"I admit, whilst I did use the recent buzz around ‘fake news’ as the inspiration behind tackling this issue, I have acknowledged throughout that ‘fake news’ has always been a problem, and always will be and I never aimed to eradicate it.One of the key points of Sentry is that it provides a ‘slow’ news reading experience. Inspired by publications like Delayed Gratification. Sentry is not racing to send the latest headline notification, it’s not pushing a popular story at you, and doesn’t care if the content has been designed to top Google. This is about taking a breath, sitting down, and focussing on what matters to you. Whilst this may come across as naive depending on your understanding of ‘fake news’ I’d like to point out that I have spent nearly every day of the past 8 months researching the issue. That doesn’t make me an expert, but that work has gone into shaping this product. This isn’t something I’ve thrown together. I believe it does highlight the problems, and shows the reader potentially better and more mindful habits of reading. This is about showing varied sources, varied stories, about reader defined subjects in a slow and measured way, that isn’t about sharing outrage but reading.Most of all though, I love the discussion that this project creates."

"One of my major breakthroughs during my research was a paper from Pennycook and Rand, which discussed how a reader’s susceptibility to fake news is actually less to do with their preconceptions and confirmation bias, but their attentiveness whilst reading, where a distracted or lazy reading may be more likely to believe falsehoods. The product aims to allow readers to reflect on their actions, and what they have read, allowing for more considered decisions. It isn’t perfect, it was a difficult process making headway around this brief, but I hope the discussion about malpractice and healthier habbits has a positive impact! "

"Yeah, it’s very much a nice fantasy that there wouldn’t be some bias to this curation of news. That is why though I felt the importance to really push the tactility. I debated a lot about why this couldn’t just be a digital platform, and the impossibility of avoiding bias was the main reason. The tactility slows down the reader for more considered reading whilst also promoting focus, with the hope to introduce new habits. I think you’re right about the dystopian inspiration. It was a very difficult decision, and the final choice was actually between the above design and a more craft led, personal product. Ultimately, this brutalist form was chosen as more of a statement, particularly with the product primarily being shown in an exhibition. "