ESC TYRANNY
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
“Vibe coding” is changing who gets to build technology. For the 2026 SXSW festival, the Human Rights Foundation wanted to turn this emerging technology into an interactive activation, showing how dissidents are using vibe-coded tools to strengthen their movements.
“Vibe coding” is changing who gets to build technology. For the 2026 SXSW festival, the Human Rights Foundation wanted to turn this emerging technology into an interactive activation, showing how dissidents are using vibe-coded tools to strengthen their movements.
CHALLENGE
CHALLENGE
The challenge was to make an abstract technological shift tangible. Rather than presenting AI as a futuristic technology, the experience needed to demonstrate its practical potential through participation.
The challenge was to make an abstract technological shift tangible. Rather than presenting AI as a futuristic technology, the experience needed to demonstrate its practical potential through participation.
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
ESC Tyranny transformed vibe coding into a hands-on experience by inviting visitors to build their own digital tools. Videos of real-world movements using vibe-coded applications to mobilize, document abuses and communicate under repression connected this act of making to a larger story of technology as resistance. Visitors moved from seeing → understanding → making. Making a complex technology immediate, accessible, and actionable, ESC Tyranny showcased how Vibe coding can become a tool of resistance under repression.
ESC Tyranny transformed vibe coding into a hands-on experience by inviting visitors to build their own digital tools. Videos of real-world movements using vibe-coded applications to mobilize, document abuses and communicate under repression connected this act of making to a larger story of technology as resistance. Visitors moved from seeing → understanding → making. Making a complex technology immediate, accessible, and actionable, ESC Tyranny showcased how Vibe coding can become a tool of resistance under repression.
ROLE
ROLE
Creative Director
Creative Director
TEAM
TEAM
Pearlyn Lii, Lucian French,Victoria Specht, Lydia Cornett, Tahlia Edgar Chalker
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Pearlyn Lii
DESIGNER
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Lucian French
Pearlyn Lii
PRODUCTION LEAD
DESIGNER
Victoria Specht
Lucian French
PRODUCTION LEAD
Victoria Specht
VIDEO
VIDEO
Lydia Cornett, Tahlia Edgar Chalker
Lydia Cornett, Tahlia Edgar Chalker
PHOTOGRAPHY
Bailey Toksoz
CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY
CREATIVE
TECHNOLOGY
DotDot
DotDot
EXPERIENTIAL
DIGITAL DESIGN
VIDEO
ESQ TYRANNY
ESQ
TYRANNY
