Forget the Trend
Ethical Design
Brief
For this project, we were asked to research the cultural, social, and ethical responsibilities of Graphic Design. In response to this, we had to choose a focus area from our research and design a resolution that both articulated our own position on the topic and provided a call to action for the intended audience.
Insights
I decided to focus my project on how trend cycles have accelerated rapidly over the past decade, resulting in micro trends coming and going every month or less. This is obviously very damaging for the environment, but it became through my research that this knowledge isn't enough of a deterrent for buying into fast fashion. Instead, I chose to look at how it affects mental health and self image, specifically in women and girls aged 14 to 22. I thought directing my response towards the impact on individuals, this being the group most affected, would be more likely to resonate with people since many feel like they have little control over damages to the environment.
My outcome for this was Forget the Trend, a campaign that aims to raise awareness around the negative effects of micro trends on mental health through TikTok ads, OOH posters, and a website that explains it all in more detail and provides advice on how we can forget the trend.
Insights
The main deliverable for this project was the TikTok advert – a piece of typographic motion design intended to invoke the same overwhelmed feeling micro trends give us, with text appearing on the screen faster and faster. The choice to make it entirely typographic was intentional and a conscious decision to create something that would stand out from the image-driven visuals of TikTok and catch people's attention.
Creating a website mock-up was vital to make this outcome effective – it allows the viewer to immediately take action and change their habits, providing them with an easily accessible solution to the problem and making change as easy as possible.
All the copy written throughout this project is original and based on research findings on the topic of fast fashion and micro-trends.
