Our memories are important.
The past plays a big part in our current reality and can influence our futures in a myriad of ways. As much as we would like to believe we are in control, there is so much that influences our trajectory in life that we are sometimes oblivious of.
No one is born knowing anything if you really look at it.
While our aptitudes for different skills and interests begin to surface, there is always the quiet, yet powerful influence of accumulated, learned behavior. So powerful it overrides reason and better judgment.
In design, this is usually chalked under “consumer bias" and/or “nostalgia”. Basically, marketers play on our memories and emotional connection to them, to get us to buy products, some of which we don’t even need.
A very popular case would be Caprisun (or Caprisonne).
Almost every Nigerian millennial grew up with that colorful sachet as part of the accompanying package for lunch, in our primary school days.
We’re all grown up now, and we’ve moved on to our beers and spirits.
Or so we would like to believe.
Recently, the company relaunched Caprisun in new packaging, trying to revive the old brand. This time the flagship packaging was the handy can, now popular amongst soft drinks and even beers, in a bid to reduce waste from sachet and bottles (these cans are easily recyclable).
But guess what?
Almost everybody who grew up with the old Caprisun wanted the old sachet, even as the new cans proved to have more content, and were more environmentally friendly.
Luckily for CHI Limited, the company authorized to manufacture the fruit drink in Nigeria, they did not totally scrap the sachet. They only produced in smaller quantities.
Remember how you always feel like you’re making decisions because they’re the “best”?
Check again.
You’ll most likely find an emotional connection, to some memory you’ll be surprised to recall.
Now how does this affect our day-to-day lives? How does this in any way concern the design and by extension, the experiences from the world we’ve (so absently) designed, as we get through life?
Perhaps this story will help.
You might not know Edith, but chances are you know Lot.
He was Abraham’s nephew, according to the bible book of Genesis. In his time, he was a successful farmer, owning herds of cattle and sheep.
As the story goes, Lot prospered under Abraham, and his flock grew over the years. Soon the land became too small for their flock to feed. Their shepherds and workers began to clash quite often, each group claiming rights to the fecund vegetation around them.
To avoid further confrontations between their workers, Abraham and Lot decided that the latter would move to another land, not too far off, but equally as fertile as the one they currently shared.
If the words of Genesis be held true, Lot prospered even more, in the years following his migration with his wife and the rest of his household.
But this story is not about the man.
I’m sure Lot is an interesting character, and maybe one day we will take apart the details of his interesting life.
But we are here for his wife, who many historians have christened Edith.
Not much is known about her, but that is what makes her even more interesting. It’s almost as if she didn’t want to be known, even though we see her influence on the life of Lot.
Now let’s fast-forward to when the strangers came. The angels as we will later discover.
As the story goes, the people of Sodom asked Lot for these men, for their…. Pleasure. When he refused, the people threatened to invade his home, and take their “prize”.
Legend has it that Edith, as she prepared a meal for the guests, asked her neighbors for some salt, and during the exchange, let fly that they had guests from outside the city.
In anger, God decided to destroy Sodom, for their evil ways.
As they prepared to make a run for the hills outside the city, where they would take refuge, the two angels warned them not to look back as they ran.
The command was given, "Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away."
As the angels warned, God soon started the destruction of the city.
Edith, her husband, and two daughters made for the hills as planned. Imagine the horror, hearing the beautiful city they once called home rumble as they took step after step, away from it.
To put things in perspective, imagine driving away from Berger, exiting Lagos, and you can hear payloads from fighter jets hitting their targets. Your car violently skids as the bombs take out major buildings, the shockwave making it almost impossible to drive.
Now let’s go back to Sodom, a city currently being struck by fire from the skies, with such precision that no one would survive. Imagine feeling the heat of the fire as they fly, in their destructive errand.
You duck, as some fly so low, you think they will hit. You are afraid God has changed his mind. What if he wants to punish you for the lie you told yesterday?
Yes, we can all agree that it was a horror to behold.
But as all this was happening, even with eh stern warnings of the angels, Edith did the unthinkable.
She looked back.
Yes, she turned around and took one last look at Sodom.
You know what happened next… She turned into a pillar of salt.
Now, according to Jewish legend, she turned to see if her daughters, who were married to men from Sodom were fleeing too. A steep price to pay for motherly love, if there ever was one.
A more popular lore posits that she turned to a pillar of salt, as punishment for her disobedience. By looking back at the "evil cities," she betrayed her secret longing for that way of life. She was deemed unworthy to be saved and thus was turned to a pillar of salt.
But whatever her reason, Edith gave up her life for it.
What could be so important that she could not bear to look away?
If you think she is stupid, take a look at the decisions you’ve made in recent times. If you’re honest, you’ll see that you’ve turned back, to glimpse at Sodom too.
The past called out to you, and you answered the memories that reached out.
We’re all Ediths in some decisions, and understanding why we make those choices will ultimately help us make better ones as we go along.
Hmm, this is deep
We are all Ediths... That line hit me so hard, I feel like washing myself clean of thought past (which I'd actually do). Thanks for this insightful post, Kume... More ink to your pen.