By: Alyssa N. Umbal, Soraya Elchehimi, Sopia Lee, Jennifer Moreau, Bowie Rheault
Course: IAT 431 Speculative Design

Description: Okatomo is a critical and ludic design project that raises awareness about the dangers of reckless spending and the financial systems which currently exist which promote excessive spending and burden people with crippling debt.

Okatomo's core message is to highlight the dangers existent in systems that use gamification and virtual rewards to incentivize excessive spending. By continuously reinforcing this behaviour, it prioritizes short-term gratification while potentially causing long-term financial harm to the user.

Through this project, we aim to provoke discussion about financial institution’s responsibility to promote healthy financial habits. This project is displayed through a physical exhibition where people can use the card in a transaction and see the effects that would come the more they spend with the card.