Alex brief:

"It's Alive!” is a printer which allows colonies of bacteria to grow on it, leaving an encrypted text. In a society where the government has complete control of all media and information, "Alternative Journalism" is printed on a sheet of bioplastic, which allows a consumer to clandestinely learn the facts. The government funds monstrous corporations that have taken over all industries by introducing more cost-efficient and better A.I, replacing most jobs. In this world, people have confirmed their lifestyles to fit in large poor communities that live within the same building and cannot pay for any more expensive housing because of the desolation of jobs. To disguise the horrific actions made by the government, they control all of the media outlets across the world, making journalism propaganda. Alternative Journalism is a tool used by journalists to provide truth-seeking citizens with factual journalism while staying secret. The design is simple, however; needs to be timed correctly. The printer machine is similar to that of a 3D printer, where it has a gantry system moving it along the X and Y axis. The printer pours agar on to a sheet of bio plastic attracting bacteria to the specific surface for bacteria to grow on. In today's world, there are simpler ways of finding factual information just by going online, however; in this world, all media companies are controlled by the government. The user simply sprays or rubs bacteria over the bioplastic and when finished, flushes it down the toilet where it is dissolved and biodegraded leaving no trace. 

Alec brief:

It's alive!: a printer that extrudes sugar inoculated agar onto bioplastic sheets. When these sheets are sprayed with dirty water, bacterial colonies immediately bloom over the sugar-rich agar, revealing the message that was originally printed. Once all of the agar has been expended, the bacteria will consume the bioplastic, leaving behind no evidence of its existence. In this imagined future world, the general population is constantly surveilled by the electronics and software that they rely on. The data gathered from this surveillance is used to warp what an individual sees on the internet, subtly influencing them towards adopting an opinion or purchasing a product. “It’s alive!” counters the misinformation and corporate propaganda that has become an everyday occurrence. The materials printed with “It's alive!” will eventually self destruct, making it perfect for spreading illegal ideas without leaving any indication of doing so. “It's alive!” was designed for anyone with ideas that dissent from the norm, more specifically it was designed for journalists who cannot publish content that encourages dissent. Sterile agar “ink” is printed onto a bioplastic sheet. When exposed to bacterial spores, the agar is consumed by the bacterial colony. The ink that conventional printers use is made from chemicals that are harmful to the environment. “It's alive!” doesn’t use ink at all, it grows rather than prints. To use “It’s alive!”, a sheet of bioplastic "paper" is first loaded onto the print bed by the user. The user then sends the files they wish to print through an online service. After the files have been downloaded, the user hits start and waits for 2 to 5 minutes while the print completes.