LIFE IS NOT A SIMULATION

"Life Is Not a Simulation" is a response to "I Want to Believe" — Module 7.1 of MA Graphic Design programme at Leeds Beckett University. The brief asked to choose a conspiracy theory and create typographic, image-based, and both typographic and image-based designs that could potentially make the believers of that conspiracy shift their thinking.

The conspiracy theory behind "Life Is Not a Simulation" is based on the simulation hypothesis which states that life is not a real thing but a highly advanced simulated reality, where people are "constructs", or so called avatars. The hypothesis was criticised as being impractical from the technological and technical viewpoints, but the discussion still remains, as it’s virtually impossible to disprove, — any evidence that could be found might just as well be forged (simulated).

  • "Life Is Not a Simulation" is a collection of designs put together in a form of a website to achieve a better immersion in the subject. They call a viewer to be more mindful about their life by drawing attention to thoughts and speculations on the subject, leaning towards the fact that life isn’t and can’t be a simulation. At the same time, the offered reflections aren’t persuasive, they simply give food for thought.

    While working on the brief, the challenge was not in finding proofs and reasons to think that life is not a simulation, it was the translation of the ideas into coherent graphics using my own visual language. Not only because of the unfamiliar subject itself (conspiracies), it was also the adjusting to the task without losing personal way of communicating.

  • The choice of background colours, typefaces, and imagery stems from personal life experiences, — its tiny details in moments when one slows down and starts paying attention to their surroundings. For example, the background gradients are a reflection of what a person might see when they close their eyes facing bright sun or any other source of light, — colourful abstract shapes.

    The image-based visuals of the project, — line illustrations of waves and other flowy shapes, — are a tribute to the complex flow of life. It has its cycles, and it is repetitive in many ways, but it is also not without its flaws and tricky parts, unexpected turns and tough bits that we have to negotiate. Waves come and go, energy shapes energy, we don’t know everything, and probably never will.

    With typography, it was a deliberate choice of a typeface that doesn’t remind of anything "simulated" or “digital”. First of all, th intention was to step away from the common visual style associated with simulations and computerised realities. Secondly, I wanted the typography to align with the images, and be more whimsical than sans serifs, hinting that life is complex, — much more complex and erratic than any simulation could be.

  • The current project is not just a response to an academic requirement. It is relevant to the developments in the modern world, and questions that the humanity has been asking for as long as it has been thinking. What life is about? Is there really someone governing all our existence? If so, why is it so weird and complicated at times, and not perfect at all? While this project doesn’t give any solid answers, it gives reasons to take a better, mindful look at your life, with all its flaws and perfections, and think, given all your evidence, — your experiences, your challenges, your ups and downs, — do you really think your life is a simulation?