instead of what really matters: being mindful of our thoughts (which is free).
Capitalism and social media are huge distractions and, from BigCorp perspective, intentionally so. The western concept of accumulating more, more, more – the mirage that we’ll be happy accumulating things rather than truly investigating how our mind/thoughts might dictate our version of ‘reality’.
The idea also pokes fun at the wellness industry. A multi-billion dollar industry charging £300+ for tools to track our sleep, steps, heart rate etc.
Exhibition setup
Room 1: Installation
Intimate, ceremonial space (as per my previous post). One person at a time. You sit, try to count your thoughts. Fail. Discover something about the nature of your mind.
Room 2: Showroom
Featuring sleek product displays, ThoughtCounter products arranged like a premium retail store (eg. Apple, Goodhood, Dover Street Market). A large screen playing a promotional video on loop.
The tagline could be: “Track what matters. Your thoughts.“
The aesthetic needs to be genuinely slick. If it looks DIY/scrappy, the parody doesn’t land. It needs to look like it could be sold at the Apple store. It needs to convincingly sell you something that you can do for free.
The tension
One room is a genuine inquiry into consciousness – a sacred, special space where you discover something for free.
The other room is capitalism doing what it always does – packaging up what you just experienced and selling it back to you.
The showroom needs to be convincing enough that you genuinely consider buying a tool to do something you just realised you can do for free.
From a personal perspective
I’ve been involved in the creation of a brand which has sold hundreds of thousands of products through it’s platform. I’ve been in the start-up and ecommerce ecosystems for over 10 years, was totally consumed by the rat race, and can see (in hindsight) that there’s much more to life.
I guess this is a self reflective piece and a wish to share that reflection in some way.
Next steps
- Run the idea past Jonathan and get his perspective on whether this strengthens or complicates the work
- Research other artists
- If moving forward – think about product design, brand identity, marketing and overall project plan