ramyb wrote:I didn't realize I would take heat for following the rules.
Oh Ramy, you take heat around here for breathing. Doesn't mean it's warranted. Or logical. Or rational. Anyway, I saw the same thing as aerc712: I grew up in a state with a bottle deposit and the information about how much the deposit was, in which state, is always located next to a recycle sign. Well, at least by the time I started drinking soda from cans/bottles, there was a recycle sign. In fact, I am currently drinking soda from a can and there's a recycle sign on it.
Anyway, back to my original thought about the design:
This captures the feeling of alienation, of feeling trapped in a place where one doesn't belong, powerless to escape. One of the major theoretical frameworks in psychology says that there are three basic psychological needs (for humans, not cans!): autonomy, the ability to influence what happens in one's life and have those events be related to one's sense of self; competence, a feeling of being good or useful at what one does; and relatedness, the sense of being part of connected to or interacting with others.
Some of the greatest human despair, IMHO, arises when all three of these basic psychological needs are denied. Some of my very favorite shirts capture the feeling of desiring relatedness, wanting to be part of something, but not being able to control the reaction of others (jasnecko's Odd Bear Out, tjost's Just a Little Paint). This design captures that sense of alienation and despair that results from being alone, having one's purpose thwarted through no action of one's own, and being unable to do anything about it. I love the emotion and story captured in a fairly simple narrative frame.
Aside from the psychological analysis of a soda can... I've had a lot of moments over the past year when I've felt like that can. I identify with its despair. A design that can make a human identify with a soda can is touching upon something fundamental to the human experience, IMHO.
