Back ←

                                 PUBLIC DISCLAIMER 1. WARNING. This case study is merely connected to cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoking as well as eating cigarette butts is harmful for human health and may cause vital organs disfunction, mortal diseases and human fetus development problems. Only consume cigarettes and cigarette butts at your own discretion and only if you are fully aware of the harmful effects they have on your health. In this publication, I am in no way trying to persuade the reader to the actions described above. The purposes of this story are exclusively research in the field of culture and art and are beyond the scope of human health issues.

                                 PUBLIC DISCLAIMER 2. The rationale of placing this piece into my portfolio is to contact with fun and open-minded people. I realise that this case study may be divisive in a way wheres if you happen to be a lame, insecure and close-minded office worker or a parent who cares for the highest standards of moral decency of everything in the world, then you may feel repelled of this study or an author of this piece. However I see the value of this research is display of ideation tools and creative approaches that can can be applied to anything and the fat that it was built around such a simple and unpleasant piece of litter just proves my point.

Isolating and Exploring the Design Potential of a Cigarette Butt

Through my personal visual research, I aim to explore the hidden visual potential of a commonly overlooked object in a creative and engaging way. As part of my thesis work for the Visual Research course by Holystick Studio, I will be completing a series of practical exercises designed to entertain both myself and the viewer. The challenge presented to me was to select a small object related to my life and uncover its visual potential within a structured story, all while adhering to a strict six-week time limit. To meet these requirements, I selected an object that is simple yet intriguing, offering a starting point for exploration.

Study Object

As an urban enthusiast, I've embarked on a research journey focused on a seemingly unremarkable object: cigarette butts. But rather than viewing them as mere remnants of city litter or smoking-related issues, my inquiry isolates them from any contextual associations. Also avoiding some of banalities.

This inquiry centers solely on the cigarette butt itself, free from any external influences. To maintain a more personal and focused approach, I've limited my study to solely the Marlboro Gold brand, with its distinctive textured orange filter, and specifically those that I have personally smoked and discarded.

Object Description

The urban environment is often marked by a ubiquitous and unsightly presence: small, crumpled orange cylinders, typically found at the entrances of public places. Their orange exteriors are decorated with ornaments vaguely resembling animalistic designs. Despite their iconic shape, these objects are essentially by-products of the industrial era, produced by machines with precise and smooth lines before being crumpled by human hands. As a result, no two of these objects are identical.

Stable in dry environments, these cylinders represent one of the most egregious forms of waste. They are comprehensively unpleasant to the layman and, when found among food, can deprive it of its appetizing appeal. Furthermore, their presence trivializes any setting in which they are found.Despite ongoing efforts to maintain clean and pristine urban landscapes, these crumpled orange cylinders remain a persistent and detrimental blemish on the environment.

Study Goals

Cigarette butts not only suffer from a negative public image, but they also have an irritating tendency to follow me wherever I go. However, I have made it my mission to gather information on their visual properties and uncover their hidden beauty,

in the hopes of changing the way both I and others perceive them.  By normalizing this controversial subject through the use of a soothing pastel palette, I aim to create a new perspective that fosters empathy and understanding

Approach

To foster a connection with the research subject, I will leverage a repertoire of strategies commonly used to imbue random objects with allure. Tapping into my inner "basic b*tch," I aim to infuse the subject with an aura of sweetness and charm, often through the use of pseudointellectual moves, generic artsiness and kitschy bits. Despite our claims to individuality, I maintain that we all harbor a trace of the basic bitch within us.

It's worth noting that even controversial communities like QAnon have utilised appealing aesthetics to promote their message, highlighting the power of visual presentation. In particular: pastel palette. Also making images move (animation) makes them arguably 350% more appealing. However with a deeper understanding of cigarette butts, perhaps we can all begin to see them as something beautiful and iconic, rather than an eyesore.

