The rise of interior design short videos on YouTube Shorts and TikTok has become one of favourable content, offering both entertainment and practical solutions for daily life problems. These videos, much like other short-form content, aim to provide 'how-to' solutions in an entertaining manner. Recently, the popularity of these videos has surged, particularly due to the viral phenomenon of "Little John”. The narratives of “Little John” and his interior problems were popularised by a Chinese TikTok account called homedesign369. "Little John" videos have taken over social media platforms, delivering interior design solutions with a unique blend of sarcastic humour and life commentary. Each video features a generated voice narration that tells the story of Little John, accompanied by design solutions using materials like Galvanized Square Steel and Eco-Friendly Wood Veneer which eventually become popular keywords. These elements have become memes, dominating platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts. The success of these videos can be seen as a critique of modern urban living. The memes respond to the struggle of many people to afford homes that accommodate their lifestyles, highlighting the trend of living in compact apartments in cities such as New York and Shanghai, as narrated in the Little John stories. The object videos from May 26 to June 1 were chosen based on Google trends ‘Little John, ‘Galvanized Square Steel’ and ‘Eco-Friendly Wood Veneer’ keywords, indicating intense public interest in the video. This article will use Barthes's semiotics theory to analyse the memes, explore the text and

Authors:
Clara Victoria Padmasari, Institut Informatika Indonesia, Indonesia

About the Presenter(s)
Clara Padmasari is a Visual Communication Design at IKADO who focuses on visual communication and aesthetic studies.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-padmasari-6a810a134/

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