Greenwashing in Branding
Faculty Mentor Name
Marie Lee
Research or Creativity Area
Other
Abstract
This project explores greenwashing as both a marketing strategy and a design problem, focusing on how visual communication can shape perception and influence trust. Through a series of outcomes—a poster, a website, and an interactive app—I examine the ways design elements such as color, typography, imagery, and interface patterns are used to construct a misleading sense of sustainability. Rather than addressing corporate behavior alone, this work highlights the active role designers play in reinforcing or challenging these narratives.
The poster serves as an entry point, using visual contradiction to immediately capture attention and create tension between appearance and reality. It is designed to provoke curiosity and encourage viewers to question what they see at first glance. Expanding on this, the website provides deeper context, offering analysis, examples, and explanations of common greenwashing tactics. It acts as an educational platform, helping users better understand how branding can manipulate environmental claims.
The app introduces an interactive layer, allowing users to engage directly with the issue by identifying and evaluating potentially misleading messaging. By simulating real-world scenarios, it encourages critical thinking and active participation, shifting users from passive consumers of design to more informed and skeptical observers.
Together, these components create a cohesive system that not only exposes greenwashing practices but also reflects on the ethical responsibilities of designers. The project ultimately questions whether transparency can exist within contemporary branding systems that often prioritize aesthetics and marketability over genuine environmental impact, and it invites viewers to reconsider the power and accountability embedded in design.
Greenwashing in Branding
This project explores greenwashing as both a marketing strategy and a design problem, focusing on how visual communication can shape perception and influence trust. Through a series of outcomes—a poster, a website, and an interactive app—I examine the ways design elements such as color, typography, imagery, and interface patterns are used to construct a misleading sense of sustainability. Rather than addressing corporate behavior alone, this work highlights the active role designers play in reinforcing or challenging these narratives.
The poster serves as an entry point, using visual contradiction to immediately capture attention and create tension between appearance and reality. It is designed to provoke curiosity and encourage viewers to question what they see at first glance. Expanding on this, the website provides deeper context, offering analysis, examples, and explanations of common greenwashing tactics. It acts as an educational platform, helping users better understand how branding can manipulate environmental claims.
The app introduces an interactive layer, allowing users to engage directly with the issue by identifying and evaluating potentially misleading messaging. By simulating real-world scenarios, it encourages critical thinking and active participation, shifting users from passive consumers of design to more informed and skeptical observers.
Together, these components create a cohesive system that not only exposes greenwashing practices but also reflects on the ethical responsibilities of designers. The project ultimately questions whether transparency can exist within contemporary branding systems that often prioritize aesthetics and marketability over genuine environmental impact, and it invites viewers to reconsider the power and accountability embedded in design.
