Can participatory design be analog?
Post Vegan is a snail mail pen pal project to build community among people who used to be vegan but aren't anymore. With letterpress postcards and a shared sense of rejection, participants find commonality and catharsis in sharing the challenges of their post-vegan experiences. This analog system implements the principles of participatory design—community, modularity, flexibility and technology—to connect a group of people who would not otherwise interact and address their need for understanding and belonging.
Ten percent of adults in the U.S. are former vegetarians/vegans. More than half of former vegetarians/vegans gave up the diet within their first year, and one-third went back to meat within three months.
There are many reasons why people choose to abandon a vegan lifestyle, but all of them had a common theme: the decision was for them and no one else.One common thread that bound this whole group together: the negative reactions from other vegans to their change in diet/lifestyle.