Make Something Heavy.
We're creating more than ever, but it weighs nothing.
We instinctively tie weight to value.
Gold is solid. Wood is dense. And back when we still printed things on paper, a heavy stapler was a luxury.1
If something is heavy, we assume it matters. And often, it does. Weight signals quality, durability, presence, permanence.
Even the objects we choose reflect this. At first, we buy cheap, lightweight furniture—easy to build, easy to trash. But eventually, we want weight. A solid oak table. A leather armchair. Something built to last. Heavy things comfort us—a weighted blanket stills the body, a heavy door makes a home feel secure.
Winners of major awards almost always say the same thing as they lift the trophy: ‘Wow! It’s so heavy.’ As though the weight itself validates the achievement. Simple logic: Light achievements beget light awards. Heavy achievements beget heavy awards.
We accept this in the physical world.
But online, we forget.