TATVA:M is part of Shaivi’s Independent Design Research Project at Royal College of Art, as part of the MDes Design Futures Program, 2023-24.

What started with the introspection of working on a project that combines emerging technologies, with the potential of the human mind, and the overall well-being of the planet at it’s core, led Shaivi to embarking on researching ways to make the metaverse planet-positive.

Trends mapped on FORCEPTS Showed that the metaverse was here to stay, which pivoted the train of thoughts to the next question of “How can we make it worth its presence?”

The metaverse alike any other system poses the challenges of a wicked problem with no one direct solution. This, coupled with the time constrains of the project led to the decision of focusing on designers as the core audience. The hypothesis being that design can influence and attenuate user behavior, steering it towards achieving the goal of digital ecology. This can be executed when designers are aware of the intrinsic traits of the metaverse and weave its design realm in unison with its foundations.

The guiding force towards creation of such a resource has been the current opportunity to strengthen the foundations by mindfully designing the still nascent metaverse, coupled around philosophical curiosities and the diverse impact potential of design.

The project at RCA was culminated with the creation of TATVA:M( meaning “Principles” or “core essence” in the Sanskrit language). TATVA:M has now become a library of resources transcending various mediums, form physical guidebook versions, to this digital repository as well as a Virtual Reality Experience