These personal drawings come from Kate Bingaman-Burt, a Portland-based artist who decided to write down what she bought every day. She started this process in 2002 and by 2006 had published her first book based on this practice called Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today?. Now she's releasing her second book, What Did I Buy Today?: An Obsessive Consumption Journal in spring 2013.
The point of this book is to make a commentary on her consumption patterns and consumption practices in general. She draws from her experience at gift shows in the past when she would watch people browse thousands of products before choosing what they wanted to buy. The process of these purchasing decisions intrigued her and spurred these personal drawings.
She created drawings of a variety of purchases she's made over the years.
What's Driving This Trend
- Personal Consumption Journals
- Individuals are creating personal consumption journals to track their spending and gain insights on their consumption patterns.
- Visual Commentaries on Consumption Patterns
- Artists are using visual commentaries to make statements about their own consumption patterns and consumer culture.
- Introspective Reflections on Purchasing Decisions
- Individuals are reflecting on their purchasing decisions and creating records in order to gain insight into their consumer behavior.
Who This Affects Most
- Art
- Opportunities in the art industry exist for artists who use their work to make statements about consumer culture and critical consumption.
- Personal Finance
- There is an opportunity for personal finance companies to develop tools to help individuals gain insight into their consumption patterns and make more informed purchasing decisions.
- Market Research
- Market research firms could develop new methods for tracking and analyzing consumer behavior, including the use of personal consumption journals.
