The Complexities of Political Engagement and Consumer Response to Woke Design

Abstract

What happens when brands engage in activism and involve themselves in the socio-political lives of their consumers? The rise of social issues and political messages in brand design is an emerging topic for the Design discipline. Designers are asked to communicate more complex ideologies in products and advertising campaigns. Designing-in values, individuality and political stance is becoming more commonplace though the impact of such efforts on consumers is mixed. This study explores the complexity of political engagement to woke design. A series of case studies discussed in this paper show that when brands are involved in activism, it impacts their consumers, reputation, and products. The analysis of evidence extracted from case studies indicates that activism campaigns have polarizing effects on consumers, increasing the brands’ reputation. Moreover, a visual model mapping the dynamics of activism in brand design is presented to allow an assessment of the phenomenon.