Consumerism and Design
A common discussion circling consumerism and design is whether Graphic Design is a positive attribute for consumerism or is it just encouraging us to make more purchases due to our desires rather than needs. Today’s society is fascinated with purchasing countless numbers of items just for the sake of owning things. Many of these items are used to represent our identities, or what we want others to see our identity as. Graphic design plays a massive role in this as designers are asked to create the entire branding of companies and their products in a way that makes them engage to customers.
A positive example of Graphic design being used for products is for the company Lush. It states on the packaging for the company’s items that once you have emptied the container (which is made from recycled plastic), you can actually return it to the shop for a refill rather than getting rid of it. A reward for doing so is that if you return five times to refill the container you will receive a free product. This is a great way to put designing to use as it is helping in a small way to protect the environment and also encouraging customers who purchase the item to think further about how they could help the environment.
As well as this, the company also has an environmental approach to gift wrapping that is 100% reusable.
So while many graphic designers may be fueling consumerism, there are also designers who are putting their skills to good use by designing packaging or campaigns for companies who are wishing to do good for the world. Another example of this is the company Patagonia. The company has built repair centres around the world to increase the longevity of their products and lower their carbon footprint. This philosophy was named ‘100% for the Planet’, and is mentioned through many advertising posters.
The designer for these posters is Andrew Czap and he is a perfect example of how to use. our skills to create a positive message rather than encouraging consumerism.