1
Outer Body

In the first practical stage of my research, I undertook the task of collecting outer appearance data of a single cigarette butt. Recognising the importance of isolating the butt from its cultural context, I opted to take this notion literally by physically isolating it through the use of a 360-degree shooting setup.

To achieve this, I constructed a sophisticated machine that allowed me to rotate the cigarette butt along a single axis by a predetermined angle. The setup included a rotating plate marked with 45-degree increments, and a phone holder. Through these efforts, I was able to capture a visual record of the cigarette butt's exterior.

I invite you to envision a hypothetical situation that would compel our innate inclinations towards trendy and fashionable aesthetics to fully embrace a particular set of visuals, without any reservations. This would not just entail acceptance, but a genuine appreciation that would warrant a willingness to invest resources into it. To illustrate this concept, I have created multiple scenarios in which the cigarette butts pattern could be employed in a manner that would make a potential collaboration between brands such as Supreme and Oysho, or Golf le Fleur and Zara Home, seem not only plausible but compelling.

2
Insides

In the second practical phase, I endeavored to delve into the inner workings of the object. I sliced it into multiple evenly sized sections, taking inspiration from a full-body scan of a human body.

I then re-created a visual representation of this scan, allowing the viewer to take a virtual journey through it. To enhance its scientific clarity, I labeled each section on an image of the entire cigarette butt.

After collecting a batch of images of the cuts and building a fly-through I decided to improve this visual's artsiness and science feel. I applied a set of different filters to unfold the aesthetic potential of the thing. Also to enable the viewer to observe changes in material properties for each consecutive section.

3
Layout

In the third phase of my experimentation, I meticulously unwrapped a cigarette butt and conducted a thorough analysis of its distinctive layout. My hypothesis centers on the idea that this pattern, though not inherently linked to any specific animal, bears striking resemblance to various animalistic patterns.

Through my personal visual research, I aim to explore the hidden visual potential of a commonly overlooked object in a creative and engaging way. As part of my thesis work for the Visual Research course by Holystick Studio, I will be completing a series of practical exercises designed to entertain both myself and the viewer. The challenge presented to me was to select a small object related to my life and uncover its visual potential within a structured story, all while adhering to a strict six-week time limit. To meet these requirements, I selected an object that is simple yet intriguing, offering a starting point for exploration.

I posit that this cigarette butt pattern could serve as a viable alternative to conventional animal patterns, thereby reducing the demand for animal-derived products in both clothing and household goods. By leveraging the iconic and kitschy nature of this cigarette butt pattern, we may be able to harness its social significance to effect positive change in our relationship with animals and their environments. Overall, this innovative approach could offer a meaningful and sustainable solution to a complex ethical and environmental issue.
At present, I have surpassed the allotted time frame, yet I hold the conviction that several of the concepts possess substantial potential for expansion. Nonetheless, I am immensely content with having acquired a significant corpus of visual information pertaining to the subject of my inquiry, which has enabled me to foster a sense of empathy towards it. I trust that you too have gleaned some positive insights from our exchange.
Many thanks to holystick studio for the Visual Research course.

                                 PUBLIC DISCLAIMER 3. All the images are used here for demonstration purpose only. I simply downloaded then from Google image search engine result page irresponsibly with no insidious intention. I claim no right to be an author of any content of this study for the exception of the story. Even the writing quality was dramatically improved by ChatGPT. You didn't think I can write so good, did you? And of course the original iconic design of the Marlboro cigarette butt belongs to Phillip American Babacco whatever.

                                 PUBLIC DISCLAIMER 4. WARNING. Again do not smoke cigs. Or do smoke them. I don't care actually. I'm not the person to tell you what to do. They are most probably no good for your health. As well as alcohol, or eating more than 300 grams of red meat per week, or hypodynamia, or toxic relationship, or being around cars in heavy traffic, or picking your eyes with a finger, or hanging out around a coal power plant etc. So make five deep breaths, straighten your spine, and GTFO from this page you health maniac.